ABRAM ARRIVES IN CANAAN
God commands Abram to leave the land of his parents and move to the land that He will show him. God promises to make Abram the patriarch of a great nation. Abram obeys and moves to Canaan (Israel). Abram takes his wife Saray and his nephew Lot. Once Abram arrives in Canaan, God promises He will give that land to his descendants. Abram, at 75 years old, still had no children.
EGYPT
Abram looks for a place to settle, but a great famine caused by drought forces him to move to Egypt, where there is food. In Egypt, and at Abram’s request, Saray pretends to be his sister, fearing that the Egyptians will kill Abram to take Sarai. As Abram suspected, Saray was forcibly brought before Pharaoh because of her extraordinary beauty. But God punished Pharaoh and the members of his palace with plagues, prompting Pharaoh to hastily release Saray and expel her and Abraham from Egypt. Pharaoh rewarded Abram with lavish riches as dowry for Saray, so Abram returned to Canaan as a rich man.
LOT MOVES TO SODOM
Lot also made his fortune in Egypt, and the Tora tells us that Lot’s shepherds fought with Abram’s shepherds over territory. Abram offers Lot to part ways, and Lot then moves to the city of Sodom, famous for its ruthless inhabitants. God again promises Abram that his descendants will inherit that land and become as numerous as the dust of the earth.
LOT AND THE LOOT
The land of Canaan is invaded by various Middle Eastern kings fighting each other. The kings laid waste to the region of Sodom and took captives, including Lot. Upon finding out, Abram assembles an army of more than 300 men, defeats the contingent carrying the prisoners, frees them, and returns the spoils to the king of Sodom. The king thanks Abram for the captives and offers him the spoils of war as a gift. But Abram does not want any man to say » “I made Abram rich,” and he rejects the offer. Abram desires that his wealth and blessing be attributed solely to God.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PROMISE
God speaks to Abram again and promises He will reward him for his righteousness. Abram then mentions that he has no children for the first time: “Who will inherit me if at my age I still do not have a son? ” God assures Abram that he will have a son and promises that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky.
God and Abram made a covenant as testimony that his descendants would inherit that land. God also tells Abram that his descendants will be exiled and suffer slavery for a long time, but then they will return and inherit the land of Canaan.
ADOPTING HAGAR’S SON
Seeing that she cannot give a son to Abram, Saray suggests that Abram have a child with her Egyptian servant, Hagar. Hagar conceived and then began to be contemptuous of Sarai, who responded with a heavy hand, causing Hagar to run away. An angel encouraged Hagar to return to Sarai’s house, promising that her son would become a great nation. Hagar obeyed and gave birth to Yishmael.
PROMISES AND COVENANTS
God added the Hebrew letter “HE” ה to Abram’s name, making him “Abraham”, which means: the patriarch of numerous nations. God makes another covenant with Abraham and his descendants: the circumcision of all male children at eight days. Saray’s name is replaced by Sara, which means “The Princess”, or “The Queen”. God promises Abraham that he will have another son, but this time by his own wife, Sara.
At the age of 99, Abraham circumcised himself, his son Yishmael and all the members of his estate.
