Meaning of the Name Abraham
His first name, Abram, means 'exalted father'. In Genesis 17:5 God changes it to Abraham, explaining it with the words 'I have made you a father of many nations'; the name is therefore remembered as 'father of a multitude'.
Origin
The name Abraham is of Hebrew origin.
Who is Abraham in the Bible?
Abraham is the man who left his country at God's call and is counted the father of faith. God makes a covenant with him, promising that all nations will be blessed through his offspring. Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike honor his memory.
The story of Abraham in the Bible
Abraham's journey begins with a call heard in Haran: God tells him to leave his country, his kin, and his father's house for a land he will be shown, and adds a sweeping promise — his offspring will become a great nation, and all peoples of the earth will be blessed through him. At that point his name is Abram, meaning exalted father. He sets out with his wife Sarai and lives as a tent-dwelling sojourner in Canaan. Years pass without a child, yet God renews the promise and changes his name as a covenant sign: he is now Abraham, for God has made him the father of many nations. At a hundred years old he receives Isaac, the son of promise. In his hardest test he obeys the command to offer Isaac; God provides a ram in his son's place and confirms the promise with an oath. In the New Testament, Paul calls him the father not of one nation only but of all who walk the path of faith — the man who hoped against hope.
Is Abraham mentioned in the Quran?
The name Abraham (Ibrahim) also appears in the Quran, where he is revered as a great prophet and a father of monotheistic faith. In the Bible, he is the father of faith with whom God makes his covenant in Genesis.
Verses where Abraham appears
- Genesis 12:1-3 —
Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great.…
- Genesis 17:5 —
Neither will your name any more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
- Romans 4:16-17 —
For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace, to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is…