Difference between revisions of "Abraham"

<p> <i> The [[Old]] [[Testament]] </i> . This man, whose name may mean "the father is exalted, " was the first of the great patriarchs of Israel. [[In]] the ancient [[Near]] [[East]] a patriarch was the leader or ancestor of a family, but [[Abraham]] exceeded this status by becoming the progenitor of one specific nation, the Hebrews, as well as of other peoples. The story of his life ( <span> [[Genesis]] 11:27b-25:12 </span> ) appears to comprise one of eleven Mesopotamian tablets underlying Genesis, and in typical fashion probably had a title ("Abram, [[Nahor]] and Haran, 11:27b) and a concluding colophon "these are the generations of" (KJV), that is, "family histories of" (25:12). The material was apparently compiled in the time of [[Isaac]] at [[Beer]] Lahai Roi ( <span> Genesis 25:11 </span> ), the finished unit probably comprising a group of smaller tablets linked in a series. </p> <p> The date of Abraham's birth in [[Ur]] "of the Chaldees" (i.e., southern Ur) is not known, but can be computed roughly from archeological evidence at Bab-edh-Dhra, near Sodom. The latter was destroyed about 1900 b.c. [[No]] monuments to him have survived, but discoveries at Mari, Nuzi, and elsewhere have shown that his activities were consistent with [[Middle]] [[Bronze]] [[Age]] Mesopotamian life (ca. 2000-1500 b.c.). [[As]] such, Abraham emerged from a background of high culture, and was not the illiterate shepherd envisaged by some nineteenth-century literary critics. </p> <p> Abraham is of profound religious significance because he was the historic ancestor of the twelve tribes, the "seed of Abraham, " who regularly described their [[God]] as "the God of Abraham." [[By]] virtue of being children of divine promise ( <span> Genesis 12:2 </span> ), the [[Israelites]] were living proof of God's existence and power in human society. This general promise was made specific by means of a covenant between God and Abraham ( <span> Genesis 15:8-18 </span> ; <span> 17:1-14 </span> ), which provided the offspring of the patriarch with a large tract of territory. Abraham was to father many nations ( <span> Genesis 17:5 </span> ), and the covenant that was to be established with him and his seed was to be perpetual in nature. </p> <p> The idea of a covenant, or binding agreement between two parties, was already familiar in the early Middle Bronze Age, and by mutual agreement involved penalties if one of the participants defaulted. It was normally marked by some form of ritual ( <span> Genesis 15:9-17 </span> ), which emphasized the solemnity and significance of the occasion. Abraham was instructed to keep the covenant obligations, and as a material token the institution of circumcision was imposed upon him and his descendants. When performed, this procedure constituted formal indication of membership within the [[Israelite]] community. </p> <p> [[Although]] coming from a background of polytheism and idolatry at Ur, Abraham had been reared in the faith of the one true God by his father Terah. But when he received the Lord's call at a mature stage of his life, he recognized that he had been chosen to implement a specific part of God's plan for human destiny. [[He]] was not to fulfill it alone, because the [[Lord]] undertook to go with him ( <span> Genesis 12:4 </span> ). He was required to be consistently obedient to God's will, however difficult that might be, and to trust without question the guidance he would receive against the background of the covenant framework. It should be noted that Abraham was not asked to be obedient as a condition of the covenant. Rather, his response in faith was based upon what he already knew about the God of his ancestors, and was thus a matter of free choice. The importance of strict obedience to the Lord's injunctions assumes early prominence in Old Testament theology. [[Put]] simply, without unquestioning submission to God's stipulations there could be neither fellowship with the Lord nor blessings poured out upon the covenant people. </p> <p> The continuing faith Abraham had can be illustrated by reference to four specific occasions in his life. The first was God's command to leave both family and homeland and migrate to a strange country ( <span> Genesis 12:1 </span> ). The severing of emotional ties was bound to be costly, yet Abraham went forward without once questioning God's directives, believing instead in God's power to fulfill his promises. </p> <p> The second occasion actually completed the first, consisting of Abraham's parting company with his nephew [[Lot]] ( <span> Genesis 13:1-16 </span> ) because of friction between their herdsmen. Although doubtless distressed at withdrawing from a relative, Abraham behaved generously in allowing Lot to choose the territory that he preferred ( <span> Genesis 13:8-11 </span> ), whereupon God renewed his promises of land and offspring to the childless Abraham. </p> <p> The third was yet another occasion when the covenant was confirmed, this time in greater detail ( <span> Genesis 17:1-27 </span> ). God promised Abraham a son who would be named Isaac ( <span> Genesis 17:16 </span> ), and who would be the inheritor of the everlasting covenant ( <span> Genesis 17:19,21 </span> ). It seems that Abraham assumed that [[Ishmael]] was to function in that capacity, but when this was denied he acknowledged the Lord's will obediently, and awaited in faith the fulfillment of the promise that all the nations of the earth would be blessed in him ( <span> Genesis 18:18 </span> ). </p> <p> [[Perhaps]] the most serious test of Abraham's obedience and faith came when God ordered him to offer up in sacrifice the very one through whom the covenant was to be perpetuated: his son Isaac ( <span> Genesis 22:1-2 </span> ). Dutifully and without questioning, Abraham followed the ritual procedure, and at the climactic moment God intervened on behalf of Isaac ( <span> Genesis 22:11 </span> ), stating that Abraham had passed the divinely imposed test of submission and faith ( <span> Genesis 22:12 </span> ). [[For]] such implicit obedience Abraham was to become an example of covenant fidelity. In <span> 2 [[Chronicles]] 20:7 </span> (cf. <span> [[James]] 2:23 </span> ) Abraham is described as the "friends" of God. As late as New Testament times, he and [[Sarah]] were lauded as people who lived and died in an attitude of faith ( <span> Hebrews 11:8-18 </span> ). </p> <p> <i> The New Testament </i> [[If]] God's plan for human salvation was to be implemented, the Lord had to be able to trust those whom he called and empowered for this task. Only after testing under difficult conditions did the relative trustworthiness of the servant become apparent. In Abraham's case, his unwavering faith accomplished the fulfillment of the covenant promises in terms of a great nation that would honor him through the centuries as "their father" ( <span> [[John]] 8:39 </span> ; <span> [[Romans]] 4:16 </span> ). This privilege, however, was not to be restricted to the Jews, but was also shared by adherents to the world religions of [[Christianity]] and Islam. </p> <p> The prophecy whereby all human families would be blessed (or "bless themselves") came to fruition in the work of [[Jesus]] Christ, the [[Messiah]] of God, who was the long-promised descendant of Abraham ( <span> [[Matthew]] 1:1 </span> ; <span> [[Galatians]] 3:16 </span> ). [[His]] atoning death broke the power of sin over human beings and enabled them to be reconciled to God through penitence and faith. The saving work of [[Christ]] ushered in the new covenant prophesied by [[Jeremiah]] (31:31) and was given definitive shape in the [[Christian]] church, a body of believers committed to serve Jesus as king and lord through Acts of obedience and faith. This privileged group is blessed by the assurance of God's love and his saving power that sustain all who trust in him. But while being a recipient of blessing, the Christian church is commanded to fulfill covenant responsibilities ( <span> Matthew 28:14 </span> ) in a manner unknown to the covenant people of Old Testament times. It is by this means, however, that the [[Abrahamic]] blessings come into effect when both [[Jewish]] and [[Gentile]] sinners find forgiveness and spiritual rebirth in Christ through the proclamation of the gospel. </p> <p> The Christian faith thus stands in an unbroken chain of spirituality that has come down through the ages. The new covenant on which the Christian church is founded is based upon an individual's relationship with God in Christ, and not upon the response of a group such as a tribe to the Lord's commands. The atoning work of Christ on Calvary, achieved by a man as fully obedient to God's commands ( <span> Philippians 2:8 </span> ) as Abraham ever was, has released a flood of divine grace upon an undeserving world, and has brought the blessed fruit of the [[Spirit]] ( <span> Galatians 5:22-23 </span> ) into the believer's life. </p> <p> [[Paul]] stressed that the children of God by faith in Jesus were in fact members of Abraham's offspring, and thus heirs according to the promise ( <span> Galatians 3:26-29 </span> ). [[Thus]] [[Christians]] can speak confidently of Abraham as "the father of the faithful, " and praise a merciful God because it was through his fidelity in remote ages that our eternal salvation has become an actuality. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and others are no longer shadowy images which, in an earlier age of biblical criticism, were often dismissed as legendary or even mythological. Instead, the participants in the Abrahamic covenant are seen as real persons with whom modern Christians are privileged to join in witness to God's power and his plan of salvation through Christ. While Christians can rejoice in the realization that the blessings of Abraham's covenant have become their very own, it is important for them to remember that, as Jesus taught, the true children of Abraham perform the deeds of Abraham ( <span> John 8:39 </span> ). </p> <p> [[Dynamic]] though Abraham's covenant was, sheer physical descent from the revered patriarch did not of itself guarantee an individual's salvation, as John the [[Baptist]] pointed out ( <span> Matthew 3:9 </span> ). Nor did it imply that there were no unbelievers in ancient [[Israel]] ( <span> Romans 9:6 </span> ). Only those members whose lives manifested the obedience and trust of the patriarch would participate in covenant blessings. The man who for Paul was the exemplar of faith ( <span> Romans 4:16-22 </span> ; <span> Galatians 3:6-12 </span> ) was understood by James to demonstrate that justification by faith is proved in works that issue from such a faith ( <span> James 2:20-24 </span> ). The emphasis, however, is upon the genuine nature of the faith rather than such deeds as may result. </p> <p> R. K. Harrison </p> <p> <i> [[See]] also </i> <a> Israel </a> </p> <p> <i> Bibliography </i> . G. Bush, <i> [[Notes]] on Genesis </i> ; D. Kidner, <i> Genesis </i> ; K. A. Kitchen, <i> [[Ancient]] [[Orient]] and Old Testament </i> ; F. B. Meyer, <i> Abraham: The [[Obedience]] of [[Faith]] </i> ; C. F. Pfeiffer, <i> The [[Patriarchal]] Age </i> ; A. R. Millard and D. J. Wiseman, <i> [[Essays]] on the Patriarchal Narratives </i> . </p>

<span> [[Genesis]] 11:27 </span> <span> Acts 7:2-4 </span> <span> Genesis 12 </span> <span> Genesis 12:1,2 </span> <span> Hebrews 11:8 </span> <p> [[Abram]] now, with a large household of probably a thousand souls, entered on a migratory life, and dwelt in tents. [[Passing]] along the valley of the Jabbok, in the land of Canaan, he formed his first encampment at [[Sichem]] ( <span> Genesis 12:6 </span> ), in the vale or oak-grove of Moreh, between [[Ebal]] on the north and [[Gerizim]] on the south. [[Here]] he received the great promise, "I will make of thee a great nation," etc. ( <span> Genesis 12:2,3,7 </span> ). This promise comprehended not only temporal but also spiritual blessings. It implied that he was the chosen ancestor of the great [[Deliverer]] whose coming had been long ago predicted ( <span> Genesis 3:15 </span> ). [[Soon]] after this, for some reason not mentioned, he removed his tent to the mountain district between Bethel, then called Luz, and Ai, towns about two miles apart, where he built an altar to "Jehovah." [[He]] again moved into the southern tract of Palestine, called by the Hebrews the Negeb; and was at length, on account of a famine, compelled to go down into Egypt. This took place in the time of the Hyksos, a [[Semitic]] race which now held the [[Egyptians]] in bondage. Here occurred that case of deception on the part of Abram which exposed him to the rebuke of [[Pharaoh]] ( <span> Genesis 12:18 </span> ). [[Sarai]] was restored to him; and Pharaoh loaded him with presents, recommending him to withdraw from the country. He returned to [[Canaan]] richer than when he left it, "in cattle, in silver, and in gold" ( <span> Genesis 12:8 </span> ; <span> 13:2 </span> . [[Compare]] <span> [[Psalm]] 105:13,14 </span> ). The whole party then moved northward, and returned to their previous station near Bethel. Here disputes arose between Lot's shepherds and those of Abram about water and pasturage. Abram generously gave [[Lot]] his choice of the pasture-ground. (Compare 1Corinthians 6:7.) He chose the well-watered plain in which [[Sodom]] was situated, and removed thither; and thus the uncle and nephew were separated. [[Immediately]] after this Abram was cheered by a repetition of the promises already made to him, and then removed to the plain or "oak-grove" of Mamre, which is in Hebron. He finally settled here, pitching his tent under a famous oak or terebinth tree, called "the oak of Mamre" ( <span> Genesis 13:18 </span> ). This was his third resting-place in the land. </p> <p> Some fourteen years before this, while Abram was still in Chaldea, [[Palestine]] had been invaded by Chedorlaomer, [[King]] of Elam, who brought under tribute to him the five cities in the plain to which Lot had removed. This tribute was felt by the inhabitants of these cities to be a heavy burden, and after twelve years they revolted. This brought upon them the vengeance of Chedorlaomer, who had in league with him four other kings. He ravaged the whole country, plundering the towns, and carrying the inhabitants away as slaves. [[Among]] those thus treated was Lot. [[Hearing]] of the disaster that had fallen on his nephew, Abram immediately gathered from his own household a band of 318 armed men, and being joined by the Amoritish chiefs Mamre, Aner, and Eshcol, he pursued after Chedorlaomer, and overtook him near the springs of the Jordan. They attacked and routed his army, and pursued it over the range of [[Anti-Libanus]] as far as to Hobah, near Damascus, and then returned, bringing back all the spoils that had been carried away. [[Returning]] by way of Salem, i.e., Jerusalem, the king of that place, Melchizedek, came forth to meet them with refreshments. To him Abram presented a tenth of the spoils, in recognition of his character as a priest of the most high [[God]] ( <span> Genesis 14:18-20 </span> ). </p> <p> [[In]] a recently-discovered tablet, dated in the reign of the grandfather of [[Amraphel]] ( <span> Genesis 14:1 </span> ), one of the witnesses is called "the Amorite, the son of Abiramu," or Abram. </p> <p> Having returned to his home at Mamre, the promises already made to him by God were repeated and enlarged ( <span> Genesis 13:14 </span> ). "The word of the Lord" (an expression occurring here for the first time) "came to him" (15:1). He now understood better the future that lay before the nation that was to spring from him. Sarai, now seventy-five years old, in her impatience, persuaded Abram to take Hagar, her [[Egyptian]] maid, as a concubine, intending that whatever child might be born should be reckoned as her own. [[Ishmael]] was accordingly thus brought up, and was regarded as the heir of these promises ( <span> Genesis 16 </span> ). When Ishmael was thirteen years old, God again revealed yet more explicitly and fully his gracious purpose; and in token of the sure fulfilment of that purpose the patriarch's name was now changed from Abram to [[Abraham]] ( <span> Genesis 17:4,5 </span> ), and the rite of circumcision was instituted as a sign of the covenant. It was then announced that the heir to these covenant promises would be the son of Sarai, though she was now ninety years old; and it was directed that his name should be Isaac. At the same time, in commemoration of the promises, Sarai's name was changed to Sarah. [[On]] that memorable day of God's thus revealing his design, Abraham and his son Ishmael and all the males of his house were circumcised ( <span> Genesis 17 </span> ). [[Three]] months after this, as Abraham sat in his tent door, he saw three men approaching. They accepted his proffered hospitality, and, seated under an oak-tree, partook of the fare which Abraham and [[Sarah]] provided. [[One]] of the three visitants was none other than the Lord, and the other two were angels in the guise of men. The [[Lord]] renewed on this occasion his promise of a son by Sarah, who was rebuked for her unbelief. Abraham accompanied the three as they proceeded on their journey. The two angels went on toward Sodom; while the Lord tarried behind and talked with Abraham, making known to him the destruction that was about to fall on that guilty city. The patriarch interceded earnestly in behalf of the doomed city. But as not even ten righteous persons were found in it, for whose sake the city would have been spared, the threatened destruction fell upon it; and early next morning Abraham saw the smoke of the fire that consumed it as the "smoke of a furnace" ( <span> Genesis 19:1-28 </span> ). </p> <p> After fifteen years' residence at Mamre, Abraham moved southward, and pitched his tent among the Philistines, near to Gerar. Here occurred that sad instance of prevarication on his part in his relation to [[Abimelech]] the King ( <span> Genesis 20 </span> ). (See <span> Genesis 21:12 </span> ). (See <a> HAGAR </a> ; <a> ISHMAEL </a> .) </p> <p> At this point there is a blank in the patriarch's history of perhaps twenty-five years. These years of peace and happiness were spent at Beer-sheba. The next time we see him his faith is put to a severe test by the command that suddenly came to him to go and offer up Isaac, the heir of all the promises, as a sacrifice on one of the mountains of Moriah. [[His]] faith stood the test ( <span> Hebrews 11:17-19 </span> ). He proceeded in a spirit of unhesitating obedience to carry out the command; and when about to slay his son, whom he had laid on the altar, his uplifted hand was arrested by the angel of Jehovah, and a ram, which was entangled in a thicket near at hand, was seized and offered in his stead. From this circumstance that place was called Jehovah-jireh, i.e., "The Lord will provide." The promises made to Abraham were again confirmed (and this was the last recorded word of God to the patriarch); and he descended the mount with his son, and returned to his home at Beer-sheba ( <span> Genesis 22:19 </span> ), where he resided for some years, and then moved northward to Hebron. </p> <p> Some years after this Sarah died at Hebron, being 127 years old. Abraham acquired now the needful possession of a burying-place, the cave of Machpelah, by purchase from the owner of it, [[Ephron]] the [[Hittite]] ( <span> Genesis 23 </span> ); and there he buried Sarah. His next care was to provide a wife for Isaac, and for this purpose he sent his steward, Eliezer, to [[Haran]] (or Charran, <span> Acts 7:2 </span> ), where his brother [[Nahor]] and his family resided ( <span> Genesis 11:31 </span> ). The result was that Rebekah, the daughter of Nahor's son Bethuel, became the wife of [[Isaac]] ( <span> Genesis 24 </span> ). Abraham then himself took to wife Keturah, who became the mother of six sons, whose descendants were afterwards known as the "children of the east" ( <span> [[Judges]] 6:3 </span> ), and later as "Saracens." At length all his wanderings came to an end. At the age of 175 years, 100 years after he had first entered the land of Canaan, he died, and was buried in the old family burying-place at [[Machpelah]] ( <span> Genesis 25:7-10 </span> ). </p> <p> The history of Abraham made a wide and deep impression on the ancient world, and references to it are interwoven in the religious traditions of almost all [[Eastern]] nations. He is called "the friend of God" ( <span> [[James]] 2:23 </span> ), "faithful Abraham" ( <span> [[Galatians]] 3:9 </span> ), "the father of us all" ( <span> [[Romans]] 4:16 </span> ). </p>

<p> <span> A'braham. </span> <span> (father of a multitude). </span> [[Abraham]] was the son of Terah, and founder of the great [[Hebrew]] nation. (B.C. 1996-1822). [[His]] family, a branch of the descendants of Shem, was settled in [[Ur]] of the Chaldees, beyond the Euphrates, where Abraham was born. [[Terah]] had two other sons, [[Nahor]] and Haran. [[Haran]] died before his father in Ur of the Chaldees, leaving a son, Lot; and Terah, taking with him Abram, with [[Sarai]] his wife and his grandson Lot, emigrated to Haran in Mesopotamia, where he died. </p> <p> [[On]] the death of his father, Abram, then in the 75th year of his age, with Sarai and Lot, pursued his course to the land of Canaan, whither he was directed by divine command, <span> [[Genesis]] 12:5 </span> , when he received the general promise that he should become the founder of a great nation, and that all the families of the earth should be blessed in him. [[He]] passed through the heart of the country by the great highway to Shechem, and pitched his tent beneath the terebinth of Moreh. <span> Genesis 12:6 </span> . [[Here]] he received in vision from <span> [[Jehovah]] </span> the further revelation that this was the land which his descendants should inherit. <span> Genesis 12:7 </span> . </p> <p> The next halting-place of the wanderer was on a mountain between [[Bethel]] and Ai, <span> Genesis 12:8 </span> , but the country was suffering from famine, and [[Abram]] journeyed still southward to the rich corn lands of Egypt. There, fearing that the great beauty of Sarai might tempt the powerful monarch of [[Egypt]] and expose his own life to peril, he arranged that Sarai should represent herself as his sister, which her actual relationship to him, as probably the daughter of his brother Haran, allowed her to do with some semblance of truth. But her beauty was reported to the king, and she was taken into the royal harem. The deception was discovered, and [[Pharaoh]] with some indignation dismissed Abram from the country. <span> Genesis 12:10-20 </span> . </p> <p> He left Egypt with great possessions, and, accompanied by Lot, returned by the south of [[Palestine]] to his former encampment between Bethel and Ai. The increased wealth of the two kinsmen was the ultimate cause of their separation. [[Lot]] chose the fertile plain of the [[Jordan]] near Sodom, while Abram pitched his tent among the groves of Mamre, close to Hebron. <span> Genesis 13:1 </span> . </p> <p> Lot with his family and possessions having been carried away captive by [[Chedorlaomer]] king of Elam, who had invaded Sodom, Abram pursued the conquerors and utterly routed them not far from Damascus. The captives and plunder were all recovered, and Abram was greeted on his return by the king of Sodom, and by [[Melchizedek]] king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who mysteriously appears upon the scene to bless the patriarch and receive from him a tenth of the spoil. <span> Genesis 14:1 </span> . </p> <p> After this, the thrice-repeated promise that his descendants should become a mighty nation and possess the land in which he was a stranger was confirmed with all the solemnity of a religious ceremony. <span> Genesis 15:1 </span> . [[Ten]] years had passed since he had left his father's house, and the fulfillment of the promise was apparently more distant than at first. At the suggestion of Sarai, who despaired of having children of her own, he took as his concubine Hagar, her [[Egyptian]] main, who bore him [[Ishmael]] in the 86th year of his age. <span> Genesis 16:1 </span> . <span> [[See]] </span> <a> Hagar; Ishmael </a> <span> . </span> </p> <p> But this was not the accomplishment of the promise. [[Thirteen]] years elapsed, during which Abram still dwelt in Hebron, when the covenant was renewed, and the rite of circumcision established as its sign. This most important crisis in Abram's life, when he was 99 years old, is marked by the significant change of his name to Abraham, "father of a multitude;" while his wife's from Sarai became Sarah. </p> <p> The promise that [[Sarah]] should have a son was repeated in the remarkable scene described in Genesis 18. [[Three]] men stood before Abraham as he sat in his tent door in the heat of the day. The patriarch, with true [[Eastern]] hospitality, welcomed the strangers, and bade them rest and refresh themselves. The meal ended, they foretold the birth of Isaac, and went on their way to Sodom. Abraham accompanied them, and is represented as an interlocutor in a dialogue with <span> Jehovah </span> , in which he pleaded in vain to avert the vengeance threatened to the devoted cities of the plain. <span> Genesis 18:17-33 </span> . </p> <p> [[In]] remarkable contrast with Abraham's firm faith with regard to the magnificent fortunes of his posterity stand the incident which occurred during his temporary residence among the [[Philistines]] in Gerar, whither he had for some cause removed after the destruction of Sodom. It was almost a repetition of what took place in Egypt a few years before. At length Isaac, the long-looked for child, was born. Sarah's jealousy aroused by the mockery of Ishmael at the "great banquet" which Abram made to celebrate the weaning of her son, <span> Genesis 21:9 </span> demanded that, with his mother Hagar, he should be driven out. <span> Genesis 21:10 </span> . </p> <p> But the severest trial of his faith was yet to come. [[For]] a long period the history is almost silent. At length he receives the strange command to take Isaac, his only son, and offer him for a [[Burnt]] [[Offering]] at an appointed place Abraham hesitated not to obey. His faith, hitherto unshaken, supported him in this final trial, "accounting that [[God]] was able to raise up his son, even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure." <span> Hebrews 11:19 </span> . The sacrifice was stayed by the angel of <span> Jehovah </span> , the promise of spiritual blessing made for the first time, and Abraham with his son returned to Beersheba, and for a time dwelt there. <span> Genesis 22:1 </span> . </p> <p> But we find him after a few years in his original residence at Hebron, for there Sarah died, <span> Genesis 23:2 </span> , and was buried in the cave of Machpelah. The remaining years of Abraham's life are marked by but few incidents. After Isaac's marriage with [[Rebekah]] and his removal to Lahai-roi, Abraham took to wife Keturah, by whom he had six children, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbok and Shuah, who became the ancestors of nomadic tribes inhabiting the countries south and southeast of Palestine. </p> <p> Abraham lived to see the gradual accomplishment of the promise in the birth of his grandchildren [[Jacob]] and Esau, and witnessed their growth to manhood. <span> Genesis 25:26 </span> . At the goodly age of 175, he was "gathered to his people," and laid beside Sarah in the tomb of [[Machpelah]] by his sons [[Isaac]] and Ishmael. <span> Genesis 25:7-10 </span> . </p>