Hot answers tagged abraham
10
Like my answer here, you need to keep the chronology right. There is no levitical law at the time of Abraham.
Thus, even if he did marry his sister, remember that he was breaking no covenantal restriction on doing so. As I said in that answer, you don't convict someone of a crime ex post facto.
8
Hebrews 11 explains that this was a test of faith: (KJV)
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that
had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead;
from whence also he ...
8
Let's lay some foundation from the start. (All scripture NIV)
God and Abraham had quite the relationship. God promised Abraham a son who would become a great nation (Genesis 17:15) even when he was 100 years old and his wife was 90. Abraham believed God and God provided him a son who was named Isaac (Genesis 21:2).
Isaac was the son God has promised ...
7
The best way to find this estimate is to take known historical dates and work backwards from there using dates and durations in the Bible.
The Mesha Stele has been dated to about 840-850 BCE, and seems to pretty clearly describe the time of Omri. If we assume it was written when the events happened, not long afterwards, we can use it to work backwards. ...
6
Marrying a close relative was not forbidden at that time. The old question of "Where did Cain get his wife?" is answered by saying that he married a sister of his. It was not immoral at that time, since there was no law forbidding it.
Leviticus is where we find such laws, which was written over 400 years after the time of Abraham. We now understand that ...
6
Jesus Himself said Abraham was in heaven, in the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus:
Luke 16:19-31 NIV1984 (I have highlighted the six references to Abraham.)
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell ...
6
The answer is yes. As well as the Old Testament accounts of Abraham's life he is also mentioned a few times in the New Testament - namely in Romans 4, Galations 3 and Hebrews 11.
It's in the first two of those that we find our answer:
What does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited
to him as righteousness.
(Romans 4:3, NIV)
...
5
Abram to Abraham
God had promised Abram that he would have a son and that it would be through his wife Sarai. Abram's name means "Exalted Father", which may have proven to be an embarrassment as he aged without children. This fits with God's promise, but he didn't receive that name from God but from his father.
God gives him the name "Abraham", which ...
5
Scripture gives this answer:
Genesis 18:18-19 King James Version (KJV)
18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation,
and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household
after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and
...
5
It does not explicitly state such, but it is possible to logically deduce it.
Jesus himself said that no one had ever seen the Father (John 6:46). In addition, Jesus said, "Before Avraham was, I am" (John 8:58).
Technically, however, Avraham wouldn't have seen Yeshu'a of Nazareth, the incarnate Word of God. Rather, he would have seen the pre-incarnate ...
5
As the word 'celebrate' implies satisfaction or joy, I don't think we can properly say the Devil 'celebrates' in any thing that he falsely perceives as accomplishing his hate. As the Devil in enraged by cruel ambitions, he can find no real satisfaction or joy. Rather all his efforts would be understood better as an energetic and powerful 'writhing in agony.' ...
5
No
Having multiple wives was not a sin back then, as it is not a sin now (outside if it being illegal).
History
At the time of Abraham, David, Solomon, and Jesus, polygamy was part of the culture.
Even in Jesus' times, polygamy was allowed and part of the customs of the Israeli people. The historian Josephus noted that Herod was allowed to have multiple ...
4
There were specific instructions for the king of Israel to not acquire many wives for himself, since that could have the effect of turning his heart away from the Lord. This text predates the first king of Israel, so I would say that David and Solomon should have known that this was forbidden.
(Note: the Bible did not actually forbid them from polygamy, ...
4
Looking at the opening verse you've quoted "The LORD appeared...", where the proper name of God, YHWH, is used, seems to set the context as being a Christophany. That it then goes on to say Abraham "saw three men", is not discounting that - it's quite common for angelic apparitions and Christophanies to be described in human terms, since they often ...
4
While the sacrifice of another human is obviously not part of God's plan, this was a test of faith for Abraham. Hebrews clarifies this action
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." He ...
4
Sigh... the reference manuals and official sources say it so much better than do I... So here's some quotes and links.
From the Introductory Note of the Pearl of Great Price:
The Book of Abraham. A translation from some Egyptian papyri that came
into the hands of Joseph Smith in 1835, containing writings of the
patriarch Abraham. The translation was ...
3
There's no contradiction.
Keep in mind that, while God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, he had absolutely no intention of letting him go through with it. He did it in order to show that he would provide a (quite literal) scapegoat. He would provide a replacement for Isaac on the altar. This was meant as something to predict what Christ would do on the ...
3
In the early 19th century, there was a major popular interest in egyptology which led to the raiding of egyption tombs with their contents paraded in exhibitions across Europe and the United States. It was during this time that an aquantaince of Joseph Smith purchased some papyri from such traveling exhibition and presented it to him.
Joseph Smith ...
2
During Abraham's time the law hadn't been written against a man taking his father's daughter as his wife. After the law was written in:
Deuteronomy 27:22 (NKJV)
22 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
it forbade such a practice even ...
2
I, along with others, have done studies on the chronology of the Old Testament genealogies - which puts Abraham being born ~1950 years after Adam, and about 300 years after the flood.
Given that the earth is approximately 6000 years old, that makes Abraham's birth about 2050BC.
2
The problem here is that chronology matters.
In Abraham's time, child sacrifice was common. Reprehensible, but common. As God had never delivered the terms of the covenant to Abraham, he would not have been bound by them. For lack of a better way of explaining it, Abraham shouldn't have known any better - why wouldn't sacrificing your child be okay? ...
1
In short: no.
The difference between Abraham's situation and the situation we live in today, is that we live in a world where God's law has already been given to us, whereas Abraham lived in a world where God's law had not already been given.
The key here has to do with the fact that God is not going to ask us to do something that he's already explicitly ...
1
Here's another possible interpretation. It is impossible for a man to be literally blameless-- I know I myself cannot go a few hours (milliseconds) without sinning.
Perhaps the setup goes like this, taking into consideration what we know about humans after the Fall:
"walk with me" -- Hang out with God, be one of God's buddies, have faith
"and be ...
1
God makes His first announcement of Promise to Abraham in the following verse.
Gen: 12:2 Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth ...
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