The Life of Abraham
Follow Abraham from God's call and promises through his covenant, the birth of Isaac, and the test on Mount Moriah, to the search for a bride for Isaac.
14 chapters · read each one, then take its quiz
Sign in to start this plan and track your progress.
Sign in to start- 1Genesis 12: The Call of Abram
The Lord calls Abram to leave his country for a land he will show him, promising to make him a great nation and bless all families of the earth through him. Abram obeys and journeys to Canaan, but when famine drives him to Egypt he lies that Sarai is his sister.
- 2Genesis 13: Abram and Lot Separate
Returning from Egypt, Abram and Lot have too many flocks to live together, so Abram generously lets Lot choose his land. Lot chooses the well-watered Jordan valley near wicked Sodom, and the Lord promises Abram all the land he can see and offspring as countless as the dust.
- 3Genesis 14: Abram Rescues Lot and Meets Melchizedek
Four kings defeat the kings of Sodom and neighboring cities and carry off Lot. Abram pursues with his trained men, rescues Lot and the captives, and is blessed by Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High. Abram gives him a tenth but refuses Sodom's goods.
- 4Genesis 15: The Covenant with Abram
The Lord promises Abram offspring as numerous as the stars, and Abram believes the Lord, who counts it to him as righteousness. God confirms the land promise with a covenant ceremony, passing between the pieces of the animals as a smoking pot and flaming torch, and foretells Egypt's slavery.
- 5Genesis 16: Hagar and Ishmael
Still childless, Sarai gives her Egyptian servant Hagar to Abram, and Hagar conceives and despises her mistress. Sarai mistreats her, and Hagar flees, but the angel of the Lord finds her in the wilderness, promises her many offspring, and she names the Lord the God who sees me.
- 6Genesis 17: Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision
The Lord renames Abram as Abraham, father of many nations, and establishes an everlasting covenant with him and his offspring, with circumcision as its sign. He renames Sarai as Sarah and promises she will bear a son, Isaac, and Abraham circumcises every male in his household.
- 7Genesis 18: The Three Visitors and Abraham's Plea for Sodom
Abraham welcomes three visitors, and the Lord promises that Sarah will have a son within a year; Sarah laughs, and the Lord asks whether anything is too hard for him. The Lord reveals his plan to judge Sodom, and Abraham pleads for the city if even ten righteous are found.
- 8Genesis 19: The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Two angels visit Lot in Sodom, where the men of the city try to assault them. The angels urge Lot's family to flee, and the Lord rains fire and sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot's wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt, and Lot's daughters later sin with their father.
- 9Genesis 20: Abraham and Abimelech
In Gerar, Abraham again says that Sarah is his sister, and King Abimelech takes her. God warns Abimelech in a dream and keeps him from touching her. Abimelech rebukes Abraham and restores Sarah with gifts, and Abraham prays for the king's household to be healed.
- 10Genesis 21: The Birth of Isaac
The Lord visits Sarah as he promised, and she bears Isaac to Abraham in his old age. At Sarah's demand, Hagar and Ishmael are sent away, but God hears the boy's cry in the wilderness and provides water. Abraham makes a covenant with Abimelech at Beersheba.
- 11Genesis 22: Abraham Offers Isaac
God tests Abraham by commanding him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering on a mountain in Moriah. Abraham obeys, trusting that God will provide, and the angel of the Lord stops his hand. God provides a ram in Isaac's place and swears to bless all nations through Abraham's offspring.
- 12Genesis 23: The Death and Burial of Sarah
Sarah dies at Hebron at the age of one hundred twenty-seven, and Abraham mourns her. Though God had promised him the land, Abraham owns none of it, so he buys the field and cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite at full price as a burial place for Sarah.
- 13Genesis 24: A Bride for Isaac
Abraham sends his servant to his relatives to find a wife for Isaac. At a well, the servant prays for a sign, and Rebekah appears and fulfills it by watering his camels. Her family agrees that the matter is from the Lord, and Rebekah willingly goes to marry Isaac.
- 14Genesis 25: Esau Sells His Birthright
Abraham dies and is buried by Isaac and Ishmael, whose descendants are listed. Rebekah conceives twins after Isaac prays, and the Lord tells her the firstborn twin will be subject to the younger. Esau is born first, and later he despises his birthright and sells it to Jacob for a bowl of stew.