Who are Abraham and the Patriarchs? What is their significance within Judaism?

Research findings by Laura Shulman

The Patriarchs (fathers) – Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob (aka “Israel”) – are the forefathers of the Hebrew people and, thus, of Jewish ancestry and commonly considered the “founders” of Judaism. Though, technically, it can be debated that they are “founders” of the religion in any kind of intentional way, Judaism certainly traces its spiritual heritage back almost 4000 years to this family. Jews and Judaism can, thus, be considered the religion of Abraham and his descendants and all Jews can be seen as one extended family (thus Judaism would be considered an “ethnic” religion – the religion of the Hebrew people). To this day, a traditional Sabbath prayer acknowledges the “God of our fathers; God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

The story of the Patriarchs is told in the book of Genesis (“beginning”), the first book of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament): 

Abraham (originally Abram): considered by Jews, Christians and Muslims to be the first monotheist. Known for his faith in following one God when, in his day and culture, many gods were worshiped with idols (statues). He was “chosen” by a call from God to be the “father of a great nation” and came to be known as a “Hebrew” (origin unclear). God made a covenant (promise) with Abraham and commanded him to mark this covenant with a ritual circumcision of himself, his sons and all the males of his household (Gen. 17). This covenant and the symbolic circumcision have been passed down ever since from father to son amongst the descendants of Abraham (i.e., the Hebrew people) (both Jews and Muslims perform ritual circumcision).

Note of interest: Rich (Judaism 101) states that Abraham was born 1948 years after the creation of Adam (by Biblical reckoning). The modern state of Israel had its “birth” 1948 years after the birth of Jesus (the “second Adam”). I’m not quite sure what to make of this intriguing coincidence(?).

Isaac: best known for the Biblical account of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his beloved son at the command of God (at the last moment, God provided a ram as a substitute for the human sacrifice) (Gen. 22:1-19)

Jacob: Although the second of the two sons, through deception, Jacob inherited the birthright and blessing of his father to carry on the spiritual legacy originating with Abraham (Gen. 27:1-46). Following a nighttime struggle with God, God gave Jacob a new name: Israel (Gen. 32:24-32). Thus to this day, the Hebrew people (the Jews), the descendents of Jacob/Israel, are known as “Israelites” and their ancestral homeland (the land to which Abraham traveled, under the guidance of God, and in which Isaac and Jacob were born and lived) is called the “Land of Israel.”

Note of interest: once again the second son is blessed over the first, as Jacob blesses Ephraim, Joseph’s second son (Gen. 48:11-20)

Note of interest: In an earlier incident (Gen. 4) Adam’s first son, Cain, kills his younger brother (Adam’s second son), Abel. Then a new “second” son was born (Seth) through whom the Biblical lineage is followed while the older brother, Cain, is exiled for his misdeed. Are the later first sons being slighted for this misdeed of the first first son?

Of what significance are the Patriarchs (or just Abraham) within Christian and Muslim traditions?

The New Testament and Christians, having their religion originating amongst the Jews, also look to the stories of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), including those in Genesis relating the story of the family of Abraham. For Christians, Abraham is a model of faith. Paul wrote of Abraham as such a model of faith (Rom. 4) even in absence of the later Law of Moses (Torah). As Abraham was chosen by God without benefit of obedience to Jewish law, so too, Paul notes (Gal. 3), Christians can be accepted by God without having to maintain the Jewish religious laws. Hebrews 11:8-22 also discusses the faith of the Patriarchs as a model for Christian faith. The covenant that God made with Abraham and his descendents, Christians consider to have passed down to them as well (Gal. 3:29), as the continuation and culmination of the Jewish religion and relationship with God.

The Quran and Muslims consider Abraham to be their father as well, through his first son Ishmael (mother Hagar). Ishmael was also granted a blessing by God to be made a nation (Gen. 21:13). The Arab peoples descended from Ishmael and it is from amongst them, in the 6th century CE, that the prophet Muhammad arose to bring forth a new revelation from the God of Abraham - the Quran - upon which the religion of Islam is based, reaffirming the message of God given through Abraham. Muslims consider Abraham to be one of the great prophets before Muhammad. Quran states (S. 3:65-68) that Abraham was neither Jew (as he lived before Torah) nor Christian (as he lived before Christ) but Abraham was a true muslim as his faith and submission (islam) to God are considered the epitome of Islam in a generic sense. The Quran relates some of the same stories about Abraham and his family that we find in the Bible: the binding of Ishmael (not Isaac) (S. 37:102-109), the banishing of Hagar and Ishmael from Abraham’s household. In addition, the Quran and Islam tell us that Abraham visited with Ishmael in Arabia, together building a shrine (the Ka’aba) to worship God. To this day, this site remains the center of Islam and the prime place for Muslim pilgrimage (the Hajj).

Conclusion:
All three religions are considered the “Abrahamic traditions” as they each look back to Abraham as a spiritual, if not biological father. We can thus say that these three are “brother” or “cousin” religions. They all consider that the God they worship, follow and obey is the “God of Abraham” even if they often deny this claim of each other. Chalk it up to sibling rivalry (as we have seen, such rivalry between brothers has been with us from the beginning as one tended to usurp the birthright of the other).

Was there really an Abraham; was there an Isaac; was there a Jacob? 
McCarter and Hendel say, in their review of archaeological sources, that while the existence of Abraham as an historical individual “is not historically implausible” (ancient place names seem to relate to the names of Abram and his forefathers noted in Genesis 11:22-26), it cannot be determined with certainty that he actually did exist. In the words of Rabbi Harold Kushner (author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People): “It doesn’t matter. Functionally, there was. It doesn’t matter because ultimately it’s an unanswerable question. Functionally these people have shaped our history. We are who we are as Jews and as Christians [and Muslims] because the story of a man named Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob… these stories have come down to us; they have shaped us.”

Resources:

Books of potential interest (not used in research)