Page 117 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol I - Abraham to Coal

Abraham
Absolutism, European
Adolescence
Africa
Africa, Colonial
Africa, Postcolonial
African Religions
African Union
African-American and Caribbean
Religions
Afro-Eurasia
Age Stratification
Agricultural Societies
AIDS
Airplane
Akbar
Aksum
Alchemy Abraham
Alcohol
Alexander the Great (2nd millennium bce)
al-Khwarizmi Hebrew patriarch and leader
al-Razi
American Empire
Andean States ccording to the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and
Animism AQuran as well as their respective interpretive litera-
Anthropology tures, Abraham is the first human to realize and act out
Anthroposphere the divine will. Although foundational figures appear in
Apartheid in South Africa
Arab Caliphates literatures such as the Gilgamesh Epic that are more
Arab League ancient than the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), these
Archaeology have been forgotten to history and only rediscovered
Architecture
Aristotle through archaeology and the deciphering of dead lan-
Art—Africa guages. Abraham first appears in the book of Genesis
Art—Ancient Greece and Rome and serves as the original human to affirm monotheism
Art—Central Asia and to act on that affirmation.The symbolic meaning and
Art—East Asia
Art—Europe significance of Abraham differs among the three great
Art—Native North America monotheistic religious systems.
Art—Overview Abraham’s symbolic importance is first established in
Art—Russia Genesis, where in biblical religion he epitomizes obedi-
Art—South Asia
Art—Southeast Asia ence to the divine will. He obeys God’s commands to
Art—West Asia leave his ancestral home for a foreign land (Genesis 12),
Art, Paleolithic circumcise himself and his male offspring as part of
Asia
Asian Migrations God’s covenant (Genesis 17), exile his eldest son Ishmael
Asoka (Genesis 21), and finally, in his greatest act of obedience,
Association of Southeast Asian Nations raise up Isaac, his only remaining child, as a burnt offer-
Assyrian Empire ing (Genesis 22). In return for his obedience, God prom-
Augustine, St.
Aurangzeb ises through the divine covenant to provide Abraham
Austro-Hungarian Empire with a multitude of offspring and a land in which his
Automobile progeny will live.
Aztec Empire
In the Christian Bible (New Testament),Abraham’s sig-
nificance lies in his unwavering faith. In Romans 4,