Abraham's Family Tree

Although Abraham's forefathers were from southern Mesopotamia (in present-day Iraq) according to the biblical narrative, their deity Yahweh led Abraham on a journey to the land of Canaan, which he promised to his children.

The genealogy of Abraham appears in Genesis 5, Genesis 10:1–7, 20, 22–23, 31–33, and Genesis 11. The documentary hypothesis attributes these genealogies to the Priestly source.

Abraham and Sarah prospered materially but they had no children. Abram thought to leave his estate to a trusted servant, but God promised him a son and heir. When he was 86 years old, Sarai suggested and Abram agreed that a practical way to have a child was through Sarai’s servant Hagar. Hagar conceived right away and in time Ishmael was born. This situation brought strife rather than happiness between Hagar and Sarai. Nevertheless, God saw Hagar’s suffering and promised that although this was not the child promised to Abram, he would nevertheless make Ishmael’s descendants into a great nation also.

In Genesis 17, "Almighty God" changed Abram’s name to Abraham, for he would be a father of many nations. In addition, his wife Sarai's name was changed to Sarah, for she would be a mother of nations. Three visitors came to Abraham and said that he would have a son. Sarah believed she was too old to have a child and laughed. Yet she did conceive (Genesis 21:1-7) and had a baby named Isaac. After the death of his mother, Sarah, Isaac married Rebekah. Abraham then married Keturah, who bore him six more sons – Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah.

Family tree

The following is a family tree^{[dubious – discuss]} for the descendants of the line of Noah's son Shem, through Abraham to Jacob and his sons. Dashed lines are marriage connections.

Not all individuals in this portion of the Bible are given names. For example, one English translation of the Bible states in Genesis 11:13 that "After the birth of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and begot sons and daughters." The previous line (11:12) only clarifies the name of one child, stating that at 35-years-old, "Arcachshad . . . begot Shelah." Some other children, such as Cainan, are only described in later translations that are not considered part of the original, canonical text of the Hebrew Bible.

The family members and descendants of Abraham are called aal-Ibrahim, figuratively "The (people of) Abraham".

The Quran says:

"… but surely, We had given the 'Family of Abraham'—the Writings and the Wisdom—and conferred to them a Kingdom of magnificence." ⁠—Sūrat an-Nisā' 4, āyāt 54; al-Qur'ān.