Genealogy Of Abraham's Chart - Abraham's Family Tree

Chart of the Genealogy Of Abraham

Abraham's Family Tree

The Family Tree of Abraham is found in the Book of Genesis along with his life story.

Abraham was originally from the city of Ur of the Chaldeans and, along with his descendants, settled in the land of Canaan. God made a Covenant with him, promising that he would be "a father of many nations" (Genesis 17:4) and He changed Abram's original name to Abraham, which means "father of a multitude" (Genesis 17:5).

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Genesis 17:5 - God said: "No longer shall your name be called Abram (= exalted father), but your name shall be Abraham (= father of a multitude); for I have made you a father of many nations."

The terms of the Covenant between God and Abraham can be summed up as follows:

1. Abraham was required to walk in righteousness and blamelessness before God and to circumcise every male child.
2. God was going to give him a son to continue his line with righteous and blameless men who would uphold and live by the Law of God and from whom the promised Savior would descend; the Covenant would pass on to the faithful generations of all his descendants.

Genesis 17:1-2 - "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him: 'I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless, and I will make My Covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly'."

Genesis 17:10-11 - "This is My Covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between Me and you."

His father Terah, at the age seventy years old, had three sons: Abraham, Nahor and Haran (Genesis 11:26). Terah embarked on a journey from his native land, Ur of the Chaldeans, to the land of Canaan and took some family members with him, leaving behind his son Haran, who had already died, and his other son Nahor, who was very much alive, but did not join them in their endeavor.

Genesis 11:31 - "Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai (her name was later changed to Sarah), his son Abram's wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there."

In the genealogy of Abraham, we also find Lot, Abraham's nephew, who is often mentioned in Scripture; he was the son of Haran, Abraham's brother who passed away prior to him journeying to the Promised Land with his family. When the city of Sodom was destroyed, his wife and his sons in law perished.

He and his two daughters were the only survivors of that catastrophic event and went to dwell in a cave in the mountains near the city of Zoar. In an attempt to preserve the lineage of their father, his two daughters made him drink wine and each conceived a child by their father, while he was under the influence of wine. Thus, Lot was the father of Moab, ancestor of the Moabites, and Ben-Ammi, ancestor of the Ammonites, two neighboring peoples.

Genesis 19:36-38 - "Both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day."

Nahor, Abraham's other brother, was the father of Bethuel (who sired Rebekah, Isaac's wife) and Laban (who sired Leah and Rachel, Jacob's wives).

Abraham's wife Sarah was barren and unable to give him an heir, so he took a concubine, his wife's Egyptian maid Hagar. Abraham's first son Ishmael was born to him and Hagar and twelve princes descended from him. Ishmael is the ancestor of the Ishmaelites, a neighboring nomadic people from whom various Arab peoples trace their descent.

Sarah conceived and bore Isaac, the son of the promise, when she was ninety years old and Abraham one hundred years old. The Israelites trace their descent from him. He was the father of the twins Jacob and Esau with his wife Rebekah, Laban's sister and Bethuel's daughter. Like Sarah, she was barren and later conceived, becoming pregnant with twins.

Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them. God spoke to Rebekah and told her that the older twin (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob), indicating that it was Jacob that God would choose to continue Abraham's line.

Genesis 25:23 - "The Lord said to Rebekah: 'Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger'."

Abraham remarried after the death of his first wife Sarah and Abraham's family tree includes the six sons he had with his second wife Keturah.

Genesis 25:1-4 - "Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah."

The Midianites, often mentioned in Scripture, descended from Midian, who was one of six sons of the patriarch Abraham by his second wife, Keturah. Jethro, Moses' father in law, as well as his daughter Zipporah, Moses' wife, were Midianites of the Kenite clan.

Esau took wives from neighboring nations who followed idolatry and pagan gods and was the father of the Edomites, a neighboring nation of Israel.

Jacob married Laban's daughters Leah and Rachel and became the father of the patriarchs of the 12 Tribes of Israel. Jacob's choice for a wife was Rachel, but Laban, his father in law, tricked him into marrying Leah.

Jacob married Rachel also, but only seven years later. By Leah, he sired six sons and one daughter whose name was Dinah. By Rachel, he sired two sons. By Bilah, Rachel's servant, he sired two sons. By Zilpah, Leah's servant, he sired two sons.

In conclusion, the genealogy of Abraham teaches us that, although his ancestors were from the city of Ur in southern Mesopotamia, he and his descendants were well established in the Levant and in the Arabian Peninsula and when all of these descendants are taken into account, the size of Abraham's family, comprising the Israelites and various peoples of Arabia, is enormous.

For an extended study on the subject of the 12 Tribes of Israel and the Patriarchs and Matriarchs from whom they descended and their significance in Biblical History Click Here.

For an extended study on the blessings that Jacob gave to each of his sons in the Book of Genesis - chapter 49, when he was about to die, and their significance in Biblical History and for us today Click Here.

Bible Pearls

Did You Know That...

The children of Abraham's concubines were sent away by Abraham with their share of the inheritance, even though he was well aware that over time they would not have followed His God.

Genesis 25:6 - "Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east."

Joshua 24:4 - Joshua said to all the people: "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt'."

God's righteous men like Abraham, when they bore children, they gave them their share of the inheritance when they were ready to leave their parents' home. Even if the children were unfaithful to God.

It was the right thing to do for a father to provide financial support for his children to start their life when they were ready to leave the family's nest. And he would do this by dividing the inheritance among the children. Inheriting was not based on whether a child followed God or not, it was the duty of the parent who, as such, had to provide for the children so that they could start their life with dignity away from their father's home.

The only condition for a son to receive his father's inheritance was that he should not be a criminal, in other words, he should not be one who was guilty of major crimes (rape, murder, etc.). But, for all other cases, the inheritance was divided among all the children, whether they followed God or not.

After all, this is the free will that God grants to all living creatures. But disobedience to Him is not a good reason for not receiving inheritance from a father.

In the same manner, has not God Himself always given all men, even pagan men, land and rains so that their crops would flourish and thus they could feed themselves? God Himself gives the pagans their portion, as well. It is certainly not the spiritual inheritance that God's children receive, but He provides for them, too, sometimes even abundantly, just like He does for others.

Acts 14:15-17 - "We preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."

Just like today, right? How many times do we witness situations where children, despite coming from prominent "Christian" families, have been disowned and cut off from the family, sent away with nothing, disinherited, because they just did not want to follow their parents' religion?

How many children are left to fend for themselves, because they make choices against their parents' wishes and depart from the family's "Christianity", or simply because they do not want to embark on the career their parents have already set up for them (see children of doctors or attorneys, for example)?

How many often find themselves trapped by student loans, and later in life, by home mortgages, and by debt increasing every day, more and more, due to rising costs of living, pricy home insurances, medical bills and medical insurances?

Money loans after money loans. They live all their life trying to repay for the money that the financial institutions loaned them, always with a Damocles' sword hanging over their head, instead of just living a worry-free life, all because their parents did not provide for them in the first place when they started their adult life. What are they supposed to do? How are they supposed to live?

And with all this debt that they are buried under, they will feel that they have been abandoned by their parents, the very parents who were supposedly "good Christians" and were supposedly representing God here on earth. How would they feel about God, then?

The Bible does not teach this! God does not teach this by His example nor by the example of the righteous men who walked this earth, who provided for their children, even when they did not follow the God of their fathers.

If you find yourself in this situation, as the son or daughter of parents who did not love you the way your Heavenly Father loves you, the first thing to do is to realize that Father God is not like your earthly father.

Then, you have to act wisely and be responsible with your money and do anything you possibly can to come out of debt. God will see your heart and help you setting up the pathway for you to walk on.

And as for you, you be a different parent to your children, do not model your earthly mother and father, if this is what they did to you, conform to God instead and model Him, so that the heart of your children will turn to you and to God also.

Malachi 4:6 and Luke 1:17 - "He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Chart of the Genealogy Of Abraham

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Bible Pearls

Did you know that...

"It's life", they say, and then again "things will go back to normal". But is it true? Or are some people making a big fuss about nothing?

Things are changing and times are changing, but what are we supposed to do? Look to the future with hope, or run and hide in fear? How can we properly prepare so we are not taken by surprise? Today you can learn what steps to take as a Christian, and prepare physically and spiritually for what is to come.

If you would like to learn about these uncertain times, check out our article on this topic in our Bible Articles section.