Abraham

===Origins and calling===
[[File:Abraham's Journey (en).svg|thumb|Abraham's Journey to Canaan according to the Book of Genesis.]]
[[Terah]], the ninth in descent from [[Noah]], was the father of Abram, [[Nahor, son of Terah|Nahor]], [[Haran]] ({{lang-he|הָרָן}} ''Hārān'') and [[Sarah]].<ref>Freedman, Meyers & Beck. ''Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible'' {{ISBN|978-0-8028-2400-4}}, 2000, p. 551 and {{bibleverse|Genesis|20:12|niv}}</ref> Haran was the father of [[Lot (Bible)|Lot]], who was Abram's nephew; the [[Abraham's family tree|family]] lived in [[Ur of the Chaldees]]. Haran died there. Abram married [[Sarah|Sarah (Sarai)]]. Terah, Abram, Sarai, and Lot departed for [[Canaan]], but settled in a place named [[Haran (biblical place)|Haran]] ({{lang-he|חָרָן}} ''Ḥārān''), where Terah died at the age of 205.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3261014|title=The Chronology of the Pentateuch: A Comparison of the MT and LXX|author=Larsson, Gerhard|year=1983|journal=Journal of Biblical Literature|volume=102|issue=3|pages=401–409|via=JSTOR|doi=10.2307/3261014|jstor=3261014 }}</ref>

God had told Abram to leave his country and kindred and go to a land that he would show him, and promised to make of him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, bless them that bless him, and curse them who may curse him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and the substance and souls that they had acquired, and traveled to [[Shechem]] in Canaan.<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|12:4–6|niv}}</ref>
Then he pitched his tent in the east of [[Bethel]], and built an altar which was between Bethel and [[Ai (Canaan)|Ai]].