Chronological timeline of texts tagged with Abraham, Friend of God
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Although the book of Genesis never calls Abraham the friend of God, two later passages in the Hebrew Bible describe him as such, and from this the title grew into a tradition about Abraham throughout Second Temple Judaism, and into Christian and Rabbinic traditions. Jewish writers used it to describe his closeness to God and the faithfulness he showed under testing, and many connected this to his willingness to offer Isaac.
Note: Dates shown in this timeline are approximate and based on scholarly estimates.
Back to Tag7th-5th Centuries B.C.E.
Isaiah 41:8
Hebrew Bible
6 They help one another; one says to the other, ‘Be strong!’ 7 The craftsman encourages the metalsmith, the one who wields the hammer encourages the one who pounds on the anvil. He says of the welding, ‘It is good’18, and nails it down so it won’t fall over. 8 “You, my servant Israel, Jacob, whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend, 9 you whom I am bringing back from the earth’s extremities and have summoned from the remote regions—I told you, ‘You are my servant.’I have chosen you and not rejected you. 10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you! Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! I strengthen you—yes, I help you—yes, I uphold you with my victorious right hand!
4th Century B.C.E.
2 Chronicles 20:7
Hebrew Bible
5 Jehoshaphat stood before the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the Lord’s temple, in front of the new courtyard. 6 He prayed: “O Lord God of our ancestors, you are the God who lives in heaven and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you. 7 Our God, you drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it as a permanent possession to the descendants of your friend Abraham. 8 They settled down in it and built in it a temple to honor you, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes on us in the form of military attack, judgment, plague, or famine, we will stand in front of this temple before you, for you are present in this temple. We will cry out to you for help in our distress, so that you will hear and deliver us.’
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 19:9
Pseudepigrapha
8 This was the tenth test by which Abraham was tried, and he was found to be faithful and patient in spirit. 9 He said nothing about the promise of the land which said that the Lord would give it to him and his descendants after him. He pleaded for a place there to bury his dead because he was found to be faithful and was recorded on the heavenly tablets as the friend of the Lord. 10 In its fourth year [2027] he took a wife for his son Isaac. Her name was Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel (the son of Abraham's brother Nahor), the sister of Laban — Bethuel was their father — the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.
70-150 C.E.
Apocalypse of Abraham 10:5
Pseudepigrapha
4 And the angel whom he sent to me in the likeness of a man came, and he took me by my right hand and stood me on my feet. 5 And he said to me, “Stand up, Abraham, the friend of God who has loved you, let human trembling not enfold you. 6 For behold, I am sent to you to strengthen you and to bless you in the name of God, the creator of heavenly and earthly things, who has loved you.
100 C.E.
Testament of Abraham 1:3
Pseudepigrapha
2 Even upon him, however, there came the common, inexorable, bitter lot of death, and the uncertain end of life. Therefore the Lord God, summoning his archangel Michael, said to him: Go down, chief-captain Michael, to Abraham and speak to him concerning his death, that he may set his affairs in order, for I have blessed him as the stars of heaven, and as the sand by the sea-shore, and he is in abundance of long life and many possessions, and is becoming exceeding rich. 3 Beyond all men, moreover, he is righteous in every goodness, hospitable and loving to the end of his life; but go, archangel Michael, to Abraham, my beloved friend, and announce to him his death and assure him thus: You shall at this time depart from this vain world, and shall quit the body, and go to your own Lord among the good.
20-50 C.E.
Philo On Abraham 273
Classical
272 For in real truth the wise man is the first man in the human race, being what a pilot is in a ship, a governor in a city, a general of war, the soul in the body, or the mind in the soul; or again, what the heaven is in the world, and what God is in the heaven. 273 And God, admiring this man for his faith (pistis) in him, giving him a pledge (pistis) in return, namely, a confirmation by an oath of the gifts which he had promised him; no longer conversing with him as God might with man, but as one friend with another. For he says, "By myself have I Sworn," by him that is whose word is an oath, in order that Abraham's mind may be established still more firmly and immoveably than before. 274 Let the virtuous man both be and be called the younger and the last, since he only pursues such objects as may produce revolution and as are placed in the lowest rank.
80-90 C.E.
James 2:23
New Testament
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way?
90-100 C.E.
1 Clement 10:1
Early Christian
1 Abraham, who was called the ‘friend,’ was found faithful because he obeyed the words of God. 2 Through obedience, he left his land, his kindred, and his father’s house, so that by leaving a small land, a weak kindred, and a humble home, he might inherit the promises of God. 3 For He said to him, ‘Go forth from your land, from your kindred, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and magnify your name, and you shall be blessed. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you, and through you, all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed.’ 4 And again, when he was separated from Lot, God said to him, ‘Look up with your eyes and behold—from where you are—to the north, the south, the east, and the west; for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your descendants forever.’
135 C.E.
Mekhilta d'Rabbi Ishmael 22:20
Rabbinic
Now who is greater? One who loves the King or one whom the King loves? Certainly, one whom the King loves. Beloved are the strangers, for by every epithet that Israel is called, the strangers are called. Israelites are called "servants," as it is written (Leviticus 25:55) "For unto Me the children of Israel are servants." And the strangers are called "servants," as it is written (Isaiah 56:6) "… to love the name of the L rd and to be servants unto Him." Israelites are called "ministers," as it is written (Ibid. 6:6) "And you, 'priests of the L rd' shall you be called; 'ministers of our G d' will it be said of you." And the strangers are called "ministers," as it is written (Ibid. 56:6) "… and the strangers who join the L rd to minister unto Him." Israelites are called "lovers," as it is written (Ibid. 41:8) "the seed of Abraham, My lover." And the strangers are called "lovers" (i.e., beloved), as it is written (Devarim 10:18) "And He loves the stranger." "Covenant" is written of Israel, viz. (Genesis 17:13) "And My covenant (i.e., circumcision) shall be in your flesh." And it is also written of strangers, viz. (Isaiah 56:4) "and they hold fast to My covenant."
200 C.E.
Sifre Deuteronomy 32
Rabbinic
R. Meir says: It is written: "And you shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart." Love him with all your heart, as did Abraham our father, as it is written (Isaiah 41:2) "Avraham, My lover," and (Nechemiah 9:8) "and You found his heart faithful before You."
450-550 C.E.
Sotah 31a
Rabbinic
It is taught in a baraita (Tosefta 6:1) that Rabbi Meir says: It is stated with regard to Job that he was “God-fearing” (Job 1:1), and it is stated with regard to Abraham that he was “God-fearing” (Genesis 22:12). Just as the description “God-fearing,” which is stated with regard to Abraham, is referring to Abraham’s fearing God out of love, so too, the description “God-fearing” that is stated with regard to Job indicates that Job feared God out of love. The Gemara asks: And with regard to Abraham himself, from where do we derive that he acted out of a sense of love? As it is written: “The offspring of Abraham who loved Me” (Isaiah 41:8). The Gemara asks: What difference is there between one who performs mitzvot out of love and one who performs mitzvot out of fear? The Gemara answers: There is that which is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: Greater is the one who performs mitzvot out of love than the one who performs mitzvot out of fear, as with regard to this one who acts out of fear, his merits endure for one thousand generations, and with regard to that one who serves God out of love, his merits endure for two thousand generations.