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1For the divisions of the doorkeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. 2Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, 3Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, and Eliehoenai the seventh. 4Obed-Edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, 5Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, and Peullethai the eighth; for God blessed him. 6Sons were also born to Shemaiah his son, who ruled over the house of their father; for they were mighty men of valor. 7The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose relatives were valiant men, Elihu, and Semachiah. 8All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom with their sons and their brothers, able men in strength for the service: sixty-two of Obed-Edom. 9Meshelemiah had sons and brothers, eighteen valiant men. 10Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him chief), 11Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth. All the sons and brothers of Hosah were thirteen.

12Of these were the divisions of the doorkeepers, even of the chief men, having offices like their brothers, to minister in Yahweh’s house. 13They cast lots, the small as well as the great, according to their fathers’ houses, for every gate. 14The lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counselor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward. 15To Obed-Edom southward; and to his sons the storehouse. 16To Shuppim and Hosah westward, by the gate of Shallecheth, at the causeway that goes up, watchman opposite watchman. 17Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and for the storehouse two and two. 18For Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar. 19These were the divisions of the doorkeepers; of the sons of the Korahites, and of the sons of Merari.

20Of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of God’s house and over the treasures of the dedicated things. 21The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of the fathers’ households belonging to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehieli. 22The sons of Jehieli: Zetham, and Joel his brother, over the treasures of Yahweh’s house. 23Of the Amramites, of the Izharites, of the Hebronites, of the Uzzielites: 24Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was ruler over the treasuries. 25His brothers: of Eliezer, Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomoth his son. 26This Shelomoth and his brothers were over all the treasuries of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the heads of the fathers’ households, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated. 27They dedicated some of the plunder won in battles to repair Yahweh’s house. 28All that Samuel the seer, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated, whoever had dedicated anything, it was under the hand of Shelomoth and of his brothers.

29Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were appointed to the outward business over Israel, for officers and judges. 30Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brothers, one thousand seven hundred men of valor, had the oversight of Israel beyond the Jordan westward, for all the business of Yahweh and for the service of the king. 31Of the Hebronites, Jerijah was the chief of the Hebronites, according to their generations by fathers’ households. They were sought for in the fortieth year of the reign of David, and mighty men of valor were found among them at Jazer of Gilead. 32His relatives, men of valor, were two thousand seven hundred, heads of fathers’ households, whom King David made overseers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites, for every matter pertaining to God and for the affairs of the king.

Person

Abraham

Also called Abram
Lived
1997 BC – 1821 BC (approximate)
Born
Ur of the Chaldees
Father Terah
Spouse HagarKeturahSarah
Children Ishmael (Son of Hagar)MedanMidianZimranShuahJokshanIshbakIsaac
Siblings Haran (brother of Abraham)Nahor (brother of Abraham)
 Biography | Hershel Wayne House

The man Abram appears suddenly on the scene in the book of Genesis. He was born in the area around the modern Persian Gulf at Ur of the Chaldeans. According to Genesis 11:26, 27, his father was Terah (Gen 11:26, 27), and married the daughter of his father by someone other than his own mother (Gen 11:29). After being visited by the true God, who called him to leave his home in Ur and go to a place that God would lead him (Gen 12:1-3; Josh 24:3; Neh 9:7; Isa 51:2; Acts 7:2, 3),  he left his home in Ur, along with his father Terah, his wife, and other relatives, and moved to Haran (Gen 31; Neh 9:7; Acts 7:4). After residing in Haran for a period of time, Abram then moved to Canaan (Gen 12:4-6; Acts 7:4).

When Abram was initially called by God, God told him that the land to which he was being led would be given land from the river Euphrates, which includes the land Canaan (Gen 21:1, 7; 15:7-21; Ezek 33:24). Upon coming to Canaan, Abram moved to Bethel (house of God) (Gen 12:8), near the location of Ai, conquered later by Joshua. Between these cities, Abram and Lot looked toward the city of Sodom and the cities of the plain. 

Due to a famine in Canaan, Abram went to Egypt, where he revealed some weakness in his character. First, God had given Abram a promise of the land from which he left to go to Egypt, but he failed to trust in God's care for him and his family. Second, upon arriving in Egypt he identified Sarai as his sister, rather than his wife, which in one way was accurate since she was the daughter of Terah, the father of Abram, but his subterfuge caused a serious problem, in that Abram's wife was apparently attractive so he was taken into the home of the Pharaoh, who provided much wealth to Abram (Gen 12:10-20; 26:1).

Despite all of this, Abraham was chosen by God to be the father of many nations (Gen 12:3). We discover in Genesis 15 that the covenant he made with Abraham was unilateral and unconditional. His success would be based on the work of God.

Short Outline of Abraham's Life

Biblical verses that deal with Abraham, the Father of Nations

Copyright © 2026 Hershel Wayne House. All rights reserved.
 Biography | Hershel Wayne House

We first encounter Abraham (father of many nations) as Abram (great father) in Genesis 11:26-31. He was the son of Terah, brother of Nahor and Haran, and uncle of Lot. Abram's brother Haran died while Abram was still in Ur of the Chaldees (Gen 11:28), where he also married Sarai, his half-sister. We discover toward the end of Genesis 11 that his father Terah left Ur, and went to the land of Canaan, via a city named Haran, where Terah died.

The story of Abraham becomes important in chapter 12, in which we are introduced to important biblical characters, locations, and events that set the stage for the remainder of the Bible. Yahweh came to Abram and commanded him to go to a land that He would show him. In this passage, Yahweh sets forth a unilateral and unconditional covenant, in which He promised to make from him a great nation, make his name great, and through him bless all of the families of the earth.1

"Abraham (Abram) was first of the patriarchs, father of Isaac and Ishmael, grandfather of Jacob and the traditional ancestor of the Jewish people. Abraham (originally Abram, which means "exalted father") came from Ur in Mesopotamia. His father, Terah, took him (with his wife, Sarah, and his nephew, Lot) to Haran. God called Abraham to leave this new home and to find another home elsewhere in Canaan. After a brief stay in Egypt, Abraham settled near Hebron where he became involved in a local political quarrel when Lot was taken prisoner by an alliance of four eastern chieftains. Abraham launched a successful attack against this confederacy and on his victorious return encountered the mysterious Melchizedek, king of Salem, to whom he gave a tenth of all the spoil he had taken in the battle.

For many years of their marriage, he and Sarah were childless, but God assured Abraham that he would eventually become the father of a great nation. Sarah disbelieved and persuaded Abraham to beget a child by her maid, Hagar, who bore him his first son, Ishmael. When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, God appeared to him, and instituted with him a covenant of circumcision, giving him the new name of Abraham (meaning "father of a multitude") and told him that a son, to be named Isaac was shortly to be born to Sarah. When the boy was in his childhood, God ordered Abraham to take him up to a mountain in the land of Moriah and offer him up as a sacrificial victim. Abraham prepared to do so, but was prevented at the last moment from carrying out the sacrifice, and told that he would be blessed for his faithfulness in being ready to offer up his son.

When Sarah died Abraham bought the plot of ground (the field of Ephron in Machpelah) that became the burial place for many generations of his descendants. He subsequently made arrangements for the marriage of Isaac, and took another wife, Keturah, who bore him Zimran, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. At the age of one hundred and seventy five, Abraham died and was buried in Machpelah.

The principal narrative of the part of Genesis dealing with Abraham's history is interrupted in various places by other stories involving the patriarch. These include the parallel stories of his sojourns in Egypt and in Gerar. On both occasions Abraham lied about his relations with Sarah, jeopardising the fulfilment of God's promise (as both Pharaoh and Abimelech intended to take Sarah for themselves), while protecting himself. Both times God intervened to save him from the consequences of his deception. In another story we read of Abraham's intercession on behalf of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed for their wickedness."2

  1. See Genesis 12:1 for an explanation of God's covenant with Abraham. ↩︎

  2. Based on the website Mini-Biografias de Personajes Biblicos Web de Recursos Cristianos) (trans. Mini-Biographies of Biblical Characters, Christian Resources Web). ↩︎

Copyright © 2026 Hershel Wayne House. All rights reserved.
Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.