How old was Abraham when God promised him a son?

Answer 1

85

Answer 2

Abraham (in his early years he was called Abram) was 75 years old the first time it is recorded he was promised a son - see in The Bible, Genesis chapter 12 verses 1-7 (especially v.4). This was repeated again and again - see the following verses: Genesis 13.14-16; 15.4-6,13-14,18; 17.1-16; 18.10-14; 21.1-5.

A:According to biblical tradition, Abraham was the first of the patriarchs, followed by his son Isaac and then Jacob. Genesis 17:1 says that Abram was 99 when God promised him a son. Renamed Abraham, he was exactly 100 years old and Sarah was 90 when Isaac was born. Isaac, in turn, was exactly 60 years old when Jacob and Esau were born.

These seem improbable ages for them to have their sons, not only because of their extreme ages but because they are such nice, round numbers, implying that Abraham was not really a hundred years old when Isaac was born, nor just one year younger when the promise was made. This can be attributed to the need for the tradents who passed these stories down orally into the first millennium BCE to remember so much detail. They needed names that prompted them as to the related storyline (Abraham - "Father of many") and numbers that were easy to remember.

Answer 3

A:Abraham was the first of the patriarchs, followed by his son Isaac and then Jacob.

Genesis 17:17 says that Sarah was 90 years old when God said to Abraham that she would conceive and bear a son. Abraham was 100 years old when God made this promise, and still 100 years old when Isaac was born.

These seem improbable ages for them to have a son, and with good reason. The Book of Genesis is noteworthy for attributing to people ages - like 90 and 100 - that are easy to remember for oral story-telling, or which are based on the number 17. If we look at the lifespans of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Bible says that:

1. Abraham lived to 175 (5 X 5 X 7)
2. Isaac lived to 180 (6 X 6 X 5)
3. Jacob lived to 147 (7 X 7 X 3)

• Each lifespan involves a perfect square (5, 6, then 7 in a numeric series),
• the third factor also forms a series (7, 5, 3)
• in each case the sum of the factors is 17.

If we look at the lifespan of Sarah, we find that Genesis says she lived to 127 years, which is the sum of these consecutive square numbers plus 17 (127 = 52 +62 + 72 + 17).

Their ages when God promised them a child and their final lifespans are so well-contrived that we should accept that even if Sarah and Abraham were real, historical people, they would not have lived to these great ages, nor would they have had a child at exactly 90 and 100 years old, respectively.

Answer 4

A:According to biblical tradition, Abraham was the first of the patriarchs, followed by his son Isaac and then Jacob. Genesis 17:17 says that Sarah was 90 years old when God said to Abraham that she would conceive and bear a son. Abraham was exactly 100 years old when Isaac was born. Isaac, in turn, was exactly 60 years old when Jacob and Esau were born.

These seem improbable ages for them to have their sons, not only because of their extreme ages but because they are such nice, round numbers, implying that Abraham was not really a hundred years old. This can be attributed to the need for the tradents who passed these stories down orally into the first millennium BCE to remember so much detail. They needed names that prompted them as to the related storyline (Abraham - "Father of many", Sarah - "Princess") and numbers that were easy to remember.

Answer 5

Abraham was 100 years old when God promised him a son, and Sarah was 90 years old at the time.

Answer 6

Sarah was 90 years old when she received the promise. (Genesis 17:15-21 and 21:1-3)

Answer 7

75