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Abraham

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Patriarch of the Israelites, known for his faith and covenant with God

Detailed Definition
Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac demonstrated ultimate faith, earning him the title “father of many nations.” In poetry, he represents obedience, covenant, and the founding of monotheistic tradition.
Example
Example in poetry:
In John Milton’s "Paradise Lost," Abraham is cited as a model of faith who obeyed God’s command to sacrifice Isaac; In Kahlil Gibran’s "The Prophet," Abraham symbolizes the fatherly devotion that transcends earthly logic; In Robert Frost’s “The Death of the Hired Man,” Abraham’s hospitality is alluded to as a moral ideal; In W.H. Auden’s "For the Time Being," Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac illustrates the paradox of divine obedience; In Emily Dickinson’s poem “Abraham to kill him,” the speaker reflects on the emotional weight of divine testing; In T.S. Eliot’s "Ash-Wednesday," Abraham represents the archetype of spiritual surrender.
Additional Notes
Abraham is a foundational patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, renowned for his faith and obedience to God, especially in the binding of Isaac (Genesis 22); poets invoke Abraham to explore themes of faith, covenant, sacrifice, and divine testing—his near-sacrifice of Isaac is a powerful typological prefiguration of Christ’s crucifixion in Christian poetics, and his journey from Ur symbolizes spiritual pilgrimage and trust in the unknown.
Also Known As
Father of Nations Patriarch of Faith Friend of God Abram
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