The Story of Abraham and Sarah

In the book of Genesis, we read about Abraham and Sarah. Abraham is an important figure in three major world religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). But many people say that he is just a character in ancient stories, and that he didn’t really exist. But what do the facts say?

The story goes that God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, even though they were very old. Then they waited 25 years before the promise was kept. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when the promised son was born! The named him Isaac. It certainly is an incredible story—and an important one. But is it true? Did it really happen?

Let's take a look at just three pieces of evidence that are pretty strong clues that this really happened.

Clue #1: Many Ancient Sources

Abraham is talked about in the Bible, in ancient jewish writings, and Islamic texts as well. They all talk about him as a real person. When multiple witnesses from different cultures and places agree, historians take it seriously. Even enemies of Israel never denied that Abraham existed.

Clue #2: Archaeology Bears Witness

The story of Abraham has many details about places, customs, and travel routes in it. Archaeologists have discovered those really existed in that time period! These details are too accurate to be made up. Real places like Ur, Hanan, and Canaan (among others) existed exactly as described.

Clue #3: Jesus Bears Witness!

In John 8:56-58, Jesus talked about Abraham as a real person in history. He even said “Abraham rejoiced to see my day.” If Jesus—who always tells the truth—said Abraham was real, then he was real.

So what? Why does this matter?

This matters because if the story of Abraham and Sarah was real, then God really did make promises to him. And, God kept those promises He made to Abraham and Sarah. That means we can trust God to keep His promises to us too!