Prelude: Reflecting with Nelly Sachs on the Man from Ur

A. Abraham as the Possession of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. I. Abraham and Judaism. 1. The birth of Judaism. How do we speak of Abraham? The Torah as an instrument for coping with crises. No Judaism without Abraham. 2. Abraham's role in the great catastrophe: exile. Even prophets refer back. The collection of the 'Five Books of Moses'. 3. Everything depends on Abraham: the book of Genesis. The remarkable strangeness of Abraham. Guarantor of God's promises: people, land, peoples. Partner in God's second covenant. The primal model of faith: being on the way. 4. The politicizing of Abraham between the Testaments. Judaism as a 'descendant of Abraham': Joshua 24/Psalm 105. A self-portrait with Abraham: Ben Sirach. Radical separation: the spirit of Qumran. Abraham as a militant figure: 'The Apocalypse of Abraham'.