Biblical Series IX: The Call to Abraham

Biblical Series IX: The Call to Abraham

In this lecture, I tell the story of Abraham, who heeds the call of God to leave what was familiar behind and to journey into unknown lands. The man portrayed in the Bible as the father of nations moves forward into the world. He encounters the worst of nature (famine), society (the tyranny of Egypt) and the envy of the powerful, who desire his wife. There is nothing easy about Abraham’s life. Instead, he is portrayed both as a real man, with serious problems, and a hero, who overcomes tremendous obstacles to establish himself in the world.

His covenant with God is an Ark. His decision to aim at the highest good he can conceptualize places an aura of magic around the events of his life, despite their harshness. He’s a model for life in the world as it is, not as we wish it would be.

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43 Comments

  1. Ronald Sakhile on April 6, 2022 at 7:06 pm

    39:40

  2. Sola Sowole on April 6, 2022 at 7:07 pm

    "The willingness to be a fool is the precursor to the hero"

  3. Tommy Thompson on April 6, 2022 at 7:08 pm

    Thank you!

  4. DNAsGhostzHouze on April 6, 2022 at 7:09 pm

    Dr. Peterson, Abraham was running a con. Sells his wife off to be married, then blackmails the pharoah with the scandal.

  5. Richard Madsen on April 6, 2022 at 7:09 pm

    @Jordan B Petersen
    Regarding "The mistake of Abram, calling his wife his sister. "Where, at a meta-level of context, the People are an innocent and "The Bride", and Abram (Abba Room) is The Exalted Father, The People are represented by Sarai, and God by Abram. She is both His Sister and His Wife. This would more indicate transitional situations than ultimatums.
    Peace.

  6. Luna Protege on April 6, 2022 at 7:13 pm

    If Sodom is a place of sin… And to sin is to miss the mark… And if Sodom is the root of the word for a certain act… "Wrong hole"?
    Sorry, that’s a joke… In poor taste.

  7. Richard Rittenhouse on April 6, 2022 at 7:14 pm

    I hear the Bible been rewritten over 600 times I like to see all put in one language then place in order so one can see change over time how it decide over time and place to we’re we are today which the use of computers I see it a grate thing and talk of yrs to come on that in it’s self

  8. Glad Tidings on April 6, 2022 at 7:15 pm

    Jordan…beware of Christendom. It’s been perverted for centuries. Just study the text of the scripture, work the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Also study the Eastern culture (figures of speech, mannerisms, etc). If you do this inductively you’ll be on a truth path instead of counting on theologians of old and new who doctrinal foundations have serious cracks…as you’ll see.

  9. __ on April 6, 2022 at 7:16 pm

    Ya kind of lost me at “mother” nature. Anybody that has seen a quasar and still thinks that’s “motherly” or feminine must have had a pretty awkward mother or is simply only talking about a little planet not including the entire universe.

  10. Caleb O'Brien on April 6, 2022 at 7:18 pm

    6:30 on a Friday night when my life has crumbled around me in the last 2 years and this video played after I watched a non related topic, I can’t help but feel God brought me here. Thank you Dr. Peterson

  11. Sky Azrael on April 6, 2022 at 7:18 pm

    Thank you for these talks

  12. Let's Get Healthy: Ryan Weinberger on April 6, 2022 at 7:18 pm

    God bless you man; it’s good work

  13. Joe Coonen on April 6, 2022 at 7:19 pm

    This is the best lecture I have ever listened to by Dr. Peterson.

  14. Jake P on April 6, 2022 at 7:19 pm

    ive watched these all about 15 times each. its been a while but im back again. These lectures mean so much to me, thats a long story though

  15. Oo'Naam Oo'Khao on April 6, 2022 at 7:21 pm

    Is 75 old when people live to be 600?

  16. Teja Yendapally on April 6, 2022 at 7:22 pm

    1:50:00

  17. Good Stuff on April 6, 2022 at 7:23 pm

    Regarding Abram’s deceit with Pharaoh, while it was a lie, it was a ‘half-truth’ since Sarai was his half-sister. So Abram justified the lie by saying it was a partial truth. It is a technicality that can be played both ways according to what you want to accomplish.

  18. Greg Hasell on April 6, 2022 at 7:24 pm

    This is my second time going through the series, thank you so much Dr. Jordan Peterson. I’ve also listened to maps of meaning twice and read both books 12 rules for life and 12 more rules for life looking to get maps of meaning next.Again, thank you for all the work you’ve done and your continued effort to try to practice bringing hope and courage to people who need it…

  19. JJesus Renteria on April 6, 2022 at 7:24 pm

    She is not his sister but close to it she is his cousin.

  20. Richard Rittenhouse on April 6, 2022 at 7:27 pm

    Did Nowa have other people on the boat other then his family

  21. Samuel Tucker on April 6, 2022 at 7:27 pm

    I am looking forward to learning more from the series, even the adds are full of good information.

  22. B. W. on April 6, 2022 at 7:28 pm

    Recap 2:39
    Abraham 3:56
    27:48 Opening (Genesis 11.27-35)
    33:06 Covenant (Genesis 12.1-8)
    1:19:14 1. Starvation and Slavery (Genesis 12.9-20, 13.1-4)
    1:27:23 2. Separation (Genesis 13.3-18)
    1:34:22 3. War (Genesis 13.14-18, 14.1-24)
    1:49:18 4. Genesis 15.1-21)
    1:59:43 Closing

    Questions 2:01:33
    Q#1: Abraham’s deceit, validity of white lies (cf. 1:22:21) 2:02:06
    Q#2: Healing and curbing relativism in the education system 2:06:02
    Q#3: Online humanities university 2:11:41
    Q#4: Development of conscience, freedom of speech, psychopathy, and irredeemability 2:19:44
    Q#5: Critique of capitalism 2:31:05
    Closing 2:34:58

  23. Untethered Live on April 6, 2022 at 7:28 pm

    Hopefully JBP reads this comment section. Abraham’s wife WAS his half sister, so when he told that, it was NOT a lie.

  24. Robert Dages on April 6, 2022 at 7:28 pm

    I’m so glad I continued to listen to the questions and answers that follows the lecture.

  25. Wavefront Seismic Attribute Services on April 6, 2022 at 7:34 pm

    Sarah, also spelled Sarai, in the Old Testament, wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. Sarah was childless until she was 90 years old. God promised Abraham that she would be “a mother of nations” (Genesis 17:16) and that she would conceive and bear a son, but Sarah did not believe. Isaac, born to Sarah and Abraham in their old age, was the fulfillment of God’s promise to them. The barrenness of Sarah, cited in the preface (Genesis 11:30), stands in tension with the central theme of the Abraham saga, the promise that God will make him the founder of a mighty nation. With respect to the fulfillment of the promise, Sarah embodies the themes of fear and doubt, Abraham those of faith and hope. Her doubt drives Sarah to devise her own way of realizing the promise—she gives Abraham her maidservant, Hagar, so that Hagar might bear a child for them. When the promise is repeated, Sarah expresses her doubt in sarcastic laughter (Genesis 18:12). And when the promise is kept, Sarah, overcome by joy, still implies her doubt had been reasonable (Genesis 21:6–7). Her tomb at Hebron (Genesis 23) was a sign of Abraham’s faith that God’s promise of the land would also be kept.

    Sarah offering Hagar to Abraham

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    This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.

    Bible

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    Bible

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    Bible, the sacred scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. The Christian Bible consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament, with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox versions of the Old Testament being slightly larger because of their acceptance of certain books and parts of books considered apocryphal by Protestants. The Hebrew Bible includes only books known to Christians as the Old Testament. The arrangements of the Jewish and Christian canons differ considerably. The Protestant and Roman Catholic arrangements more nearly match one another.

    Moses and the Israelites

    Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea, 15th century; illustration from a German Bible.

    Ann Ronan Pictures/Heritage Image/age fotostock

    Bible

    The first printing (1663) of the Bible in the American colonies; it was translated by Christian missionary John Eliot into Massachuset (also known as Wampanoag), an Algonquian language.

    The Newberry Library, Gift of Edward Ayer, 1911 (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

    Philip II; Bible

    A Bible (1569)—written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin—that was subsidized by Philip II of Spain.

    The Newberry Library, Wing Fund, 1945 (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

    A brief treatment of the Bible follows. For full treatment, see biblical literature.

    Consider the Bible’s Old Testament as a literary masterpiece dramatized by paintings, music, and sculpture

    The Bible As Literature, Part One: Saga and Story in the Old Testament. Treating the Bible as a collection of literary masterpieces, this film, produced in 1974 by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation, skillfully weaves together paintings, sculpture, music, and drama to renact the stories of the Bible.

    Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.See all videos for this article

    Examine the Old Testament’s The Book of Proverbs and other books through a literary lens

    The Bible As Literature, Part Two: History, Poetry, and Drama in the Old Testament. The second part of an examination of the Bible as literature, this film examines the books of Joshua, Samuel, and Kings as historical documents, the Book of Proverbs as lyric poetry, and the prophetical books as protest literature. It was produced in 1974 by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.

    Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.See all videos for this article

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    Traditionally, the Jews have divided their scriptures into three parts: the Torah (the “Law,” or Pentateuch), the Neviʾim (“Prophets”), and the Ketuvim (“Writings,” or Hagiographa). The Pentateuch, together with the Book of Joshua (hence the name Hexateuch), can be seen as the account of how the Israelites became a nation and of how they possessed the Promised Land. The division designated as the “Prophets” continues the story of Israel in the Promised Land, describing the establishment and development of the monarchy and presenting the messages of the prophets to the people. The “Writings” include speculation on the place of evil and death in the scheme of things (Job and Ecclesiastes), the poetical works, and some additional historical books.

    In the Apocrypha of the Old Testament, various types of literature are represented; the purpose of the Apocrypha seems to have been to fill in some of the gaps left by the indisputably canonical books and to carry the history of Israel to the 2nd century BCE.

    The New Testament is by far the shorter portion of the Christian Bible, but, through its associations with the spread of Christianity, it has wielded an influence far out of proportion to its modest size. Like the Old Testament, the New Testament is a collection of books, including a variety of early Christian literature. The four Gospels deal with the life, the person, and the teachings of Jesus, as he was remembered by the Christian community. The Acts of the Apostles carries the story of Christianity from the Resurrection of Jesus to the end of the career of St. Paul. The various Letters, or Epistles, are correspondence by various leaders of the early Christian church, chief among them St. Paul, applying the message of the church to the sundry needs and problems of early Christian congregations. The Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) is the only canonical representative of a large genre of apocalyptic literature that appeared in the early Christian movement.

    Bible

    St. Mark, illuminated manuscript page from the Gospel Book of the Court school of Charlemagne, c. 810; in the Stadtbibliothek, Trier, Germany.

    Stadtbibliothek, Trier, Ger.

    scripture

    Le Miroir de humaine saluation (“The Mirror of Human Salvation”) by Ludolf of Saxony (supposed author), c. 1455; the French manuscript is an example of western European Christian scripture written in the vernacular.

    The Newberry Library, Louis H. Silver Collection, 1964 (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

    The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.

  26. vladimir barkanov on April 6, 2022 at 7:37 pm

    Death is the way to your original home. When going there, what sort of gift are you taking with you? If you think of this at least once, you cannot spend a single idle moment.

  27. Zekec47 on April 6, 2022 at 7:38 pm

    The most perfect description of the Fool Card I have heard or read…. JP is Gold!

  28. franck voitier on April 6, 2022 at 7:40 pm

    And more tears again listening to that man and realizing that it is not over for me that i can still make It and an incredible Life…Thankyou Dr Peterson.

  29. vladimir barkanov on April 6, 2022 at 7:41 pm

    Blessing exists not in front of God’s throne but in front of Satan.

  30. D Moore on April 6, 2022 at 7:44 pm

    If GOD really did exist, the last way he would make himself known is by appearing in the middle of the desert 2,000 years ago and nobody wrote anything down. Sure, ROFL. IF GOD EXISTED HE WOULD HAVE APPEARED TODAY WHEN WE ALL HAVE CELL PHONES AND DATA CAPTURE IS EASY.

  31. TheLegando42 on April 6, 2022 at 7:44 pm

    Why cant he do this about islam

  32. Dawn McD on April 6, 2022 at 7:46 pm

    When Peterson was talking about the white lie, I was reminded of a cartoon depicting an older couple getting dressed to go out: the wife says "Do I look fat?" and the husband says "Do I look stupid?"

  33. Zoravur Singh on April 6, 2022 at 7:46 pm

    Does anyone know where the thumbnail is from?

  34. Muteb Almutairi on April 6, 2022 at 7:46 pm

    I know why he did not divied the birds 1:55. The story is mentioned in symbolic and amazing details in Quran. Ibraham peace up on him ask god to show him how he bring the died to life? Allah said are you not a beliver Ibraham! Ibraham said yes i am but i want to know by heart! Then god askd him to bring birds and Put each bird in a mountain Then call it. The mountains came walking toward ibraham. ( birds represent soul : mountains represent body)

  35. JJesus Renteria on April 6, 2022 at 7:47 pm

    I am talking about Sarai his wife and technically what I’m saying it’s not a total lie when he says that she is his sister, when she is actually his cousin.

  36. Shikher Srivastava on April 6, 2022 at 7:48 pm

    42:30

  37. BroTorious One on April 6, 2022 at 7:51 pm

    Perfect In his generations has to do with his genetics not being contaminated by the goings on of the fallen angels( genesis 6). Check out Chuck Missler Days of Noah

  38. Joseph Campbell on April 6, 2022 at 7:53 pm

    Dr Peterson, I pray for your health, maybe for selfish reasons, but the world needs your insight and wisdom.

  39. Sograt on April 6, 2022 at 7:54 pm

    2022 and these lectures are still one his best work. Keep coming back to the pre-social media JP for his authentic material.

  40. Dean Richardson on April 6, 2022 at 7:56 pm

    Is Dr Peterson b- Pola . cause iv seen allot of videos where he’s holding back tears and you can hear the pure emotion in his voice.And the only one other person I’ve know to do that or just break down mid sentence was bi-pola.

  41. Gmmr Eloh on April 6, 2022 at 8:00 pm

    Well done. Do you like art jordon ?

  42. Brian Lenehan on April 6, 2022 at 8:03 pm

    Jordan looks like he talks with no teleprompter. He talks fast and the content is dense and very organized. Then sometimes he gets choked up, so he speaks from intellect and heart wasting not one second. Amazing presentation.

  43. amybee40 on April 6, 2022 at 8:04 pm

    @Jordan B Peterson You helped me put something together. By Abraham’s own moral calculation, it is not right for God to destroy a city or nation if there are even 10 righteous people left among them. Therefore, he cannot complain when God tells him that the Amorites will not be removed from their land until their "iniquity is full," even if that takes 400 years.

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