The Patriarch Abraham

Abraham is believed to have lived in northern Mesopotamia with his wife when God appeared to him and commanded him to travel to an unknown land. Abraham did so, and finally settled by the oaks, or great trees, of Mamre in Hebron. This is where his grave remains today, venerated as a holy place by both Jews and Muslims.

Abraham was 120 years old when his 90-year-old wife Sarah bore him a son, Isaac, after many years of trying. The birth had been announced in advance by three angels. God wanted to test Abraham’s faith and ordered him to sacrifice little Isaac. Just as he was about to offer his son to God, he was stopped by an angel and Isaac was replaced by a ram. 

The statue

The statue depicts Abraham with his young son, Isaac. Abraham is carrying the sacrificial knife in his right hand. On the plinth beneath lies the sacrificed ram.