Nehemiah 9:7,8

The Patriarch Abraham; the choice, the call, the name, and the character of the man, and the covenant made with him

Thouart the Lord the God R.V. marg. -Or, O Lord", i.e. Thou, O Jahveh (Jehovah), art theGod, as in 1 Kings 18:37.

didst choose Abram The Divine -choice" is only mentioned here in reference to the calling of Abraham. The selection of the -chosen people" was the free act of God's love. This thought lay at the root of the covenant relation between Him and Israel; cf. Deuteronomy 4:37, -and because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them," Nehemiah 7:7; Nehemiah 9:4-6.

and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees Ur of the Chaldees is only mentioned here and Genesis 11:28; Genesis 11:31; Genesis 15:7, and from these passages the present allusion is almost certainly drawn. According to some scholars, -Ur of the Chaldees" is to be found in S. Babylonia, on the right bank of the Euphrates, and to be identified either with Warka (Erech, Genesis 10:10) or Mugheir = Uru, one of the oldest Babylonian cities. According to others, it was situate in Northern Assyria, with which would agree the descent of Terah from Aram (Genesis 10:23) and the home of Abraham's kinsfolk being Padan-Aram (Genesis 25:20). The latter view is perhaps most favoured by Israelite tradition, cf. Deuteronomy 26:5; Isaiah 41:9. It was Terah who moved from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran; but Jewish tradition always regarded this as the expression of a Divine call to Abraham. Compare Acts 7:4 with Genesis 11:31. The Vulgate -de igne Chaldaeorum" treats -Ur" as if it were the Hebrew word (spelt with the same consonants) meaning -light."

the name of Abraham The change of the patriarch's name from Abram to Abraham is recorded in Genesis 17:5, to which the reference is probably made. That Abram means -lofty father" and Abraham -the father of a multitude" is probably only an instance of popular Israelite etymology. -Abu-ra-mu" is found as the proper name of a man in Assyrian inscriptions; and the change from the shorter to the longer form, is perhaps a return to an older and more venerated form of the name. The precise meaning of the name is of slight moment. The important point to notice is, that the change of name corresponds with the institution of the covenant sign of circumcision. The change of the name was a pledge of the new relation, into which Abraham and his seed passed; cf. -Jacob" and -Israel" (Genesis 35:10).