Abraham the Hebrew

This afternoon, I was reading my bible in my car while waiting in the car line to pick up the girls from school. I was reading in Genesis 14 where it tells of the kings going to war against each other and Lot being kidnapped. It then says that someone escaped and went to tell Abraham the Hebrew.

That got me to thinking about something I've wondered about for a loooooonnng time.

Why was Abraham called the Hebrew and what does Hebrew mean anyways?

So, I got to digging and this is what I've learned.

The website http://www.askmoses.com/ says that "The word "Hebrew" comes from the Hebrew word "Ivri." Jews are called Hebrews because their ancestor and founder, Abraham, is called1 "Abraham the Ivri." The word Ivri means "from the [other] side," and Abraham came to the Land of Canaan from Mesopotamia which was "on the other side" of the Euphrates. Additionally, Abraham, with his monotheistic beliefs, was on one side while the rest of the world was on the other (pagan) side."

Interesting, right?

I also found this....

on www.chabad.org {a Jewish website} says that there are three different opinions in the Midrash for why Abraham was called the Hebrew. The first of which is the last thing mentioned above. That Abraham believed in the One true God and everyone else believed in multiple gods.
The second says that it was in reference to Noah's great-great grandson "Eber" who was an ancestor of Abraham. This second idea says that Eber was one of the bearers of the monotheistic tradition and since Abraham followed Eber he was called "Ivri" - Hebrew.
The third says the first thing that is mentioned above which was that Abraham "crossed over" to the other side of the river.

SO, there ya go. Now you know why Abraham was the first person in the Bible called "Hebrew".

Do y'all find that interesting or is it just me?

in HIM-