ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to understand the signification of the three exiles such as the journey of the promise, the de-centering of the self and the negation of the promise commanded by God to Abraham. The first exile signifies Abraham's expulsion from the past, from the closed circle of his kin, customs, and comfort zone, towards a destiny that transcends him as well as opens him up onto a universal calling. The second exile, which marks his very flesh, serves to remind him of an original wound at the very core of his virility. The third exile endured by Abraham strikes at the heart of his future and of his aspirations for sedentarization. The chapter shows the ethical and redemptive implications of exile and this from an analysis of Abraham's three exiles. The figure of Abraham is the classic figure of exile.
