The religious traditions and texts of ancient Israel have shaped European civilization and culture in a fundamental way. One of the key motifs that the Hebrew Bible has contributed to the formation of the spiritual traditions of this culture is the conception that faith entails a 'stepping out' of the status quo on the new journey to which God calls a person. An archetypal story in this respect is the narrative concerning the call of Abram (Gen. 12:1-3). This paper presents the basic motifs of Abram's call in the context of the book of Genesis and sketches their impact on subsequent religious traditions. It pursues the question of the relationship of vocation and mission (of 'stepping out' and 'charting a course'), which are two fundamental aspects of Abraham's role as 'the father of the faith'. In addition, this paper reflects on these motifs' potential to impact the public domain. The religious traditions and texts of ancient Israel have shaped European civilization and culture in a fundamental way. One of the key motifs that the Hebrew Bible has contributed to the formation of the spiritual traditions of this culture is the conception that faith entails a 'stepping out' of the status quo on the new journey to which God calls a person. An archetypal story in this respect is the narrative concerning the call of Abram (Gen. 12:1-3). This paper presents the basic motifs of Abram's call in the context of the book of Genesis and sketches their impact on subsequent religious traditions. It pursues the question of the relationship of vocation and mission (of 'stepping out' and 'charting a course'), which are two fundamental aspects of Abraham's role as 'the father of the faith'. In addition, this paper reflects on these motifs' potential to impact the public domain.