Finely colored example of this decorative map of the Holy Land, illustrating the life of Abraham.

The Wanderings of Abraham is among Oretelius' most elaborate productions. It demonstrates his combined talents as mapmaker, artist and historian. This is one of the few ancient maps produced by Ortelius himself, and is decorated with 22 medallion vignettes showing the history of Abraham's life. The map is based upon the Geography of the Holy Land at the time of Abraham's life.

Van Den Broecke identifies two very different plates, which were simultaneously in use when the map was first added to the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum in 1590. The two maps have completely different medallion scenes. The present map is the first of the two plates, with the second first being issued in 1592.