Terah, and the move from Ur
11:27 opens the account of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot. Haran died “before the face of his father Terah,” in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans (BSB “During his father Terah’s lifetime”). Abram’s wife was Sarai; Nahor’s wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah. Sarai was barren; she had no children. Terah took Abram, Lot, and Sarai, “and they went out with them” from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan; they came as far as Haran and settled there. Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran. Who “they” and “them” are is open; the Greek has a singular, “he led them out.” Ur has been placed at southern el-Muqayyar (Driver) or at a northern site such as Urfa (Keil); “Chaldeans” may be of Terah’s time or a later label. Iscah has been read as Sarai (an early Jewish reading; the Targum of Jonathan; Augustine) or as another daughter of Haran (Keil, against this, because of 20:12). If Abram is born when Terah is 70 and leaves Haran at 75 (12:4), Terah would still be alive under the Masoretic 205; the Samaritan 145 years would place the death in the year of the departure; 11:26 may name Abram first without making him the firstborn. The printed text follows the Masoretic 205 years, with medium confidence; none is adopted here. See the textual and historical notes on the lifespan and on Ur.
Claims
- SaysThe account of Terah records Haran’s death in Ur of the Chaldeans during Terah’s lifetime, the marriages of Abram and Nahor, Sarai’s barrenness, the household’s setting out from Ur for Canaan, the halt at Haran, and Terah’s death there at 205 years. The printed text follows the Masoretic 205 years, with medium confidence.
- UncertainWho “they” and “them” are in 11:31 is open; Ur has been placed in the south or at a northern site, and “Chaldeans” may be contemporary or a later label; Iscah may be Sarai or another daughter of Haran; if Abram is born when Terah is 70 and leaves at 75, the 205 years would leave Terah still alive, while the Samaritan 145 years would synchronize the figures, and 11:26 may name Abram first without making him the firstborn. None of these explanations is adopted here.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gen 11:27–32
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 11:27–32 (WLC/OSHB), cantillation removed
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Gen 11:1–32, vol. 1, pp. 17–19 (oldtestamentingr01swetuoft, viewer leaves n48–n50), as recorded in the Greek language notes of this chapter
- Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain pp. 140–142 (leaves n241–n243)
- Keil–Delitzsch, Pentateuch 1 public domain pp. 179–181 (leaves n182–n184)
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain pp. 335–339 (leaves n344–n348)
- Augustine, City of God (NPNF1 vol. 2) public domain pp. 318–320 (leaves n341–n343)
- Etheridge public domain p. 192 (leaf n204)
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits
2026-11-12
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