Genesis 11:17-32
Ge 11:17
And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and
thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.
After Eber begat Peleg, he lived another 430 years making
him 464 years old having other sons and daughters.
Ge 11:18
And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:
Peleg was thirty years old when he begat Reu whose name
means friend or friendship.
Ge 11:19
And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine
years, and begat sons and daughters.
Peleg lived 209 years after he begat Reu making him 239
years old. Notice how the lifespans
are severely decreasing.
Ge 11:20
And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:
Reu was 32 years old when he begat Serug who became the
father of Nahor and Terah. His name
means shoot, branch or firmness.
Ge 11:21
And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven
years, and begat sons and daughters.
Reu lived 207 years after he begat Serug making him 239
years old.
Ge 11:22
And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:
Serug was 30 years old when he begat Nahor means
breathing hard or slayer and was the grandfather of Abraham.
Ge 11:23
And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years,
and begat sons and daughters.
Serug lived 200 years after he begat Nahor making him 230
years old.
Ge 11:24
And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
Nahor was 29 years old when he begat Terah means wild
goat or wondering and was the father of Abraham.
Ge 11:25
And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and
nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.
Nahor lived 119 years after he begat Terah and other sons
and daughters making him 148 years old.
Ge 11:26
And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor,
and Haran.
Terah was 70 years old when he begat Abram, Nahor, and
Haran.
Ge 11:27
Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah
begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
This is a short listing of the posterity of Terah who was
the father of Abram.
Ge 11:28
And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his
nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
Haran had died while his father was still living leaving
only Nahor and Abram. They lived in
Ur of the Chaldees which was Mesopotamia or old Babylon.
No doubt Abram was an idolater like all the others who probably
worshipped Marduk the chief Babylonian deity.
Ge 11:29
And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's
wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of
Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
Then both Abram and Nahor both took wives.
Nahor had married one of the daughters of Haran named Milcah.
At this time it was permitted for cousins to marry but later forbidden
under Levitical law. Some believe
that Iscah may have been Sarah but there is no evidence for that belief.
Iscah was Milcah’s sister.
Ge 11:30
But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Abram married a woman named Sarai but at this time she
was barren and had no children as the wife of Nahor probably already bore him
children. Sarah’s barrenness would
eventually turn out to be a blessing from the LORD later one.
Sometimes what we see at the present does not define the whole picture.
Ge 11:31
And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran
his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they
went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and
they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
Then maybe because of the death of his son Haran, Terah
decided to leave Ur of the Chaldees and head toward new ground.
Terah took with him Abram his son and Lot his grandson along with Sarai
to go into the land of Canaan to dwell there.
They settled in a town named Haran otherwise known as Charran.
Then came he out of the land of
the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead,
he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. (Acts 7:4)
This was a
pretty long trip because Ur to Haran was approximately 650 miles (1046 km).
Haran was also the center of Moon god worship in western Mesopotamia. Ancient
Jewish tradition states that Terah was a maker of idols of the Moon god. Abraham
had lived in Haran until his father, Terah died.
Ge 11:32
And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years:
and Terah died in Haran.