- Daughter and sister-in-law of Patriarch Haran
- Granddaughter and daughter-in-law of Patriarch Terah
- Niece and sister-in-law of Patriarch Abraham and Matriarch Sarah
- Niece and wife of Patriarch Nahor
- Cousin and grandmother-in-law of Patriarch Isaac
- Mother of Patriarch Bethuel
- Grandmother of Matriarch Rebekah and Patriarch Laban
- Great-grandmother of Patriarch Jacob and Matriarch Leah
- Ancestor of the Israelites, Edomites and Arameans
Biography[]
Milcah (Hebrew: מלכה, Milkah; "queen") was a matriarch of ancient Mesopotamia, the daughter of the patriarch Haran; sister of [[Lot)] and Iscah; niece of the patriarch Abraham, the matriarch Sarah and the patriarch Nahor, to whom she his wife; cousin of the patriarch Isaac; mother of the patriarch Bethuel; grandmother of the matriarch Rebekah and the patriarch Laban and great-grandmother of the patriarch Jacob and the matriarch Leah.
Milcah was born to Haran, who had another daughter, Iscah. The Jewish Encyclopedia states that this is the Haran who died in Ur, the brother of Abraham, and father of Lot; but notes Ibn Ezra's commentary on Gen. 11:29 which indicates that Haran, Milcah's father, was a different person from Haran, Abraham's brother.[1] Milcah married the brother of her father Haran; her uncle Abraham and her aunt Sarah; her uncle Nahor. (Gen. 11:29.)
In the Babylonian Talmud, Rabbi Isaac presumes that the two men with the name Haran are one person. If that is true, then Milcah married to her uncle. Although Leviticus would later outlaw marriages between aunt and nephew (Lev. 18:14, 20:19), it did not rule out marriage between uncle and niece. (See, e.g., Gunther Plaut, The Torah: a Modern Commentary, 881. New York: UAHC, 1981.) The Talmud approved of a man who married his sister’s daughter. (Yevamot 62b-63a.) And in the Talmud, Rabbi Isaac equates Milcah’s sister Iscah with Sarah (then Sarai), who married Abraham (then Abram), who was also their uncle. (Sanhedrin 69b.) Thus, according to Rabbi Isaac, the two sisters, Milcah and Iscah, married the two brothers, Nahor and Abraham.
Milcah and Nahor had eight children, Uz, Buz, Kemuel, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. (Gen. 22:21.) Targum Jonathan says that Providence granted Milcah conception in the merit of her sister Sarah. (Targum Jonathan to Gen. 22:20.) Nahor also had four children by his concubine, Reumah. (Gen. 22:24.). Later Milcah and Nahor moved to the city of Haran.
Milcah’s son Bethuel moved to the city of Haran and fathered Rebekah and Laban. (Gen. 22:23, Gen. 24:15-47, Gen. 28:5) Milcah’s granddaughter Rebekah then married Milcah’s cousin Isaac (Gen. 24:67;, Gen. 25:20;), and gave birth to Jacob (Gen. 25:21–26), who became Israel. (Gen. 32:28;, Gen. 35:10). Milcah's grandson Laban fathered Leah (Gen. 29:16). There is a Midrash that Milcah was the forbearer of all prophets in the non-Jewish world. (Yalkut Shimoni Balak, 23.)
Genesis 11 Narrative[]
27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
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.
Genesis 11:27-29
Children[]
She married Nahor sometime before the departure of Abraham for Canaan. (Genesis 11:29 ) They had eight sons: Uz, Buz, Kemuel, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. (Genesis 22:20-23 )
Her son Bethuel later had two famous children, her grandchildren Rebekah and Laban, who were parents of Milcah's great-grandchildren Jacob and Leah respectively each of whom were prominent ancestors of the house of Israel.
Siblings[]
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Lot ben Haran | City of Ur, Chaldea, Mesopotamia | Land of Canaan | Wife of Lot Elder daughter of Lot Younger daughter of Lot |
| Milcah, daughter of Haran | City of Ur, Chaldea, Mesopotamia | City of Harran, Padan-aram, Mesopotamia | Nahor ben Terah |
| Iscah bat Haran | |||
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Uz ben Nahor | |||
| Buz ben Nahor | |||
| Kemuel ben Nahor | |||
| Kesed ben Nahor | |||
| Hazo ben Nahor | |||
| Pildash ben Nahor | |||
| Jidlaph ben Nahor | |||
| Bethuel ben Nahor | City of Ur, Chaldea, Mesopotamia | City of Harran, Padan-aram, Mesopotamia | |
References[]
- Book of Genesis 11-25
- 1 Chronicles 1:21-25
- Abraham - LDS Bible Dictionary
- Abraham - Wikipedia
- Abraham - Family tree on JewAge (another Semantic MediaWiki site)