- 19th Patriarch of Genesis
- Father of Patriarch Nahor
- Father and co-father-in-law Patriarch Haran
- Father and father-in-law of Patriarch Abraham and Matriarch Sarah
- Grandfather and father-in-law of Matriarch Milcah
- Ancestor of the Israelites, Edomites, Ishmaelites, Midianites, Arameans, Moabites and Ammonites
Biography
Terah, or Térach (Hebrew: תֶּרַח, Ṫéraḥ, "Ibex, wild goat", or "Wanderer; loiterer") the father of Abram, Nahor, Haran and Sarah. He migrated with Abram, Sarai, and Lot (Nahor following them later) from Ur of the Chaldees to Charran (Haran), where he died (Gen. 11:24, 26, 31; Josh. 24:2; 1 Chr. 1:26; Abr. 1:30; 2:1–6).
Terah is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis, son of Nahor, son of Serug and father of the Patriarch Abraham, all descendants of Shem's son Arpachshad. Terah is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 11:26-27, Joshua 24:2 and 1 Chronicles 1:17–27) and New Testament.[2]
Genesis 11 Narrative
24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.
26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram (Abraham), Nahor, and Haran.
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.
30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
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.
32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
Genesis 11:24-32
Joshua 24 Narrative
2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
Joshua 24:2
1 Chronicles Narrative
24 Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,
25 Eber, Peleg, Reu,
26 Serug, Nahor, Terah,
27 Abram; the same is Abraham.
1 Chronicles 1:24-27
Gospel of Luke Narrative
34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,
36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
Luke 3:34-36 - NIV Translation
Book of Jubilees Narrative
Book of Jubilees names Terah's wife as Edna, daughter of Abram, his cousin.
And in this thirty-ninth jubilee, in the second week in the first year, [1870 A.M.] Terah took to himself a wife, and her name was 'Edna, the daughter of 'Abram, the daughter of his father's sister. And in the seventh year of this week [1876 A.M.] she bare him a son, and he called his name Abram, by the name of the father of his mother; for he had died before his daughter had conceived a son. And the child began to understand the errors of the earth that all went astray after graven images and after uncleanness, and his father taught him writing, and he was two weeks of years old, [1890 A.M.] and he separated himself from his father, that he might not worship idols with him. Book of Jubilees 11:13-15
Idolatrous Practices
Hebrew, Islamic and Latter-day Saint traditions all hold that Terah was an idol worshipper. All three have stories of attempts to sacrifice Terah's son Abraham by a major wicked priest but was miraculously saved by his God.
According to rabbinical tradition Terah was a wicked (Numbers Rabbah 19:1; 19:33), idolatrous priest (Midrash HaGadol on Genesis 11:28) who manufactured idols (Eliyahu Rabbah 6, and Eliyahu Zuta 25). Abram, in opposition to his father’s idol shop, smashed his father’s idols and chased customers away. Terah then brought his unruly son before Nimrod, who threw him into a fiery furnace, yet Abram miraculously escaped (Genesis Rabba 38:13). The Zohar says that when God saved Abram from the furnace, Terah repented (Zohar Genesis 1:77b) and Rabbi Abba B. Kahana said that God assured Abram that his father Terah had a portion in the World to Come (Genesis Rabbah 30:4; 30:12).
Marriage and Family
1st Marriage
- Abraham ben Terah - Famous Hebrew Prophet - Brother of Haran and Nahor, half-brother and husband of Sarah; uncle and brother-in-law of Milcah; uncle, granduncle and co-father-in-law of Bethuel; father of Ismael and Isaac (and the Israelite nation); granduncle and great-granduncle of Laban and Rebecca, who was also his daughter-in-law, and grandfather of Jacob.
- Haran ben Terah - Died Young, brother of Abraham and Nahor, who was also his son-in-law, half-brother of Sarah, father of Lot, whose descendants include the Moabites and Ammonites, and Milcah, whose descendants incluide the Israelites and Edomites.
- Nahor ben Terah - Brother of Abraham and Haran, who was also his father-in-law, half-brother of Sarah, uncle and husband of Milcah, father of Bethuel, grandfather of Rebecca and Laban and uncle and grandfather-in-law of Isaac.
2nd Marriage
- Sarai, daughter of Terah - Half-sister of Haran, Nahor and Abraham, who was also her husband, aunt and sister-in-law of Milcah, aunt and grandaunt of Bethuel, mother of Isaac and grandaunt and great-grandaunt of Laban and Rebecca, who was also later her daughter-in-law.
Children
Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
Abraham ben Terah | City of Ur, Chaldea, Mesopotamia | Kirjath-arba, Hebron, Land of Canaan | Sarai, daughter of Terah Hagar, handmaid of Sarah Keturah |
Haran ben Terah | City of Ur, Chaldea, Mesopotamia | City of Ur, Chaldea, Mesopotamia | |
Nahor ben Terah | City of Ur, Chaldea, Mesopotamia | City of Harran, Padan-aram, Mesopotamia | Milcah, daughter of Haran Reumah (?-?) |
Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
Sarai, daughter of Terah | City of Ur, Chaldea, Mesopotamia | Kirjath-arba, Hebron, Land of Canaan | Abraham ben Terah |
Siblings
Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
Terah ben Nahor | City of Ur, Chaldea, Mesopotamia | City of Harran, Padan-aram, Mesopotamia | Amathlaah bat Carnebo |
other sons and daughters |
References
- Book of Genesis 9-11
- Terah - Biblical Figure disambiguation
- Nahor - Biblical Figure disambiguation
- 1 Chronicles 1:21-25
- Terah - LDS Bible Dictionary
- Terah - Wikipedia
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