8646. Terach
Lexical Summary
Terach: Terah

Original Word: תֶּרַח
Part of Speech: Proper Name
Transliteration: Terach
Pronunciation: TEH-rahkh
Phonetic Spelling: (teh'-rakh)
KJV: Tarah, Terah
NASB: Terah
Word Origin: [of uncertain derivation]

1. Terach, the father of Abraham
2. also a place in the Desert

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Tarah, Terah

Of uncertain derivation; Terach, the father of Abraham; also a place in the Desert -- Tarah, Terah.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
Abraham's father, also a place in the desert
NASB Translation
Terah (13).

Topical Lexicon
Occurrences and Narrative Setting

Terah appears thirteen times, all within historical books: Genesis 11:24-32 (nine mentions), Numbers 33:27-28, Joshua 24:2, and 1 Chronicles 1:26. Every occurrence places him in the genealogical and geographical transition from the post-Flood world to the age of the patriarchs, bridging the line of Shem to Abram (Abraham).

Genealogical Significance for the Abrahamic Covenant

As father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, Terah stands at the threshold of the covenant narrative. Genesis 11:26 records, “Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran”. Scripture deliberately lists Abram first, highlighting the sovereign choice through whom blessing would flow (Genesis 12:1-3). Yet Terah’s own placement in the line from Shem (Genesis 11:10-26; 1 Chronicles 1:24-27) secures the continuity of God’s redemptive promise first voiced in Genesis 3:15, then carried through Noah and Shem.

Migration from Ur to Haran

Genesis 11:31-32 narrates Terah’s move: “Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot… and his daughter-in-law Sarai… and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there”. Terah’s initiative launches the geographical journey that God will later command Abram to complete (Genesis 12:1). Though the destination of Canaan is not reached under Terah, his departure from the idolatrous metropolis of Ur foreshadows the call to covenant holiness that will characterize his son.

Spiritual Condition and Idolatrous Background

Joshua 24:2 provides the divine commentary: “Long ago your fathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods”. Terah exemplifies the pagan milieu from which God sovereignly elects Abram. The contrast between Terah’s idolatry and Abram’s faith underscores salvation by grace rather than heritage. For Israel, the reminder serves as an antidote to presumption, recalling that election rests solely on God’s mercy.

Chronology and Longevity

Terah lived two hundred and five years (Genesis 11:32). Genesis 11:26’s note that Terah fathered Abram at seventy, juxtaposed with Genesis 12:4 stating Abram was seventy-five when he left Haran, yields the conclusion that Terah died before Abram’s entry into Canaan. This timing removes any suggestion that Abram dishonored his father by leaving (compare Exodus 20:12) and demonstrates divine orchestration of events.

Terah in Israel’s Collective Memory

Numbers 33:27-28 lists a wilderness campsite named Terah during Israel’s exodus itinerary. While the toponym’s etymology is uncertain, its presence keeps Terah’s name in the nation’s geographical consciousness, linking the patriarchal era with the Mosaic journey.

Ministry and Theological Lessons

1. Grace precedes faithfulness: God’s redemptive plan advances through an idolater’s household.
2. Partial obedience warns against complacency: Terah begins the journey but stops short; Abram completes it in response to God’s explicit word.
3. Family leadership shapes future generations: Terah’s willingness to leave Ur creates the context in which Abram hears and obeys the LORD.

Typological and Redemptive Implications

Terah’s halted migration stands as a living parable of unfinished faith, contrasting with Abram’s full obedience. The pattern anticipates later contrasts—Saul and David, Israel and the faithful remnant—where proximity to promise without wholehearted trust results in spiritual stagnation. Terah’s account therefore urges readers to “press on toward the goal” (Philippians 3:14), completing the journey that God sets before His people.

Forms and Transliterations
בְּתָֽרַח׃ בתרח׃ מִתָּ֑רַח מתרח תֶ֔רַח תֶ֖רַח תֶּ֔רַח תֶּ֖רַח תֶּ֚רַח תֶּ֛רַח תֶּ֜רַח תֶּ֣רַח תָּֽרַח׃ תרח תרח׃ bə·ṯā·raḥ beTarach bəṯāraḥ mit·tā·raḥ mitTarach mittāraḥ tā·raḥ Tarach tāraḥ te·raḥ ṯe·raḥ Terach teraḥ ṯeraḥ
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Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 11:24
HEB: וַיּ֖וֹלֶד אֶת־ תָּֽרַח׃
NAS: years, and became the father of Terah;
KJV: years, and begat Terah:
INT: years and became of Terah

Genesis 11:25
HEB: הוֹלִיד֣וֹ אֶת־ תֶּ֔רַח תְּשַֽׁע־ עֶשְׂרֵ֥ה
NAS: the father of Terah, and he had
KJV: he begat Terah an hundred
INT: after became of Terah nine teen

Genesis 11:26
HEB: וַֽיְחִי־ תֶ֖רַח שִׁבְעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֑ה
NAS: Terah lived seventy
KJV: And Terah lived seventy
INT: lived Terah seventy years

Genesis 11:27
HEB: וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת תֶּ֔רַח תֶּ֚רַח הוֹלִ֣יד
NAS: are [the records of] the generations of Terah. Terah
KJV: Now these [are] the generations of Terah: Terah
INT: now these the generations of Terah Terah became

Genesis 11:27
HEB: תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת תֶּ֔רַח תֶּ֚רַח הוֹלִ֣יד אֶת־
NAS: of Terah. Terah became
KJV: of Terah: Terah begat
INT: the generations of Terah Terah became of Abram

Genesis 11:28
HEB: עַל־ פְּנֵ֖י תֶּ֣רַח אָבִ֑יו בְּאֶ֥רֶץ
NAS: of his father Terah in the land
KJV: his father Terah in the land
INT: in the presence Terah of his father the land

Genesis 11:31
HEB: וַיִּקַּ֨ח תֶּ֜רַח אֶת־ אַבְרָ֣ם
NAS: Terah took Abram
KJV: And Terah took Abram
INT: took Terah Abram his son

Genesis 11:32
HEB: וַיִּהְי֣וּ יְמֵי־ תֶ֔רַח חָמֵ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים
NAS: The days of Terah were two hundred
KJV: And the days of Terah were two hundred
INT: become the days of Terah and five years

Genesis 11:32
HEB: שָׁנָ֑ה וַיָּ֥מָת תֶּ֖רַח בְּחָרָֽן׃ ס
NAS: years; and Terah died
KJV: years: and Terah died
INT: years died and Terah Haran

Numbers 33:27
HEB: מִתָּ֑חַת וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ בְּתָֽרַח׃
NAS: from Tahath and camped at Terah.
KJV: from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah.
INT: Tahath and camped Terah

Numbers 33:28
HEB: וַיִּסְע֖וּ מִתָּ֑רַח וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ בְּמִתְקָֽה׃
NAS: They journeyed from Terah and camped
KJV: And they removed from Tarah, and pitched
INT: journeyed Terah and camped Mithkah

Joshua 24:2
HEB: אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ מֵֽעוֹלָ֔ם תֶּ֛רַח אֲבִ֥י אַבְרָהָ֖ם
NAS: the River, [namely], Terah, the father
KJV: in old time, [even] Terah, the father
INT: your fathers ancient Terah the father of Abraham

1 Chronicles 1:26
HEB: שְׂר֥וּג נָח֖וֹר תָּֽרַח׃
NAS: Serug, Nahor, Terah,
KJV: Serug, Nahor, Terah,
INT: Serug Nahor Terah

13 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8646
13 Occurrences


bə·ṯā·raḥ — 1 Occ.
mit·tā·raḥ — 1 Occ.
tā·raḥ — 2 Occ.
te·raḥ — 9 Occ.

8645
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