Introduction:
Terah is a significant figure in the biblical narrative, primarily known as the father of Abraham, Nahor, and Haran. His account is found in the Book of Genesis, where he is depicted as a patriarch whose lineage plays a crucial role in the unfolding of God's covenantal promises.

Genealogy and Family:
Terah is introduced in Genesis 11:24-32. He is a descendant of Shem, one of Noah's sons, and is part of the post-flood generations. Terah fathered three sons: Abram (later named Abraham), Nahor, and Haran. Haran fathered Lot but died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the family's original homeland. Terah's family is significant as it sets the stage for the Abrahamic narrative, which is central to the biblical account of redemption.

Life and Journey:
Terah's life is marked by a significant journey from Ur of the Chaldeans to Haran. Genesis 11:31 states, "Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, 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." This journey is pivotal as it foreshadows the later call of Abram to leave Haran and go to Canaan, where God would establish His covenant with him.

Religious Context:
While the Bible does not provide extensive details about Terah's religious beliefs, Joshua 24:2 suggests that Terah and his ancestors served other gods. "Joshua said to all the people, 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.'" This background highlights the transformative nature of God's call to Abram, who would become the father of monotheistic faith.

Death and Legacy:
Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran, as recorded in Genesis 11:32: "Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran." His death marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter in the biblical narrative, as Abram heeds God's call to continue to Canaan. Terah's legacy is primarily seen through his son Abram, who becomes Abraham, the father of many nations and a central figure in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Significance in Biblical Narrative:
Terah's role, though not extensively detailed, is crucial in the biblical narrative. He serves as a bridge between the post-flood generations and the patriarchal history that begins with Abraham. His journey from Ur to Haran sets the stage for the divine call that Abram receives, marking the beginning of God's covenantal relationship with Abraham and his descendants. Terah's account underscores the theme of divine election and the unfolding of God's redemptive plan through a chosen lineage.Terah

to breathe; scent; blow

Terah

(station), the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran, and through them the ancestor of the great families of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites, Moabites and Ammonites. (Genesis 11:24-32) The account given of him in the Old Testament narrative is very brief. We learn from it simply that he was an idolater, (Joshua 24:2) that he dwelt beyond the Euphrates in Ur of the Chaldees, (Genesis 11:28) and that in the southwesterly migration, which from some unexplained cause he undertook in his old age, he went with his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot, "to go into the land of Canaan, and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there." (Genesis 11:31) And finally, "the days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran." (Genesis 11:32) (B.C. 1921.)

Terah

The son of Nahor, and father of Nahor, Haran, and Abraham, Genesis 11:24, begot Abraham at the age of seventy-two years, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Upon Abraham's first call to remove into the land of promise, Terah and all his family went with him as far as Haran, in Mesopotamia, about B. C. 1918, Genesis 11:31-32. He died there the same year, aged two hundred and seventy-five years. Scripture intimates plainly that Terah had fallen into idolatry, or had for a time mingled some idolatrous practices with the worship of the true God, Joshua 24:2,14; and some think that Abraham himself at fist did the same thing; but that afterwards God, being gracious to him, convinced him of the vanity of this worship, and that he undeceived his father Terah.

The wanderer; loiterer, for some unknown reason emigrated with his family from his native mountains in the north to the plains of Mesopotamia. He had three sons, Haran, Nahor, and Abraham, and one daughter, Sarah. He settled in "Ur of the Chaldees," where his son Haran died, leaving behind him his son Lot. Nahor settled at Haran, a place on the way to Ur. Terah afterwards migrated with Abraham (probably his youngest son) and Lot (his grandson), together with their families, from Ur, intending to go with them to Canaan; but he tarried at Haran, where he spent the remainder of his days, and died at the age of two hundred and five years (Genesis 11:24-32; Joshua 24:2). What a wonderful part the descendants of this Chaldean shepherd have played in the history of the world! TERAH (1)

te'-ra (terach; Septuagint Tharra, or (with New Testament) Thara; on the name see especially HDB, under the word): The son of Nahor and father of Abraham, Nahor and Haran (Genesis 11:24 f). At Abraham's birth Terah was 70 years old (Genesis 11:26), and after Abraham's marriage, Terah, Abraham, Sarah and Lot emigrated from Ur of the Chaldees on the road into the land of Canaan, but stopped in Haran (Genesis 11:31). When Abraham was 75 years old he and his nephew resumed their journey, leaving Terah in Haran, where 60 years later he died (Genesis 11:32). Stephen, however, states (Acts 7:4) that Terah was dead when Abraham left Haran, an impression that is easily gained from Genesis 11-12 if the dates are not computed. As there is no reason to suppose that Stephen was granted inspiration that would preserve him from such a purely formal error, the contradiction is of no significance and attempts at "reconciliation" are needless. In particular, the attempt of Blass (Stud. u. Krit., 1896, 460;) to alter the text of Acts is quite without foundation. For further discussion see especially Knowling, The Expositor's Greek Testament, at the place It is worth noting that Philo makes the same error (Migr. Abr. 177 (section 32)), perhaps indicating some special Jewish tradition of New Testament times. In Joshua 24:2 Terah is said to have been an idolater. In Jubilees 12 this is softened into explaining that through fear of his life Terah was forced to yield outward conformity to the idolatrous worship of his neighbors. On the other hand certain Jewish legends (e.g. Ber. Rab. 17) represent Terah as actually a maker of idols. Otherwise in the Bible Terah is mentioned only by name in 1 Chronicles 1:26 Luke 3:34.

Burton Scott Easton

TERAH (2)

(Codex Vaticanus Tarath; Codex Alexandrinus Tharath): A wilderness camp of the Israelites between Tahath and Mithkah (Numbers 33:27, 28).

See WANDERINGS OF ISRAEL.

2291. Thara -- Terah, the father of Abraham
... Terah, the father of Abraham. Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration:
Thara Phonetic Spelling: (thar'-ah) Short Definition: Terah Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2291.htm - 6k8646. Terach -- Abraham's father, also a place in the desert
... Terach. 8647 . Abraham's father, also a place in the desert. Transliteration:
Terach Phonetic Spelling: (teh'-rakh) Short Definition: Terah. ... Tarah, Terah. ...
/hebrew/8646.htm - 6k

Why, in the Account of Terah's Emigration, on his Forsaking the ...
... Chapter 13."Why, in the Account of Terah's Emigration, on His Forsaking the Chaldeans
and Passing Over into Mesopotamia, No Mention is Made of His Son Nahor. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 13 why in the account.htm

Of the Years of Terah, who Completed his Lifetime in Haran.
... Book XVI. Chapter 14."Of the Years of Terah, Who Completed His Lifetime
in Haran. On Terah's death in Mesopotamia, where he is ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 14 of the years of.htm

Of the Time of the Migration of Abraham, When, According to the ...
... When, after the record of the death of Terah, the father of Abraham, we next read,
"And the Lord said to Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 15 of the time of.htm

Of the Era in Abraham's Life from which a New Period in the Holy ...
... The family of Terah, to which Abraham belonged, was the only one in which the worship
of the true God survived, and the only one, we may suppose, in which the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 12 of the era in.htm

Here Followeth the Life of Abraham
... The Sunday called Quinquagesima is read in the church the history of the
holy patriarch Abraham which was the son of Terah. This ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/here followeth the life of.htm

Chapter xii
... connection with the question where the first call of God came to Abram there are
a few things to be added to what has thus far been said in reference to Terah. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xii.htm

How Every Nation was Denominated from their First Inhabitants.
... The son of Phaleg, whose father Was Heber, was Ragau; whose son was Serug, to whom
was born Nahor; his son was Terah, who was the father of Abraham, who ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 6 how every nation.htm

Entire Sanctification in Patriarchal Times.
... Abraham dwelt with his father, Terah, who was an idolater, in Ur of the Chaldees,
when he received the call of God to go entirely away from his kindred and his ...
/.../clark/the theology of holiness/chapter iii entire sanctification in.htm

The Revelation to which the Scripture of the Old Testament Owes ...
... They formed a transition. After Noah the holy line disappears, and from
Shem to Terah the Holy Spirit's work remains invisible. ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xiv the revelation to which.htm

Of the Genealogy of Shem, in Whose Line the City of God is ...
... Peleg himself lived 130 years, and begat Reu; and Reu lived 132 years, and begat
Serug; Serug 130, and begat Nahor; and Nahor 79, and begat Terah; and Terah 70 ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 10 of the genealogy of.htm

Beesh'terah (1 Occurrence)
Beesh'terah. Be-eshterah, Beesh'terah. Beesh-terah . Multi-Version
Concordance Beesh'terah (1 Occurrence). Joshua 21 ...
/b/beesh'terah.htm - 6k

Terah (12 Occurrences)
...Terah afterwards migrated with Abraham (probably his youngest son) and Lot (his
grandson), together with their families, from Ur, intending to go with them to ...
/t/terah.htm - 13k

Terah's (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Terah's (1 Occurrence). Genesis 11:32 And all the years
of Terah's life were two hundred and five: and Terah came to his end in Haran. ...
/t/terah's.htm - 6k

Beesh-terah (1 Occurrence)
Beesh-terah. Beesh'terah, Beesh-terah. Beetle . Multi-Version
Concordance Beesh-terah (1 Occurrence). Joshua 21:27 And ...
/b/beesh-terah.htm - 6k

Nahor (18 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Snorting. (1.) The father of Terah, who was the
father of Abraham (Genesis 11:22-25; Luke 3:34). (2.) A ...
/n/nahor.htm - 13k

Chronology
... Thus: " Hebrew Septuigant Samaritan " From the birth of " Arphaxad, 2 years "
after the Flood, to " the birth of Terah. 220 1000 ...
/c/chronology.htm - 74k

Haran (19 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary. (1.) Hebrews haran; ie, "mountaineer." The eldest son
of Terah, brother of Abraham and Nahor, and father of Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. ...
/h/haran.htm - 17k

Begot (119 Occurrences)
... (DBY JPS). Genesis 11:24 And Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah. ... Genesis
11:26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. ...
/b/begot.htm - 30k

Ur (5 Occurrences)
... That Terah should have migrated from Ur to Harran, therefore, ceases to be
extraordinary. If he left Ur at all, it was the most natural place to which to go. ...
/u/ur.htm - 15k

Sarah (38 Occurrences)
... When the migration to Haran occurs, Sarai is named along with Abram and Lot as
accompanying Terah. ...Terah had other descendants who did not accompany him. ...
/s/sarah.htm - 28k

Who was Terah in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Haran in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

What is the story of Abraham and Lot? | GotQuestions.org

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