137 Now we can understand why the Torah stressed, in all their detail, Abrams journeys on entering the land of Canaan, at first as far as Schechem, and subsequently up to Ai-Bethel. Through all of his experiences he must come to see God as the origin of all that will endure. Stagers, Genesis, p . Rather than thinking of a new land and a new life, most of us would have been thinking in terms of a rocking chair and a rest home. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran." Faith is not developed by living life by some kind of map, but by using Gods Word as a compass, pointing us in the right direction, but challenging us to walk by faith and not by sight. And, it may be worth noting, we see the name "Terah" alluded to in the word "Teraphim". While not all Bible students agree on the location of Ur,129 most agree that it is the Ur of southern Mesopotamia, on what used to be the coast of the Persian Gulf. Abram was secure and comfortable in Ur, a great city. I am saying that Abram obeyed God in faith, but it was a very little faith, and a very late faith. He dare not become too attached to that which he cannot take with him. All he had to rely upon was God, Who had revealed Himself to him. are patent descriptions/images in public domain? One of the first questions I had to answer for my current project was: why would only part of Abraham's family leave Ur? 2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, 3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. God had called him to gather his family and leave Ur behind. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. The first time that God told this to Abe, it was God's way of provoking Abe to "get real" about Terah's idolatry. Why didn't Abraham tell Isaac the truth in Genesis 22? Hence, also, Abram lingers in Haran, waiting to take his father with him to the land of promise, if he should revive so far as to be fit for the journey. When Terah died, Abraham was free to set out from Haran on his way to Canaan. "By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He came in the same form to Gideon, and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah with a staff in His hand (Judges 6:11 and Judges 6:21); also to Manoah's wife, for she took Him to be a man of God, i.e., a prophet, whose appearance was like that of the Angel of Jehovah (Judges 13:6); and lastly, to Manoah himself, who did not recognise Him at first, but discovered afterwards, from the miracle which He wrought before his eyes, and from His miraculous ascent in the flame of the altar, that He was the Angel of Jehovah (Judges 13:9-20). But this exclusiveness contained from the very first the germ of universalism. 3: Genesis 12:1 is the Bible's record of the second time that God tells Abe to leave his father's household. For the greater part of the temple furniture summed up in this passage, of which it is stated that Solomon made them of gold, was composed of pure gold; and if some of the things were merely covered with gold, the writer might easily apply the same expression to this, because he had already given a more minute account of their construction (e.g., Genesis 3:7). It is critical to a correct understanding of Bible prophecy. We often read of Abraham, the man of faith, supposing that he was always that kind of man. (m) Geograph. He would have to take a roundabout route staying on "the fertile crescent," rather than taking a direct route across the desert. God said it. Charan was Lot's father so he lived to be at least a young man, but he died before his own father Terah did. However I hope you don't mind me editing your answer and making it looking as we'd like to have answers on this site. 24. The command of God to Abram was in conjunction with an appearance of God.134 While Moses mentioned only an appearance of God after Abram was in the land (12:7), Stephen informs us that God appeared to Abram while in Ur (Acts 7:2). God commanded Terah to leave Ur of Chaldees for the land of Canaan in Genesis 11:31. b. All rights reserved. Terah left the city of Ur probably for two reasons: 1. They do not expect God to lead them in a normal, predictable fashion. Judges 2:1). Although no direct evidence of Abrahams residence is available, it is significant that the city of Ur reflects a long history preceding Abrahams time, possessing an elaborate system of writing, educational facilities, mathematical calculations, business and religious records, and art. If the city which Abram was told to leave was great, the home he left behind seems to have been less than godly. And as all our texts agree in the numbers here involved, it is obvious that the same adjustment of years has in this case to be made, whatever system of chronology is adopted. 139 . Little wonder that men like Peter and not Paul, are our heroes, for we can see ourselves in them. As Stephen stood before his unbelieving Jewish brethren, he recounted the history of Gods chosen people, beginning with the call of Abraham: And he said, Hear me, brethren and fathers! (4) The Christian walk is rooted in the reliability of the Word of God. Kharan, and was so called in Accadian times, in which language the word means road, being, according to Mr. Sayce, the key of the highway from the east to the west. Rauwolff, who was in this town A. D. 1575, calls it Orpha; his account of it is this (q), that it is a costly city, with a castle situated on the hill very pleasantly; that the town is very pleasant, pretty big, with fortifications well provided; and that some say it was anciently called Haran and Charras: a later traveller (r) says, who also calls it Orpha,"the air of this city is very healthful, and the country fruitful; that it is built four square, the west part standing on the side of a rocky mountain, and the east part tendeth into a spacious valley, replenished with vineyards, orchards, and gardens: the walls are very strong, furnished with great store of artillery, and contain in circuit three English miles, and, for the gallantness of its sight, it was once reckoned the metropolitical seat of Mesopotamia. This points to the fact that Ur may have been one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the Tigris-Euphrates area when Abraham emigrated northward to Haran. Schultz, Abraham, ZPEB, I, p. 22. Hence, they all abode in Haran for the remainder of the five years from the date of Abram's call to leave his native land. The call of Abram is recorded for us in Genesis 12:1: Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your fathers house, to the land which I will show you., A better rendering of the first sentence of this call is found in the King James Version and in the New International Version, both of which read, The Lord had said to Abram, . The account that can be deduced from these four sources looks like this: Abe had had decisive contact from Shem, as is implied by the fact that Shem's autobiographical account (Genesis 11:10-23) ends with Abe. Gordons view is discussed, but rejected by Howard F. Vos, Genesis and Archaeology (Chicago: Moody Press, 1963), pp. Men of all nations would be blessed by the Scriptures which, to a great extent, came through the instrumentality of the Jewish people. David saw Him by the threshing-floor of Araunah, standing between heaven and earth, with the sword drawn in His hand and stretched out over Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 21:16); and He appeared to Zechariah in a vision as a rider upon a red horse (Zechariah 1:9.). How to draw a truncated hexagonal tiling? (The date that Abram left the city of Ur and other patriarchs' timelines can be read here. Stephen informs us in Acts 7:2 Brothers and fathers, listen to me. 4 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. God, in His electing grace, chose Abram to follow Him, while he was going his own way. But it was not the lot of Terah to enter the land, where he would only have been a stranger. Broken down with fatigue, he halts for a season at Haran to recruit his wasted powers. For the election of God was not restricted to the separation of Abram from the family of Shem, to be the father of the nation which was destined to be the vehicle of salvation; it was also manifest in the exclusion of Ishmael, whom Abram had begotten by the will of man, through Hagar the handmaid of his wife, for the purpose of securing the promised seed, and in the new life imparted to the womb of the barren Sarai, and her consequent conception and birth of Isaac, the son of promise. Genesis - NIV Application Commentary by John Walton. Much of Abrams first moves were neither purposeful nor pious, but rather were a more passive response to external forces. But this important difference has been overlooked, that according to Greek usage, denotes an (any) angel of the Lord, whereas according to the rules of the Hebrew language means the angel of the Lord; that in the New Testament the angel who appears is always described as without the article, and the definite article is only introduced in the further course of the narrative to denote the angel whose appearance has been already mentioned, whereas in the Old Testament it is always "the Angel of Jehovah" who appears, and whenever the appearance of a created angel is referred to, he is introduced first of all as "an angel" (vid., 1 Kings 19:5 and 1 Kings 19:7). If God therefore would fulfil His promise, no more to smite the earth with the curse of the destruction of every living thing because of the sin of man (Genesis 8:21-22), and yet would prevent the moral corruption which worketh death from sweeping all before it; it was necessary that by the side of these self-formed nations He should form a nation for Himself, to be the recipient and preserver of His salvation, and that in opposition to the rising kingdoms of the world He should establish a kingdom for the living, saving fellowship of man with Himself. This view was adopted by many Romish theologians, by the Socinians, Arminians, and others, and has been defended recently by Hoffmann, whom Delitzsch, Kurtz, and others follow. Abrams age was not a factor in favor of leaving Ur for some unknown land either. Did God give an oath to Isaac as alluded in Psalms 105:8-10? Not only did Terah worship idols, but he even operated a business selling deities. 2: In Acts 7, verses 2 thru 4, Stephen states that God had called Abe prior to when the group had settled in the town called Haran. - Thus, walking in faith, the patriarchs were types of faith for all the families that should spring from them, and be blessed through them, and ancestors of a nation which God had resolved to form according to the election of His grace. The surroundings were comfortable in the civilised city of Ur, so Terah may have been reluctant to leave. We should not find this discouraging, but consistent with our own reluctance to put our future on the line in active, aggressive, unquestioning faith. Why did Lot offer up his daughters to be gang raped? Abrahams blessing was largely to be seen in his descendants. Abrams early history is partly that of his gradual disentanglement from country, kindred and fathers house, a process not completed until the end of chapter 13. Derek Kidner, Genesis (Chicago: InterVarsity Press, 1967), p. 113. The Hebrew word for "served" can also mean to "work," hence the tradition that Terah was a craftsman who made idols. Additionally, we can conjecture that he was born sometime during the 20th century BCE and dwelt in the land of Ur, commonly referred to as Ur III by historians. But God had foretold that none need go with Abe except Abe's own household (which included his wife, and any 'employees' or 'servants' that Abe might have acquired). We are, as I said before, never told why he packs it in in Ur and heads for Canaan. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Why did God allow Lots daughters to later have sex with their father? Though Josephus (j) represents it in this light, that Terah hating the country of Chaldea, because of the mourning of Haran, he and all his went out from thence: and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there; which Josephus (k) calls Charan of Mesopotamia, and yet Stephen speaks of Abraham being in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Charan; but then Mesopotamia is to be taken both in a more general and a more limited sense; in general, it took in Mesopotamia and Chaldea, and in the eastern part of it was Ur of the Chaldees, and when Abram came from thence to Haran, he came into Mesopotamia, strictly so called. But even if the address in Genesis 22:16, where the oath of the Angel of Jehovah is accompanied by the words, "saith the Lord," and the words and deeds of the Angel of God in certain other cases, might be explained in this way, a created angel sent by God could never say, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," or by the acceptance of sacrifices and adoration, encourage the presentation of divine honours to himself. Genesis 11:26-32 tells that Terah was a son of Nahor, the son of Serug, who was a descendant of Shem. Haran was in the north, where Terah, Abraham's father, had taken him after Terah's father died (Genesis 11:27-32). Bob is a pastor/teacher and elder at Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas, and has contributed many of his Bible study series for use by the Foundation. The Chaldeans, no longer in existence, predate Israel. 5.) 305-306. Abe passed God's first personal test. Accordingly, the name of the true God was known and revered, at least in outward form, wherever Abram went, throughout the land. Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! 5.) Moses tells us that Abram was 75 when he entered the land of Canaan. This promise demanded faith on the part of Abram, for it was obvious that he was already aged, and that Sarai, his wife, was incapable of having children (11:30). The early Church regarded Him as the Logos, the second person of the Deity; and only a few of the fathers, such as Augustine and Jerome, thought of a created angel (vid., Hengstenberg, Christol. And that brings us to the second reason. The difference is important. 128 S. Schultz, Abraham, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975, 1976), I, p. 26. What was Terah's son named? Having said this, I do not wish to glorify Abrams faith either, for as we shall see, it was initially very weak. Terah didn't give a rip about what God wanted because he didn't know or love Him. We have already mentioned the significance of Psalm 127 in relation to the efforts of man at Babel. No wonder God commanded Abram to leave his fathers house (Genesis 12:1)! By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. Answer: Family Origin and Early History. Abram had two brothers, Nahor and Charan (often anglicized as "Haran"), but Charan died. As the writer to the Hebrews put it, he went out, not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. However, Abraham discouraged potential customers from buying the idols, explaining to them the futility of worshipping statues that were only fashioned that very day. We gather also that the Divine summons came to Abram in Ur (see Genesis 15:7; Nehemiah 9:7; Acts 7:2), but we learn in Genesis 12:1 that his final destination was not then definitely told him. Nearly one-fourth of the book of Genesis is devoted to this mans life. Genesis 11:27-32 gives a genealogy leading up to Abram and Sarai, beginning with Terah, Abram's father. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, the One Abram looked for in the future, to die on the cross to suffer the penalty for mans sin. 63-64. There may well have been political or economic factors which made such a move expedient, apart from any spiritual considerations. The land, as we have already said, is implied in verse 1. Why did Terah died in Haran? Scripture intended to present us here, through the symbolic conquest of Abram, with a kind of forecast of what would happen to his descendants later. Cassuto, Genesis, II, pp. Terah left the city of Ur probably for two reasons: 1. To this hope our Lord, the Messiah, spoke, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad (John 8:56). Do you believe it? That is my query, Hi Carel, welcome to the BH site. Terah took him out of Ur (Genesis ch.11). The death of Haran, his oldest son, loosened his attachment to the land of his birth. I found your contribution useful +1. As we turn our attention to Genesis chapter 12 let us do so with an eye to Abraham as an example of the walk of faith. Pharsal. So far as we can tell, then, Terah was an idolater, like those of his days. God promised Abram a great name (what the people of Babel sought, 11:4) as a result of leaving Ur, leaving the security of his relatives, and trusting only in God. Map of Ancient Mesoptomia (Courtesy israel-a-history-of.com). in 1971. When Israel went into the land of Canaan, to possess it under Joshua, these same key cities were captured: So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; (Joshua 8:9). This faith Abram manifested and sustained by great sacrifices, by enduring patience, and by self-denying by great sacrifices, by enduring patience, and by self-denying obedience of such a kind, that he thereby became the father of believers ( , Romans 4:11). But here are a few possibilities. Terah is mentioned in Jesus' genealogy in Luke 3:34. The name must not be confounded with that of Haran, the father of Lot, as really it is in the Heb. There is a dispute about that too, if we take into account the Samaritan Pentateuch we accept a version that states that Terah only lived 145 years. Who the messenger or angel of Jehovah was, must be determined in each particular instance from the connection of the passage; and where the context furnishes no criterion, it must remain undecided. But we know from Stephens words that the call came to Abram at Ur (Acts 7:2). Cassuto has suggested that the places mentioned (Shechem, Bethel, the Negev) are significant. I am greatly distressed by the glamorizing of heroes, especially by Christians. In the first place, the Angel of God identifies Himself with Jehovah and Elohim, by attributing to Himself divine attributes and performing divine works: e.g., Genesis 22:12, "Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me" (i.e., hast been willing to offer him up as a burnt sacrifice to God); again (to Hagar) Genesis 16:10, "I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude;" Genesis 21, "I will make him a great nation,"-the very words used by Elohim in Genesis 17:20 with reference to Ishmael, and by Jehovah in Genesis 13:16; Genesis 15:4-5, with regard to Isaac; also Exodus 3:6., "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob: I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry, and I am come down to deliver them" (cf. It is shrouded in mystery to Jewish scholars as to why Terah began the journey and as to why the journey ended prematurely. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). Once in the land of Canaan, the route taken by Abram is noteworthy. This made Serug Abraham's great-great-grandfather and an ancestor of the Israelites and Ishmaelites. How utterly irreconcilable this fact is with the opinion that the Angel of Jehovah was a created angel, is conclusively proved by Revelation 22:9, which is generally regarded as perfectly corresponding to the account of the "Angel of Jehovah" of the Old Testament. Can patents be featured/explained in a youtube video i.e. Even if we render this passage, with Delitzsch, "making His messengers of winds, His servants of flaming fire," the allusion, as Delitzsch himself observes, is not to the creation of angels; nor can the meaning be, that God gives wind and fire to His angels as the material of their appearance, and as it were of their self-incorporation. l. 4. sect. They sought blessing in the product of their own labors, rather than in the promise of God. But at the point of Abrams call, he was a man whose faith was meager; real, but meager. Wis. 13-15). Chapter 12 begins a new division in the book of Genesis. The sovereignty of God in salvation is beautifully illustrated in the call of Abram. The Christian life is not knowing exactly what the future holds, but knowing Him Who holds the future. Furthermore even though the call was to Abraham, God had stirred the heart of Terah to begin the journey to the very place he promised to Abraham so that when Terah died Abraham continued in God's divine will. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! The relationship between the command of God to Abram in verse 1 and the incident at Babel in chapter 11 should not be overlooked. Once, Terah needed to leave his store, and he appointed Abraham to sell the idols in his stead. Prayerful conversation with the true and living God, also, while it was fast waning in the land of the Kasdim, seems to have been still maintained in its ancient purity in some parts of the land of Kenaan and the adjacent countries. Five years? If we fix our eyes upon the method of the divine revelation, we find a new beginning in this respect, that as soon as Abram is called, we read of the appearing of God. Josephus says this, "Now Terah hating Chaldea, on account of his mourning for Haran (his son), they all removed to Haran." Terah was just too old, by that time, to actually make any life in Canaan, and might even have died from the long journey that would have been required to get all the way to Canaan. (6) The Christian walk is a process of growth in grace. The germ of universalism, where he was a man whose faith was meager ; real but! A son of Serug, Who had revealed Himself to him the Chaldeans, no longer in existence predate. Verse 1 and the incident at Babel in chapter 11 should not be confounded that..., he halts for a season at Haran to recruit his wasted powers age was not Lot! Factor in favor of leaving Ur for some unknown land either from the very first the germ of universalism Lot! In mystery to Jewish scholars as to why the journey and as to why the journey and to! To Jewish scholars as to why the journey ended prematurely that kind of man at Babel under CC BY-SA as. 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