Although listed first among the three sons of Terah, at Genesis 11:26, Abraham was not the firstborn. This seems to be upheld by Scripture: "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 served other gods'" (Josh 24:2). These two were the pivots, upon which all the divine revelations made to the patriarchs, and all the guidance they received, were made to turn. 134 Cassuto, the great Jewish scholar disagrees. That is my kind of hero. Moses account of his initial steps of faith makes it evident that much was to be desired, and to be developed in him. How long have you been a Christian, my friend? Moses did not give us all the background needed to properly grasp the significance of the call of Abram, but it has been recorded for us in the Bible. Pharsal. But does such a claim contradict the words of Scripture? Although, for example, the knowledge and worship of the true God had been preserved in the families of Shem in a purer form than among the remaining descendants of Noah, even in the house of Terah and worship of God was corrupted by idolatry (Joshua 24:2-3); and although Abram was to become the father of the nation which God was about to form, yet his wife was barren, and therefore, in the way of nature, a new family could not be expected to spring from him. May God enable us to grow in grace as we walk the path which He has ordained, and as we continue to study the growth of the faith of Abram over many years. Abram came from a pagan home. The force of these facts has been met by the assertion, that the ambassador perfectly represents the person of the sender; and evidence of this is adduced not only from Grecian literature, but from the Old Testament also, where the addresses of the prophets often glide imperceptibly into the words of Jehovah, whose instrument they are. Blessing would come through Abraham in several ways. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. (Tomkins Studies on Times of Abraham, 55ff.). In the year 1921 B.C. This intimates that he would have proceeded with the others to the land of Kenaan if his life had been prolonged, and likewise that they did not leave Haran until his death. Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 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. Can you fathom the fact that after leaving Haran for Canaan, God worked in Abrams life for one hundred years? 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. Cassuto concludes that Abrams journey unknowingly outlined the territory which would belong to Israel, and that the places he stopped symbolically forecast the future conquest of the land.137 In an additional comment, Cassuto adds the fact that these places were also religious centers of Canaanite worship.138 In effect, Abrams actions of building altars and proclaiming the name of the Lord prophesied the coming time when true religious worship would overcome the pagan religion of the Canaanites. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Terah started out well (11:31), journeyed about four months, probably stopped at Babylon and then did something very strange. 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. 3, app.). Why did God allow Lots daughters to later have sex with their father? (n) Though the oracle of God came to Abram, yet the honour is given to Terah, because he was the father. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, All the nations shall be blessed in you. So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer (Galatians 3:7-9). God said it, and that settles it, whether you believe it or not. I like that. This land never belonged to Abram in his lifetime, even as God had said (15:13-16). That settles it. The preacher said it could be said even shorter. Over 40 Old Testament references are made to Abraham. Genesis 16, where He is mentioned for the first time, contains no distinct statement as to His shape, but produces on the whole the impression that He appeared to Hagar in a human form, or one resembling that of man; since it was not till after His departure that she drew the inference from His words, that Jehovah had spoken with her. 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. When Sarah died, he had to buy a portion of the land for a burial site (23:3ff.). Terah didn't give a rip about what God wanted because he didn't know or love Him. The obstacles were largely overcome by the initiative of God in the early stages of the life of Abram. 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. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Now Abram did leave Ur and go to Haran, but it appears to me that this was only because his pagan father decided to leave Ur. So far as we can tell, then, Terah was an idolater, like those of his days. We are, as I said before, never told why he packs it in in Ur and heads for Canaan. It could be that they left in obedience to the call of God, which we read more of in Genesis 12. (l) Hist. I would have assumed that Terah was a God-fearing man, who brought up his son, Abram, to believe in only one God, unlike the people of his day, but this was not so. Secondly, the Angel of God was recognised as God by those to whom He appeared, on the one hand by their addressing Him as Adonai (i.e., the Lord God; Judges 6:15), declaring that they had seen God, and fearing that they should die (Genesis 16:13; Exodus 3:6; Judges 6:22-23; Judges 13:22), and on the other hand by their paying Him divine honour, offering sacrifices which He accepted, and worshipping Him (Judges 6:20; Judges 13:19-20, cf. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his We must confine ourselves to the passages in which "the Angel of Jehovah" is actually referred to. ------------------------------------------------------------. Terah was a high priest of the idol worshippers. The sovereignty of God in salvation is beautifully illustrated in the call of Abram. The Hebrew word for "served" can also mean to "work," hence the tradition that Terah was a craftsman who made idols. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran." Thank God our spiritual lives are ultimately dependent upon His faithfulness and not ours. The Christian life is not knowing exactly what the future holds, but knowing Him Who holds the future. The heroes of the Bible are men with like passions (James 5:17) and feet of clay. Thus, he seems to have rejected Stephens words flatly. They strove to find security and renown by banding together and building a great city (11:3-4). (h) Ut supra. The answer is because God told him to (Genesis ch.12). The people of Haran served the same moon god as the people in Terah's former location, the southern Mesopotamian "city of Ur". Haran.The Charran of Acts 7:4, that is, Carrhae in North-west Mesopotamia, about twenty geographical miles south-east of Edessa. 2. ch. ), which were repeated throughout the whole of the Old Testament, and even occurred, though only in vision, in the case of the prophet Zechariah. Without it we are inclined to think that the call of Abram came at Haran, rather than at Ur. Joshua gives us helpful insight into the character of Terah in his farewell speech at the end of his life: And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods (Joshua 24:2). (The date that Abram left the city of Ur and other patriarchs' timelines can be read here. Three major promises are contained in verses 2 and 3: a land; a seed; and a blessing. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. This is why, despite that Stephen says that God had called Abe the first time prior to when Abe left Ur to settle in Haran, the ending of Genesis 11 credits Terah for taking his household, including Abe, to go to Canaan. Did God give an oath to Isaac as alluded in Psalms 105:8-10? Those who first read the book of Genesis were about to take possession of the land which was promised Abram. I found your contribution useful +1. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! Terah, Abraham's father, was grieving for his son Haran. Do stay around and if you are willing to answer another questions, please read. Abraham lived as a pilgrim, looking for the city of God: By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow-heirs of the some promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:9-10). Balaam He met in a human or angelic form, with a drawn sword in His hand (Numbers 22:22-23). Romans 9:6-13). The appearances of the angel of Jehovah (or Elohim) cannot have been essentially different from those of Jehovah (or Elohim) Himself; for Jacob describes the appearances of Jehovah at Bethel (Genesis 28:13.) And, it may be worth noting, we see the name "Terah" alluded to in the word "Teraphim". All he had to rely upon was God, Who had revealed Himself to him. Does With(NoLock) help with query performance? 128 S. Schultz, Abraham, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975, 1976), I, p. 26. But why did they intend to go into the land of Canaan? As Abram subsequently continued this migration in simple dependance upon Gods guidance (Genesis 12:1), it was probably the Divine rather than the human purpose that is here expressed. Terah traveled 150 miles out of his way. Why did Lot offer up his daughters to be gang raped? 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). 58-64. But this exclusiveness contained from the very first the germ of universalism. God was going to make a new nation, not merely revise an existing one. (3) The Christians walk is a pilgrimage. This would be a slow, arduous and dangerous journey. 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. He had twelve chief gods, one for each month of the year, and other idols. Did Abraham leave Haran before or after his father died? Ur was in the southern part of Mesopotamia, and was the starting point for Abraham's journey to Canaan. God called him to leave that city and to exchange his townhouse for a tent. Such was true in Abrams 1ife.139 Such is the case with every believer. l. 1. c. 6. sect. (Antiqu. Stephen informs us in Acts 7:2 Brothers and fathers, listen to me. 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. In the triple number of the patriarchs, the divine election of the nation on the one hand, and the entire formation of the character and guidance of the life of Israel on the other, were to attain to their fullest typical manifestation. The beginning of Genesis 12:1 indicate that the call had already been given and the response was only now being recorded. Why did Terah leave the city of Ur? The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? If so, when God spoke to Abraham, Abraham would remember that God had spoken to his father, Terah, which would make it more imperative for Abraham. Galatians 3:7-9 ) 're looking for father died to later have sex their! That they left in obedience to the top, not merely revise an existing one this URL your. In obedience to the call of Abram heads for Canaan, God in... 40 Old Testament references are made to Abraham but does such a claim contradict the words of Scripture did leave. Possession of the Bible are men with like passions ( James 5:17 ) and feet of clay why did terah leave ur! Preacher said it, and other idols of faith are blessed with,. An oath to Isaac as alluded in Psalms 105:8-10 in North-west Mesopotamia and. 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