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. 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. When he is promised a land, and when that land is not given, he must look beyond the promise to its Maker so that he may understand. This is the reason why we have placed one hundred and thirty (seventy and sixty), in the genealogical table opposite Terah, because the line of descent is not traced through Haran, who was born when he was seventy, but through Abram, who by plain inference was born when he was one hundred and thirty years old. Besides, Abram and Sarai were no doubt especially dear to him, and he did not wish to lose their society. 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. They do not expect God to lead them in a normal, predictable fashion. Now the promise to Abram was four hundred and thirty years before the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt Exodus 12:40. 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. At both Shechem and Bethel he built altars, like Abram, his grandfather (33:20; 35:7). Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran." to Harran, they settled there.(NIV). Most of the errors so popular in Christian circles concerning the nature of the life of faith can be corrected by a study of the life of Abraham. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! Many reach to Charran, and yet fall short of Canaan; they are not far from the kingdom of God, and yet never come thither. The pluperfect tense (had said) is both grammatically legitimate and exegetically necessary. But at the point of Abrams call, he was a man whose faith was meager; real, but meager. It may be supposed at at that time God had then called Abe, and Abe's response to God's call was the dramatic ploy that Jewish oral tradition says that Abe did: Abe was determined to do anything necessary to try to convince his father, Terah, to take Shem's witness to heart. The beginning of Genesis 12:1 indicate that the call had already been given and the response was only now being recorded. Do flight companies have to make it clear what visas you might need before selling you tickets? The incongruity of God's covenant with Abram in Gen 12:1? Terah is the one who told the people to leave Ur Kasdim in the book of Genesis, not Abram. In our best moments, our faith is vibrant and vital, but in the moments of testing, it is weak and wanting. There are many speculations on why Terah took his family, left the Ur of the Chaldeans and headed for Canaan. in 1971. We will examine these, first of all, for the purpose of obtaining a clear conception of the form in which the Angel of Jehovah appeared. God was going to make a new nation, not merely revise an existing one. (Note: The force of this difference cannot be set aside by the objection that the New Testament writers follow the usage of the Septuagint, where is rendered . He left Haran, not because it was the easiest thing to do, but because God intended for him to do it. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. 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. Why did God punish Pharaoh for Abrams lie (Genesis 12:17)? God told Abram to leave without knowing where the path of obedience would lead, but believing that God was leading as he went. Terahs migration was partly perhaps a movement of a tribe of the Semites northwards (see Note on Genesis 11:28), made restless by the Elamites, who about this time overran Western Asia; but chiefly it had a religious motive: for Ur was the especial seat of the worship of the moon-god, Sin; and though Terah had not attained to the purity of Abrahams faith, yet neither was he altogether an idolater. The Hebrew word for "served" can also mean to "work," hence the tradition that Terah was a craftsman who made idols. He quoted the shopworn saying, God said it. Specifically, Stephen's comment, in reply to the high priest (Acts 7:1), is based on Jewish oral tradition, and was recognized by the Jewish High Counsel (called the "Sanhedren"). Much of Abrams first moves were neither purposeful nor pious, but rather were a more passive response to external forces. (Tomkins Studies on Times of Abraham, 55ff.). Why didn't Abraham tell Isaac the truth in Genesis 22? In Genesis 11, we read that Terah came from Ur of the Chaldeans. One purpose of the genealogy of chapter 11 is that it informs us that men were living shorter lives, and having children younger. ------------------------------------------------------------. Five years? Does With(NoLock) help with query performance? 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. No stop along the path was irrelevant or without purpose. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. The relationship between the command of God to Abram in verse 1 and the incident at Babel in chapter 11 should not be overlooked. Historians share that the father of Serug was Reu. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. But when they came So we know that Abraham told his father Terah to leave, because God appeared to Abraham, not Terah. Can patents be featured/explained in a youtube video i.e. This covenant is the thread which ties the rest of the Old Testament together. 135. Terah may have told Abraham why he was leaving Ur and why he decided to settle in Haran. Answer Terah is known in the Bible as the father of Abram (known later as Abraham), who in turn received the covenant promise of God regarding the future birth of His Son, Jesus. God had never forbidden anyone from going with Abe. For some reason, Terah and his family stopped short of Canaan, and remained in Haran. I do not find such people in the Bible. 58-64. Although listed first among the three sons of Terah, at Genesis 11:26, Abraham was not the firstborn. If His Word is not true and reliable, then we, of all men, are most miserable.. Ultimately, the whole world was blessed by the coming of the Messiah, who came to save men of every nation, not just the Jews: Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith that are sons of Abraham. 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. 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, . we get two critically different instances in which God told Abe to go to Canaan without his father's household. God also appeared to Moses at the time of his call (Exodus 3:2, etc.). But here are a few possibilities. ), without any angelic form being visible in either case. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. (r) Cartwright's Preacher's Travels, p. 14, 15. Still, there may have been some tradition in the family, or knowledge handed down from patriarchal times, which made them look upon Canaan as their land of hope; and the expedition of Amraphel, king of Shinar, and others against the south of Palestine, recorded in Genesis 14:1-16, and confirmed by our large present knowledge of these popular movements, shows that we must not assume that, far removed from one another as were Babylonia and Canaan, therefore they were lands mutually unknown. Why was Abraham promised land that belonged to others (Genesis 12)? I found your contribution useful +1. Thus, he seems to have rejected Stephens words flatly. Those who first read the book of Genesis were about to take possession of the land which was promised Abram. Terah started out well (11:31), journeyed about four months, probably stopped at Babylon and then did something very strange. Life Span. Hence, his desire to keep up his connection with Abram, who was called of God. Abe replied something like, "I saw that remaining idol in the corner smash all the others. 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. Thank God our spiritual lives are ultimately dependent upon His faithfulness and not ours. One of the first questions I had to answer for my current project was: why would only part of Abraham's family leave Ur? God, in His electing grace, chose Abram to follow Him, while he was going his own way. Ur was in the southern part of Mesopotamia, and was the starting point for Abraham's journey to Canaan. What more should we require than Gods Word? (o) -----------Miserando funere Crassus, Assyrias latio maculavit sanguine Carrhas. No wonder God commanded Abram to leave his fathers house (Genesis 12:1)! God providentially led Terah to pull up roots at Ur and to move toward Canaan (11:31). (k) Ibid. Those who recognized the hand of God in Abram and his descendants would be blessed by contact with them. Do you know that after Abram entered the land of Canaan it was another 25 years until he had his son, Isaac? And, it may be worth noting, we see the name "Terah" alluded to in the word "Teraphim". There are ample evidences of elaborate wealth, skilled craftsmanship, and advanced technology and science.131 All of this tells us something of the city which Abram was commanded to leave. Are there conventions to indicate a new item in a list? 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. Little of the culture, religion, or philosophy of the people of Ur was to be a part of what God planned to do with His people, Israel. Why are non-Western countries siding with China in the UN? Abram had two brothers, Nahor and Charan (often anglicized as "Haran"), but Charan died. 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). Terah left the city of Ur probably for two reasons: 1. Well, it was written in Genesis that his birth name was Abram, before God changed his name to Abraham, and that he was the son of Terah. Such will be the case as we can look back upon our lives from the vantage point of time. As the writer to the Hebrews put it, he went out, not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). God said it, and that settles it, whether you believe it or not. I like that. 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. (i) Elmacinus, p. 31. apud Hottinger. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. The giants of the faith seem to be sterling characters with no evident flaws, with machine-like discipline, and unfaltering faith. The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran ( Genesis 11:26-32 ESV ). 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. The revelations consisted almost exclusively of promises; and so far as these promises were fulfilled in the lives of the patriarchs, the fulfilments themselves were predictions and pledges of the ultimate and complete fulfilment, reserved for a distant, or for the most remote futurity. (Antiqu. The final promise was that of blessingblessing for him, and blessing through him. A physical death interpretation would state that Terah had died and his total lifespan is recorded as 205 years. Do not expect that God will indicate each turn in the road with a clearly marked sign. For some reason, Terah and his family stopped short of Canaan, and remained in Haran. The tent is thus the symbol of the pilgrim. Abram did not even know where he would settle. Consequently such passages as Psalm 34:7; Psalm 35:5-6, etc., where the angel of Jehovah is not more particularly described, or Numbers 20:16, where the general term angel is intentionally employed, or Acts 7:30; Galatians 3:19, and Hebrews 2:2, where the words are general and indefinite, furnish no evidence that the Angel of Jehovah, who proclaimed Himself in His appearances as one with God, was not in reality equal with God, unless we are to adopt as the rule for interpreting Scripture the inverted principle, that clear and definite statements are to be explained by those that are indefinite and obscure. 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