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Terah
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te'-ra (to breathe, scent, blow, station, wanderer, loiterer)
RELATED: Abram (Abraham), Canaan, Chaldean, Haran, Nahor, Sarah, Ur |
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Easton's Bible Dictionary
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!
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
to breathe; scent; blow
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(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.)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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). 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
Tags:
bible commentary, bible reference, bible study, chaldean, define, father of abraham, nahor, haran and sarah; history, terah, thara, tharra, ur
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