The inhabitants also of Ur had fallen into polytheism, or, if we may so speak, allotheism, the worship of other gods. The Chaldeans, no longer in existence, predate Israel. Such was true in Abrams 1ife.139 Such is the case with every believer. Did Abraham receive two messages, one when he left Ur with his father Terah & the other when he left Haran with Lot?. When Terah died, Abraham was free to set out from Haran on his way to Canaan. He is promised a seed and when that seed is delayed, he must somehow see meaning in that delay and learn faith in God. It is quite possible that God made the three promises to Abraham's father Terah first, but he failed the test by remaining in Haran. Terah is mentioned in Jesus' genealogy in Luke 3:34. Life Span. "And Terah died in Haran." verse 6). The beginning of Genesis 12:1 indicate that the call had already been given and the response was only now being recorded. 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. 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 21:16-21. 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. When Terah died, Abraham was free to set out from Haran on his way to Canaan. 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. Did Terah go to Canaan because God spoke to Abram?". God had never forbidden anyone from going with Abe. 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. 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. 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). 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). (l) Hist. Though proceeding by easy stages, the aged patriarch seems to have been exhausted by the length and the difficulty of the way. 58-64. Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. Ancient Mesopotamia was a region centered upon the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. While the exact meaning of the expression, called upon the name of the Lord may not be known, worship is surely described. 128 S. Schultz, Abraham, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975, 1976), I, p. 26. We are not inclined to be impressed with Abrams age because of the length of mens lives in olden times, but Genesis chapter 11 informs us that mans longevity was much greater in times past, than in Abrams day. The obstacles were largely overcome by the initiative of God in the early stages of the life of Abram. Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife. Question:Clive wrote"I really enjoyed your Bible study. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. The surroundings were comfortable in the civilised city of Ur, so Terah may have been reluctant to leave. set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! I would hope that our study of the initial period of his life indicates otherwise. God said it. The tent is thus the symbol of the pilgrim. Do you know that after Abram entered the land of Canaan it was another 25 years until he had his son, Isaac? Much of Abrams blessing was to come in the form of his offspring, but there was also the blessing that would come in the form of the Messiah, who would bring salvation to Gods people. (Antiqu. But when they came Terah coordinated the journey, intending to go to this new land, but stopped in the city of Haran along the way, where he died at the age of 205. Those who first read the book of Genesis were about to take possession of the land which was promised Abram. The Hebrew word for "served" can also mean to "work," hence the tradition that Terah was a craftsman who made idols. And, most important, I can find hope for a person like myself. How to draw a truncated hexagonal tiling? But as soon as Abram had gone to Canaan, in obedience to the call of God, Jehovah appeared to him there (Genesis 12:7). 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. 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. For unknown reasons, Terah never made it to their destination but stopped and settled in Harran instead. All that the Septuagint rendering proves, is that the translators supposed "the angel of the Lord" to be a created angel; but it by no means follows that their supposition is correct.). Having said this, I do not wish to glorify Abrams faith either, for as we shall see, it was initially very weak. Terah, it seems, decided to stay in the northern Mesopotamian "city of Haran," (no connection with his son Haran) rather than continue the journey to Canaan, which was the family's original intent. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. "A faith, which laid hold of the word of promise, and on the strength of that word gave up the visible and present for the invisible and future, was the fundamental characteristic of the patriarchs" (Delitzsch). If the city which Abram was told to leave was great, the home he left behind seems to have been less than godly. Pharsal. When you stop to think about it, Abram had no concrete, tangible proof that a life of blessing lay ahead, outside of Ur, away from his family. - Terah takes the lead in this emigration, as the patriarch of the family. Now Abram was one hundred years old when Isaac was born, and consequently the call was given when he was seventy years of age - about five years before he entered the land of Kenaan Genesis 12:4. Terah ends up dying in Haran. 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. Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal (Joshua 8:30). The form of the Angel of Jehovah, which was discernible by the senses, varied according to the purpose of the appearance; and, apart from Genesis 21:17 and Genesis 22:11, we have a sufficient proof that it was not a real angelic appearance, or the appearance of a created angel, in the fact that in two instances it was not really an angel at all, but a flame of fire and a shining cloud which formed the earthly substratum of the revelation of God in the Angel of Jehovah (Exodus 3:2; Exodus 14:19), unless indeed we are to regard natural phenomena as angels, without any scriptural warrant for doing so. Terah was a high priest of the idol worshippers. For some reason, Terah and his family stopped short of Canaan, and remained in Haran. Ur was a large and prosperous city-state in Mesopotamia (present-day southern Iraq). The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran ( Genesis 11:26-32 ESV ). 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. Accordingly, the name of the true God was known and revered, at least in outward form, wherever Abram went, throughout the land. And later in the story Rachel, Terah's great-great-granddaughter, does seem keen to hold on to the Teraphim (household idols) as if they were a family heirloom (Gen 31:19). In Genesis 11, we read that Terah came from Ur of the Chaldeans. Over 40 Old Testament references are made to Abraham. But as we look back upon it, we can see that God was leading all the way. Is the Angel of the Lord identifying as God? Ephesians 2:19, I Peter 1:17, 2:11). Context. The early history consists of three stages, which are indicated by the three patriarchs, peculiarly so called, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and in the sons of Jacob the unity of the chosen family was expanded into the twelve immediate fathers of the nation. . God was therein posing to Abe the idea of rejecting Terah as unworthy of Abe's full evangelistic effort. - 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. Genesis 2:5). 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. He would have to take a roundabout route staying on "the fertile crescent," rather than taking a direct route across the desert. There may well have been political or economic factors which made such a move expedient, apart from any spiritual considerations. Haran.The Charran of Acts 7:4, that is, Carrhae in North-west Mesopotamia, about twenty geographical miles south-east of Edessa. The former appears to us to be the only scriptural view. 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