Encyclopedia entry
Terah
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 (Gen. 11:24-32; Josh. 24:2). What a wonderful part the descendants of this Chaldean shepherd have played in the history of the world!
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
(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.)
In the Bible
12
Verses where Terah is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Chronicles 1:26
Serug, Nahor, Terah,
- Genesis 11:24
When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah.
- Genesis 11:25
And after he had become the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
- Genesis 11:26
When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
- Genesis 11:27
This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
- Genesis 11:28
During his father Terah’s lifetime, Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
+6 more verses naming Terah.
Scripture on Terah
5
Terah references
14
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.