Who is…
Terah

Meaning: the wanderer; loiterer

Terah is the father of Abraham and lived during the early 2nd millennium BC. He native land was in Ur of the Chaldeans (southern Mesopotamia). For some unknown reason, he later emigrated with his family from these mountains to the plains of Mesopotamia.

He had 3 sons, Haran, Nahor II, and Abram.

Terah’s son Haran died in Ur. Some interpreters suggest Haran was the eldest (since he had a daughter old enough for Nahor II to marry and died while Terah was alive), with Nahor II possibly 2nd and Abram youngest. Terah was 70 when he “became the father” of these sons, but this could refer to the birth of the 1st, not all 3 simultaneously.

Joshua 24:2 notes that Terah and his ancestors “worshiped other gods,” indicating they came from a polytheistic background before the distinct monotheistic trajectory of Abraham’s line who worshipped the one true God.

After Haran’s death, Terah led a migration with Abram, Sarai (Abram’s wife, also his half-sister), and Lot toward Canaan but settled in the city of Haran (northern Mesopotamia, in modern-day Turkey). Nahor II and his family appear to have remained or settled in that northern region, as later references mention “the city of Nahor” in the area, a place on the way to Ur.

Terah afterwards migrated with Abram (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 205 years (Genesis 11:24-32; Joshua 24:2).

What a wonderful part some descendants of this Chaldean shepherd played in the history of the world.

Relatives

• Father: Nahor I
• Sons: Haran (father of Lot and Milcah), Nahor II (died before Terah; stayed in the region of Haran and married his niece Milcah), Abram/Abraham
• Grandsons: Lot, Thahash, Uz, Isaac, Ishmael, Ishbak, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Shuah, Zimran
• Great-grandsons: Jacob, Esau, Dedan, Epher, Hanoch
• Great-great-grandsons: Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Judah, Levi, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun, Joseph

Terah is in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, both through Mary and Joseph.

Mary’s genealogy

Jesus Christ ← Mary ← Heli ← Matthat ← Levi ← Melchi ← Janna ← Joseph ← Mattathiah (Mattathias) ← Amos ← Nahum ← Esli ← Naggai ← Maath ← Mattathiah (Mattathias) ← Semei ← Joseph ← Judah ← Joannas (Joanna) ← Rhesa ← Zerubbabel ← Shealtiel ← Neri ← Melchi ← Addi ← Cosam ← Elmodam ← Er ← Jose (Joshua, Jesus) ← Eliezer ← Jorim ← Matthat ← Levi ← Simeon ← Judah ← Joseph ← Jonan ← Eliakim ← Melea ← Menan (Menna) ← Mattathah ← Nathan ← KING DAVID ← Jesse ← Obed ← Boaz ← Salmon ← Nahshon ← Amminadab ← Ram ← Hezron ← Perez ← Judah ← Jacob ← Isaac ← ABRAHAM ← Terah ← Nahor I ← Serug ← Reu ← Peleg ← Eber ← Shelah ← Cainan ← Arphaxad ← Shem ← NOAH ← Lamech ← Methuselah ← Enoch ← Jared ← Mahalalel (Mahalaleel) ← Cainan ← Enosh (Enos) ← Seth ← ADAM (created by God).

More Information

• Who is Abram?
• Who is Abraham? and what is his significance?
• What is Ur in the Bible?
• What is Chaldea?
• Answers about Men of the Bible