why did terah leave ur

They lived in a city called Ur . Genesis 11:31 tells us that Ter'ah took Abraham, Lot, and Sarai, and began the journey to Canaan, perhaps out of grief for the loss of his son Haran, but certainly before the call on Abraham. There may well have been political or economic factors which made such a move expedient, apart from any spiritual considerations. Abraham was the tenth generation from Noah through Shem and was born 352 years after the Deluge, in 2018 B.C.E. God providentially led Terah to pull up roots at Ur and to move toward Canaan (11:31). For some reason, Terah and his family stopped short of Canaan, and remained in Haran. All he had to rely upon was God, Who had revealed Himself to him. Did Terah go to Canaan because God spoke to Abram?". How to delete all UUID from fstab but not the UUID of boot filesystem. Bob is a pastor/teacher and elder at Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas, and has contributed many of his Bible study series for use by the Foundation. 137 Now we can understand why the Torah stressed, in all their detail, Abrams journeys on entering the land of Canaan, at first as far as Schechem, and subsequently up to Ai-Bethel. Vos, Genesis and Archaeology, pp. However I hope you don't mind me editing your answer and making it looking as we'd like to have answers on this site. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. 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. (The date that Abram left the city of Ur and other patriarchs' timelines can be read here. (n) Though the oracle of God came to Abram, yet the honour is given to Terah, because he was the father. People came to offer sacrifices to these idols, or to buy them, and Terah had a thriving business. But does such a claim contradict the words of Scripture? What is the best way to deprotonate a methyl group? According to the biblical book of Genesis, Abraham left Ur, in Mesopotamia, because God called him to found a new nation in an undesignated land that he later learned was Canaan. He obeyed unquestioningly the commands of God, from whom he received repeated promises and a covenant that his "seed" would inherit the land. When he is commanded to sacrifice Isaac, he must obey with a willing heart of love, yet somehow see through to balance the command with the promise of the seed of a nation and leave the outcome to God and to find in God all sufficiency. 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. Besides, Abram and Sarai were no doubt especially dear to him, and he did not wish to lose their society. (r) Cartwright's Preacher's Travels, p. 14, 15. we get two critically different instances in which God told Abe to go to Canaan without his father's household. It gives some background on the people in the family, interesting little tidbits about the individuals and events that occurred. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! The land, as we have already said, is implied in verse 1. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. Now Abram did leave Ur and go to Haran, but it appears to me that this was only because his pagan father decided to leave Ur. 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"). Why are non-Western countries siding with China in the UN? 24. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Terah wanted to leave Ur because he was afraid a war would start. If so, when God spoke to Abraham, Abraham would remember that God had spoken to his father, Terah, which would make it more imperative for Abraham. 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. He left Haran, not because it was the easiest thing to do, but because God intended for him to do it. - All this occurred as a type for the future, that Israel might know and lay to heart the fact, that bodily descent from Abraham did not make a man a child of God, but that they alone were children of God who laid hold of the divine promise in faith, and walked in the steps of their forefather's faith (cf. These appearances, which were constantly repeated from that time forward, must have taken place from heaven; for we read that Jehovah, after speaking with Abram and the other patriarchs, "went away" (Genesis 18:33), or "went up" (Genesis 17:22; Genesis 35:13); and the patriarchs saw them, sometimes while in a waking condition, in a form discernible to the bodily senses, sometimes in visions, in a state of mental ecstasy, and at other times in the form of a dream (Genesis 28:12.). Kharan, and was so called in Accadian times, in which language the word means road, being, according to Mr. Sayce, the key of the highway from the east to the west. Terah left the city of Ur probably for two reasons: 1. Such will be the case as we can look back upon our lives from the vantage point of time. With God's calling of Terah in verse 31, Ancient Israel was set on an irrevocable course. Terah traveled 150 miles out of his way. Those who first read the book of Genesis were about to take possession of the land which was promised Abram. We have already seen that Abram was seventy-five years of age at the death of Terah. What a thrill that must have been for the people of Moses day to read this promise and realize that the time for possession had come. From Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Does With(NoLock) help with query performance? It grows through time and through testing. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. l. 1. v. 105. ), or of "Elohim," and the "angel of Elohim" (Genesis 21:17; Genesis 31:11, etc. 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. Terah was just too old, by that time, to actually make any life in Canaan, and might even have died from the long journey that would have been required to get all the way to Canaan. Abraham was 75 years old when his father, Terah, passed away at 205 years of age as indicated in the book of Genesis. 10. sect. In the words of Vos, Regardless of when Abraham left Ur, he turned his back on a great metropolis, setting out by faith for a land about which he knew little or nothing and which could probably offer him little from a standpoint of material benefits.132. "Abraham was a man of faith that works; Isaac, of faith that endures; Jacob, of faith that wrestles" (Baumgarten). Pharsal. 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. It was both a very early and a very late outpost of Chaldean power. He had twelve chief gods, one for each month of the year, and other idols. From these events in the early stages of Abrams growth in grace several principles are found which depict the walk of faith in every age, and certainly in our own. With the choice of Abram and revelation of God to man assumed a select character, inasmuch as God manifested Himself henceforth to Abram and his posterity alone as the author of salvation and the guide to true life; whilst other nations were left to follow their own course according to the powers conferred upon them, in order that they might learn that in their way, and without fellowship with the living God, it was impossible to find peace to the soul, and the true blessedness of life (cf. (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 quoted the shopworn saying, God said it. This chapter leaves them about mid-way between Ur and Canaan, where they dwelt till Terah's death. A priest implies a considerable body of true worshippers scattered over the country. 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 relationship between the command of God to Abram in verse 1 and the incident at Babel in chapter 11 should not be overlooked. When Terah died, Abraham was free to set out from Haran on his way to Canaan. So Terah was finally convinced to believe that Shem's advice was right. (m) Geograph. Later he was instructed to go up to Bethel (35:1; cf. . 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. Terah is identified as the person who arranged and led the family to embark on a mysterious journey to Canaan. Terah may have told Abraham why he was leaving Ur and why he decided to settle in Haran. Are there conventions to indicate a new item in a list? God had called him to gather his family and leave Ur behind. 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. Terah set out on his journey, no doubt, as soon after the call of Abram as the preparatory arrangements could be made. As a perfectly new beginning, therefore, the patriarchal history assumed the form of a family history, in which the grace of God prepared the ground for the coming Israel. in relation to Terah's genealogy, Abram's family in relation to Terah's death, the form of the 'calling' verb, the country Abram departed from, and the narrative art of the literary piece. 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. Did Abraham meet Jacob as alluded in Hebrews 11:9? The report of this comparatively favorable state of things in the land of Kenaan would be an additional incentive to the newly enlightened family of Terah to accompany Abram in obedience to the divine call. ), which were repeated throughout the whole of the Old Testament, and even occurred, though only in vision, in the case of the prophet Zechariah. But at the point of Abrams call, he was a man whose faith was meager; real, but meager. Yes, God twice told Abra(ha)m to "leave your father's household, and go to the land of Canaan." This land never belonged to Abram in his lifetime, even as God had said (15:13-16). I am saying that Abram obeyed God in faith, but it was a very little faith, and a very late faith. (q) Travels, par. Ancient Mesopotamia was a region centered upon the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. But God had foretold that none need go with Abe except Abe's own household (which included his wife, and any 'employees' or 'servants' that Abe might have acquired). Terah took him out of Ur (Genesis ch.11). It is of interest to note that Islam holds Abram second in importance to Mohammed, with the Koran referring to Abraham 188 times.128. The inhabitants also of Ur had fallen into polytheism, or, if we may so speak, allotheism, the worship of other gods. There is no conflict here, since Haran was a CITY in the REGION known as Mesopotamia. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there. Not only did Terah worship idols, but he even operated a business selling deities. And if we are honest with ourselves, that is just about where most of us are. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Here was the basis for the great name that God would give to Abram. 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. God commanded Terah to leave Ur of Chaldees for the land of Canaan in Genesis 11:31. b. This explanation of the order of events is confirmed by the statement of Stephen: "The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran. Much more important than where he was, God was concerned with who he was, and in Whom he trusted. Men of all nations would be blessed by the Scriptures which, to a great extent, came through the instrumentality of the Jewish people. Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. in 1971. The beginning of Genesis 12:1 indicate that the call had already been given and the response was only now being recorded. Although, for example, the knowledge and worship of the true God had been preserved in the families of Shem in a purer form than among the remaining descendants of Noah, even in the house of Terah and worship of God was corrupted by idolatry (Joshua 24:2-3); and although Abram was to become the father of the nation which God was about to form, yet his wife was barren, and therefore, in the way of nature, a new family could not be expected to spring from him. Chapter 12 begins a new division in the book of Genesis. One purpose of the genealogy of chapter 11 is that it informs us that men were living shorter lives, and having children younger. Answer: Family Origin and Early History. 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. (Note: In the old Jewish synagogue the Angel of Jehovah was regarded as the Shechinah, the indwelling of God in the world, i.e., the only Mediator between God and the world, who bears in the Jewish theology the name Metatron. The early Church regarded Him as the Logos, the second person of the Deity; and only a few of the fathers, such as Augustine and Jerome, thought of a created angel (vid., Hengstenberg, Christol. That is my kind of hero. So Terah had two reasons to leave the city of Ur of the Chaldees. On the other hand, He appeared to Moses (Exodus 3:2) in a flame of fire, speaking to him from the burning bush, and to the people of Israel in a pillar of cloud and fire (Exodus 14:19, cf. 305-306. Abraham was a man of great faithafter years of testing by God. l. 4. sect. John 14:1-3). Rauwolff, who was in this town A. D. 1575, calls it Orpha; his account of it is this (q), that it is a costly city, with a castle situated on the hill very pleasantly; that the town is very pleasant, pretty big, with fortifications well provided; and that some say it was anciently called Haran and Charras: a later traveller (r) says, who also calls it Orpha,"the air of this city is very healthful, and the country fruitful; that it is built four square, the west part standing on the side of a rocky mountain, and the east part tendeth into a spacious valley, replenished with vineyards, orchards, and gardens: the walls are very strong, furnished with great store of artillery, and contain in circuit three English miles, and, for the gallantness of its sight, it was once reckoned the metropolitical seat of Mesopotamia. 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They settled there to Bethel ( 35:1 ; cf ( the date Abram! Children younger there may well have been political or economic factors which made such a claim contradict words., etc settled there give to Abram in verse 1 and the incident at Babel in 11...

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