Gen 11:27-29 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Gen 11:27: 11:27–25:11 This is the account (Hebrew toledoth ; see study note on 2:4) of Terah’s family : What follows in 11:28–25:11 are the particulars about the family descended from Terah, notably about Abraham and God’s covenant with him, and about Isaac, the child of promise, who carried forward the line and the blessing to the next generation. Summary for Gen 11:27-32: 11:27-32 This brief section provides a complete summary of Terah’s life and accounts for his other sons and their marriages; it also introduces Lot, Abram’s nephew, who later played a prominent role. The ancestors, including Terah and his family, were idolatrous, worshiping other gods in Mesopotamia (Josh 24:2 ). 11:27 Nahor was the grandfather of Laban, whose daughters later became Jacob’s wives (chs 29–31 ). • Lot: See profile for Lot at end of chapter.

Summary for Gen 11:27: 11:27–25:11 ^a This is the account (Hebrew toledoth; see study note on 2:4) of Terah’s family: What follows in 11:28–25:11 ^b are the particulars about the family descended from Terah, notably about Abraham and God’s covenant with him, and about Isaac, the child of promise, who carried forward the line and the blessing to the next generation.
Summary for Gen 11:27-32: 11:27-32 ^c This brief section provides a complete summary of Terah’s life and accounts for his other sons and their marriages; it also introduces Lot, Abram’s nephew, who later played a prominent role. The ancestors, including Terah and his family, were idolatrous, worshiping other gods in Mesopotamia (Josh 24:2 ^d). 11:27 ^e Nahor was the grandfather of Laban, whose daughters later became Jacob’s wives (chs 29–31 ^f).

• Lot: See profile for Lot at end of chapter.
11:28 ^g The call of Abram occurred in Ur of the Chaldeans (15:7 ^h; Acts 7:2-4 ⁱ), the main city of Sumer in Mesopotamia near the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The family had moved there perhaps generations before the call. Their ancestral home (“native country,” Gen 12:1 ^j) was apparently near Haran, in the region of the descendants of Shem (11:10-26 ^k); thus they settled there when they left Ur (11:31 ^l) and were later described as “Arameans” (Deut 26:5 ^m).

• land of his birth: The same Hebrew phrase is repeated in 12:1 ⁿ (“native country”), making Ur, not Haran, the location of Abram’s call (see 15:7 ^o; Neh 9:7 ^p; Acts 7:2 ^q).
11:29 ^r Sarai means “princess” in Hebrew. No mention is made of Sarai’s parentage, perhaps to add suspense to the Abimelech story, which reveals that she was Abram’s half sister (20:9-12 ^s). Later, the law prohibited such a marriage (Lev 18:9 ^t; 20:17 ^u; Deut 27:22 ^v).

• Nahor’s wife was Milcah: Milcah was Haran’s daughter and Nahor’s niece (see Gen 11:29 ^w). Her son Bethuel was the father of Rebekah, the wife of Abram’s son Isaac (24:10 ^x, 15 ^y, 24 ^z). The name Milcah is related to the Hebrew word meaning “queen.” In Akkadian, it is a title of the goddess Ishtar, the moon-god’s daughter. Terah’s name is related to the word for “moon” in Hebrew; his whole family appears to have worshiped Sin, the moon-god (see Josh 24:14 ^aa).