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. He is promised a seed and when that seed is delayed, he must somehow see meaning in that delay and learn faith in God. 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. The heroes of the Bible are men with like passions (James 5:17) and feet of clay. God said it, and that settles it, whether you believe it or not. I like that. Scripture intended to present us here, through the symbolic conquest of Abram, with a kind of forecast of what would happen to his descendants later. Cassuto, Genesis, II, pp. 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. We will examine these, first of all, for the purpose of obtaining a clear conception of the form in which the Angel of Jehovah appeared. 3, app.). The pluperfect tense (had said) is both grammatically legitimate and exegetically necessary. But here are a few possibilities. The command of God to Abram is, in effect, a reversal of what man attempted at Babel. How to draw a truncated hexagonal tiling? Charan was Lot's father so he lived to be at least a young man, but he died before his own father Terah did. 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. At Babel men chose to disregard the command of God to disperse and populate the earth. (q) Travels, par. (2) Abrams spiritual life continued through the sovereign work of God. This is the reason why we have placed one hundred and thirty (seventy and sixty), in the genealogical table opposite Terah, because the line of descent is not traced through Haran, who was born when he was seventy, but through Abram, who by plain inference was born when he was one hundred and thirty years old. 133 Although it may appear from a superficial reading of the account in Genesis (11:31-12:1) that God called Abraham while in Haran, thereby contradicting Stephens account that God called Abraham in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, the two accounts can be harmonized by noting that Genesis 11:27-32 is a parenthetical account of Terah introduced by a waw disjunctive, and that Genesis 12:1, introduced by a waw consecutive, carries on the main narrative which was discontinued in Gen. 11:26. Bruce Waltke, Unpublished Class Notes, Dallas Theological Seminary, pp. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. Ur was a large and prosperous city-state in Mesopotamia (present-day southern Iraq). Life Span. Thirdly, the Angel of Jehovah is also identified with Jehovah by the sacred writers themselves, who call the Angel Jehovah without the least reserve (cf. Abram died at the ripe old age of 175 (25:7-8), a much shorter time than Shem (11:10-11) or Arpachshad (11:12-13). Why did Lot offer up his daughters to be gang raped? 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. This remains to be proven. Real blessing does not come from toil and agonizing hours of labor, but from the fruit of intimacy, namely children. It will be observed, also, that we have set down seventy opposite Abram as the date of his call, from which is counted the definite period of four hundred and thirty years to the exodus. Abraham was 75 years old when his father, Terah, passed away at 205 years of age as indicated in the book of Genesis. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. Thank God our spiritual lives are ultimately dependent upon His faithfulness and not ours. Our permanent home is not to be found in this world, but in the one that is to come, in the presence of our Lord (cf. What are some tools or methods I can purchase to trace a water leak? 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. Without it we are inclined to think that the call of Abram came at Haran, rather than at Ur. Moses account of his initial steps of faith makes it evident that much was to be desired, and to be developed in him. Abrams early history is partly that of his gradual disentanglement from country, kindred and fathers house, a process not completed until the end of chapter 13. Derek Kidner, Genesis (Chicago: InterVarsity Press, 1967), p. 113. What more should we require than Gods Word? Rather, your question should be: why did Abraham leave Haran. When Abram had an encounter with God, [1] this brother directed his family to leave their native land and go to the land of Canaan. 128 S. Schultz, Abraham, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975, 1976), I, p. 26. This whole calculation exactly agrees with the incidental statement of Paul to the Galatians Gal 3:17 that the law was four hundred and thirty years after the covenant of promise. I hope that's helpful Clive. This is knowable to us by putting together five sources: 1: The very few Biblical references to the idolatry that Terah's household had practiced (ex: Joshua 24:2; Genesis 31:53b). How unlike mans ways are from Gods. The Word of God is sufficient for mans faith. Terah took him out of Ur (Genesis ch.11). 129 Cyrus Gordon has suggested that the true Ur of Genesis 11:31 is to be found in northern Mesopotamia, probably northeast of Haran. To this hope our Lord, the Messiah, spoke, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad (John 8:56). Lucan. The force of these facts has been met by the assertion, that the ambassador perfectly represents the person of the sender; and evidence of this is adduced not only from Grecian literature, but from the Old Testament also, where the addresses of the prophets often glide imperceptibly into the words of Jehovah, whose instrument they are. Here in chapter 12 the general features of the covenant are introduced. First, what would motivate Terah to uproot his family and leave the great city of Ur to travel 1,000 miles to the land of Canaan? 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 Chaldeans, no longer in existence, predate Israel. God told Abram to leave without knowing where the path of obedience would lead, but believing that God was leading as he went. It was not until chapter 15 that a full description of the land was given: On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: (Genesis 15:18). 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. Beside this, we frequently read of appearances of the "angel of Jehovah" (Genesis 16:7; Genesis 22:11, etc. The Hebrew word for "served" can also mean to "work," hence the tradition that Terah was a craftsman who made idols. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife. And that brings us to the second reason. Genesis 12:1 is the only call by God to Abraham noted in scripture. At Shechem, God promised to give this land to Abram (12:7). That verse is not implying that God called Abe out of the blue, nor Abe at random of all persons. Hist. A priest implies a considerable body of true worshippers scattered over the country. We should not find this discouraging, but consistent with our own reluctance to put our future on the line in active, aggressive, unquestioning faith. It was not in Haran, as a casual reading of Genesis 12 might incline us to believe, but in Ur. The sovereignty of God in salvation is beautifully illustrated in the call of Abram. While the exact meaning of the expression, called upon the name of the Lord may not be known, worship is surely described. The family were in the city of Haran for five years. 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. Terah is the one who told the people to leave Ur Kasdim in the book of Genesis, not Abram. Shem had converted Abe. "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). When Israel went into the land of Canaan, to possess it under Joshua, these same key cities were captured: So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; (Joshua 8:9). Acts 17:27). Is the Angel of the Lord identifying as God? - Terah takes the lead in this emigration, as the patriarch of the family. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell" Acts 7:2-4. they came unto Harantwo days' journey south-southeast from Ur, on the direct road to the ford of the Euphrates at Rakka, the nearest and most convenient route to Palestine. 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. Genesis 11:27-32 gives a genealogy leading up to Abram and Sarai, beginning with Terah, Abram's father. There may well have been political or economic factors which made such a move expedient, apart from any spiritual considerations. The lesson we may need to learn is this: very often the way God would have us go is the most sensible way that we would have chosen anyhow. 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. For unknown reasons, Terah never made it to their destination but stopped and settled in Harran instead. Terah, their father, coordinated the gathering of his family to journey west to their destination ( Genesis 11:31 ). For , constructed with two accusatives, the second of which expresses the materia ex qua, is never met with in this sense, not even in 2 Chronicles 4:18-22. (n) Though the oracle of God came to Abram, yet the honour is given to Terah, because he was the father. I am greatly distressed by the glamorizing of heroes, especially by Christians. It is probable that the revelation Abram had received from heaven was the means of removing this cloud from his mind, and restoring in him the knowledge and worship of the true God. But it was not the lot of Terah to enter the land, where he would only have been a stranger. Conclusion The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran ( Genesis 11:26-32 ESV ). 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). This land never belonged to Abram in his lifetime, even as God had said (15:13-16). Why did Terah died in Haran? It is there that the specific details of the covenant are spelled out. He quoted the shopworn saying, God said it. He obeyed unquestioningly the commands of God, from whom he received repeated promises and a covenant that his "seed" would inherit the land. To our knowledge, he had no particular spiritual qualities which drew God to him. We must remember that Cassuto, as a Jew, did not regard the New Testament to be authoritative. 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. 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. Those who first read the book of Genesis were about to take possession of the land which was promised Abram. It was both a very early and a very late outpost of Chaldean power. 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. Three major promises are contained in verses 2 and 3: a land; a seed; and a blessing. In our best moments, our faith is vibrant and vital, but in the moments of testing, it is weak and wanting. Secondly, consistent with this approach, the author does not stress the timing of Abrams obedience. 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. Since Abram was unwilling or unable to leave his father's house, God took Abram's father in death (11:32). (3) The Christians walk is a pilgrimage. . (o) -----------Miserando funere Crassus, Assyrias latio maculavit sanguine Carrhas. The death of Haran, his oldest son, loosened his attachment to the land of his birth. God, in His electing grace, chose Abram to follow Him, while he was going his own way. Abram would have been on social security for over ten years. As we turn our attention to Genesis chapter 12 let us do so with an eye to Abraham as an example of the walk of faith. Terah was the son of Nahor, who was of Noah's son's Shem's line. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Having said this, I do not wish to glorify Abrams faith either, for as we shall see, it was initially very weak. 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. Hence, it follows that Isaac, his seed, was born thirty years after the call of Abram. I respect Abraham for not only leaving the security of his father's home, but also the familiarity of his father's faith. 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