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THE STORY OF TERAH: WHO WAS ABRAHAM’S FATHER?
Discover who Terah was in the Bible, the father of Abraham. Learn the true biblical story of Abraham's father. Terah was an idolater, yet his son was chosen by God. Terah was the father of Abraham, but the Bible provides limited information about him. He is first mentioned in the book of Genesis within the genealogy of Shem, shortly after the account of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:24-32).
It is clear that Terah was a Semite, a descendant of Shem, Noah's son. The biblical genealogy of Shem also indicates that Terah's closest ancestors were Serug and Nahor. It’s possible that Serug was Abraham’s grandfather and Nahor was Terah's father.
In addition to being Abraham's father, Terah was also the father of Nahor and Haran. With another woman, who was not Abraham’s mother, Terah fathered Sarai, who later became Abraham’s wife. At that time, marriages between close relatives were common, and God had not yet explicitly prohibited this practice through a specific law (Leviticus 16:6-18).
Was Terah an idolater?
The Bible suggests that Terah was indeed an idolater. This is highlighted by the fact that God called Abraham, from whom the Israelites descend, out of idolatry (Joshua 24:2-3). Terah's family lived in Ur, a polytheistic city in Mesopotamia. After God called Terah's son Abraham, Terah accompanied him on a migration towards the land of Canaan.
However, Terah's family settled in Haran. Haran was also a center of idolatry. Like Ur, Haran worshipped the god Sin (Nannar), the moon deity in the Sumerian pantheon.
It’s uncertain whether Terah ever became a worshiper of the true God after his son Abraham’s call. Given that Terah never left Haran, it’s possible that he never did.
How did Terah die?
The Bible concludes Terah’s story by stating that he died at the age of 205 in the city of Haran. He did not complete the migration to Canaan. After Terah’s death, Abraham departed from Haran and journeyed to the land that God had shown him.
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