Everything about Terah totally explained
Terah or
Térach
The person
The Bible
Terah was the father of
Abraham mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible.
According to the
Genesis 11, Terah was the son of
Nahor, who was the son of
Serug, who was the son of
Reu, who was the son of
Peleg, who was the son of
Eber, who was the son of
Shelah, who was the son of
Arpachshad, who was the son of
Shem, who was the son of
Noah.
Terah moved with his family from his native mountains in the north to the plains of
Mesopotamia. He had two more sons,
Haran,
Nahor, and had one daughter,
Sarah, by another wife (Genesis 20:12). He lived in "
Ur of the
Chaldees," where his son Haran died, leaving behind his son
Lot. Nahor settled at Haran, a place on the way to Ur. Terah afterwards migrated with Abraham (probably his youngest son) and Lot (his grandson), together with their families, from Ur, intending to
go with them to
Canaan; however he ended his voyage in
Harran, where he spent the remainder of his days, and died at the age of two hundred and five years (
Genesis 11:24-32). The
Book of Joshua reports that Terah worshipped other gods. (Josh. 24:2.)
Jewish Tradition
The
Midrash regards Terah as wicked. (E.g., Numbers Rabbah 19:1; 19:33.) Rabbi Hiyya said that Terah manufactured
idols and told the following account: Terah once went away and left Abraham to mind the store. A woman came with a plateful of flour and asked Abraham to offer it to the idols. Abraham took a stick, broke the idols, and put the stick in the largest idol’s hand. When Terah returned, he demanded that Abraham explain what he'd done. Abraham told Terah that the idols fought among themselves and the largest broke the others with the stick. “Why do you make sport of me?” Terah cried, “Do they've any knowledge?” Abraham replied, “Listen to what you're saying!” Terah then delivered Abraham to King
Nimrod for punishment. (
Genesis Rabbah 38:13.) The
Zohar says that when God saved Abraham from the furnace, Terah repented. (Zohar, Bereshit 1:77b.) Rabbi Abba b. Kahana said that God assured Abraham that his father Terah had a portion in the World to Come. (Genesis Rabbah 30:4; 30:12.)
Islamic Tradition
In
Islamic tradition Abraham's (known as
Ibrahim) father is reported by some scholars to have been a man by the name
Azar; this has led some Islamic scholars to identify Terah with Azar.
Some scholars believe the name Azar was a mistranslation of Eleazer the servant of Abraham. There is however no mention of the name of Abraham's father in the Qur'an or in the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad
The place
Terah is also the name of a place where the
Israelites stopped on
the Exodus.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Terah'.
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