(Antiqu. The Chaldeans, no longer in existence, predate Israel. As Stephen stood before his unbelieving Jewish brethren, he recounted the history of Gods chosen people, beginning with the call of Abraham: And he said, Hear me, brethren and fathers! Moses did not give us all the background needed to properly grasp the significance of the call of Abram, but it has been recorded for us in the Bible. 5: The fact that Genesis 11:10-31 is the record made by Shem. The first time that God told this to Abe, it was God's way of provoking Abe to "get real" about Terah's idolatry. Acts 7:2-4 supports this single call theory: The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham when he was in Map of Ancient Mesoptomia (Courtesy israel-a-history-of.com). Did God give an oath to Isaac as alluded in Psalms 105:8-10? 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. But here are a few possibilities. 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. Here in chapter 12 the general features of the covenant are introduced. When Terah died, Abraham was free to set out from Haran on his way to Canaan. Abe replied something like, "I saw that remaining idol in the corner smash all the others. Much of Abrams blessing was to come in the form of his offspring, but there was also the blessing that would come in the form of the Messiah, who would bring salvation to Gods people. God called him to leave that city and to exchange his townhouse for a tent. In Genesis chapter 11, we are told that Terah, his son Abram, his grandson Lot and his daughter-in-law Sarai left their hometown called the Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the Land of Canaan. Had Abrams spiritual life depended solely upon his faithfulness, the story of Abram would have ended very quickly. Did Abraham meet Jacob as alluded in Hebrews 11:9? l. 1. c. 6. sect. 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. As such, it would have been an act flowing from faith. It is quite possible that God made the three promises to Abraham's father Terah first, but he failed the test by remaining in Haran. (3) The Christians walk is a pilgrimage. 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"). Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. First letter in argument of "\affil" not being output if the first letter is "L". But it was not the lot of Terah to enter the land, where he would only have been a stranger. as an appearance of "the angel of Elohim," and of "the God of Bethel" (Genesis 31:11, Genesis 31:13); and in his blessing on the sons of Joseph (Genesis 48:15-16), "The God (Elohim) before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God (Elohim) which fed me all my life long unto this day, the angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads," he places the angel of God on a perfect equality with God, not only regarding Him as the Being to whom he has been indebted for protection all his life long, but entreating from Him a blessing upon his descendants. So we know that Abraham told his father Terah to leave, because God appeared to Abraham, not Terah. So he may have found a blossoming trade in Haran. Why did God allow Lots daughters to later have sex with their father? Having said this, I do not wish to glorify Abrams faith either, for as we shall see, it was initially very weak. They strove to find security and renown by banding together and building a great city (11:3-4). At least two things must be said in response to this question. Genesis 21:16-21. The answer is because God told him to (Genesis ch.12). 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. At Babel men chose to disregard the command of God to disperse and populate the earth. set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. The tent is thus the symbol of the pilgrim. Abram did not even know where he would settle. Pharaoh, for example, was blessed by exalting Joseph. While not all Bible students agree on the location of Ur,129 most agree that it is the Ur of southern Mesopotamia, on what used to be the coast of the Persian Gulf. Balaam He met in a human or angelic form, with a drawn sword in His hand (Numbers 22:22-23). Exodus 3:2 and Exodus 3:4, Judges 6:12 and Judges 6:14-16, but especially Exodus 14:19, where the Angel of Jehovah goes before the host of the Israelites, just as Jehovah is said to do in Exodus 13:21). There may well have been political or economic factors which made such a move expedient, apart from any spiritual considerations. 5.) - Thus, walking in faith, the patriarchs were types of faith for all the families that should spring from them, and be blessed through them, and ancestors of a nation which God had resolved to form according to the election of His grace. Do you know that after Abram entered the land of Canaan it was another 25 years until he had his son, Isaac? Outside the Land, it was given to Abraham only to hear the Divine voice (v. 1); but here, in the land destined to be specifically dedicated to the service of the Lord, he was also vouchsafed the privilege of a Divine vision. U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1964), II, p. 328. Why are non-Western countries siding with China in the UN? He must leave his country, his relatives, and his fathers house. The first eleven chapters have often been called primeval history. The last chapters are known as patriarchal history. While the effect of mans sin has become increasingly widespread, the fulfillment of the promise of God in Genesis 3:15 has become more selective. Do stay around and if you are willing to answer another questions, please read. . Isaac also was strong in patience and hope; and Jacob wrestled in faith amidst painful circumstances of various kinds, until he had secured the blessing of the promise. In Galatians chapter 3 Paul wrote that Christians are the sons of Abraham by faith, and therefore, rightful heirs to the blessings promised him (Galatians 3:7,9). Why do scholars think Abraham came from Ur in Mesopotamia? 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. Starting in Genesis 11:27, we have the account of Terah's (Abraham's father) family line. This I believe to be a significant observation, for many Christians seem to feel that Gods way is the way of the bizarre and the unusual. But whilst, regarded in this light, the continuity of the divine revelation was guaranteed, as well as the plan of human development established in the creation itself, the call of Abram introduced so far the commencement of a new period, that to carry out the designs of God their very foundations required to be renewed. Barnes' Notes on the Bible And Terah took Abram. When Terah died, Abraham was free to set out from Haran on his way to Canaan. The dispersion of the descendants of the sons of Noah, who had now grown into numerous families, was necessarily followed on the one hand by the rise of a variety of nations, differing in language, manners, and customs, and more and more estranged from one another; and on the other by the expansion of the germs of idolatry, contained in the different attitudes of these nations towards God, into the polytheistic religions of heathenism, in which the glory of the immortal God was changed into an image made like to mortal man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things (Romans 1:23 cf. Of this long period his seed was to be a stranger in a land that was not theirs for four hundred years Genesis 15:13. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! The revelations consisted almost exclusively of promises; and so far as these promises were fulfilled in the lives of the patriarchs, the fulfilments themselves were predictions and pledges of the ultimate and complete fulfilment, reserved for a distant, or for the most remote futurity. That is my kind of hero. John 14:1-3). Abraham received only one call (Genesis 12:1). Terah, Jewish literature records, was a craftsman who made idols. There are ample evidences of elaborate wealth, skilled craftsmanship, and advanced technology and science.131 All of this tells us something of the city which Abram was commanded to leave. God providentially led Terah to pull up roots at Ur and to move toward Canaan (11:31). I see Terah took Abram, Lot & Sarai to go to Canaan, & died on route in Haran, seemingly before God spoke to Abram to leave his country. That is what is implied in the Jewish oral tradition about Abe. Do not expect that God will indicate each turn in the road with a clearly marked sign. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his (q) Travels, par. Hence, his desire to keep up his connection with Abram, who was called of God. Accordingly, the name of the true God was known and revered, at least in outward form, wherever Abram went, throughout the land. Twenty years? ), without any angelic form being visible in either case. And the guidance vouchsafed had for its object the calling forth of faith in response to the promise, which should maintain itself amidst all the changes of this earthly life. Not only did Terah worship idols, but he even operated a business selling deities. The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran ( Genesis 11:26-32 ESV ). Is the Angel of the Lord identifying as God? When he is promised a land, and when that land is not given, he must look beyond the promise to its Maker so that he may understand. But it seems in Genesis only the call to leave Haran is recorded. Cassuto concludes that Abrams journey unknowingly outlined the territory which would belong to Israel, and that the places he stopped symbolically forecast the future conquest of the land.137 In an additional comment, Cassuto adds the fact that these places were also religious centers of Canaanite worship.138 In effect, Abrams actions of building altars and proclaiming the name of the Lord prophesied the coming time when true religious worship would overcome the pagan religion of the Canaanites. Stephen calls it Charran it is by Herodian (l) called by Ptolemy (m) Carrae, by Pliny (n) Carra, a city famous in Lucan (o) for the slaughter of Crassus, by whom it is called an Assyrian city. Terah's Descendants. While what was to be left behind was crystal clear, what lay ahead was distressingly devoid of detail: to the land which I will show you.. Can a VGA monitor be connected to parallel port? This points to the fact that Ur may have been one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the Tigris-Euphrates area when Abraham emigrated northward to Haran. Schultz, Abraham, ZPEB, I, p. 22. 2. ch. But isnt that enough? He is removed to the better country, and by his departure contributes no doubt to deepen the faith of his son Abram, of his grandson Lot, and of his daughter-in-law Sarai. ), which were repeated throughout the whole of the Old Testament, and even occurred, though only in vision, in the case of the prophet Zechariah. Terah ends up dying in Haran. In the light of all the objections which might be raised by Abram, such an appearance should not be unusual. Most of the errors so popular in Christian circles concerning the nature of the life of faith can be corrected by a study of the life of Abraham. Technically, the covenant with Abram is not found in chapter 12, but in chapters 15 (verse 18) and 17 (verses 2,4,7,9,10,11,13,14,19,21) where the word covenant appears. 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. On the form in which God appeared, in most instances, nothing is related. Terah and his family had been chosen by God to establish His seed on earth. Since Abram was unwilling or unable to leave his fathers house, God took Abrams father in death (11:32). Theologically, Genesis chapter 12 is one of the key Old Testament passages, for it contains what has been called the Abrahamic Covenant. That verse is not implying that God called Abe out of the blue, nor Abe at random of all persons. He quoted the shopworn saying, God said it. Acts 17:27). So, according to that oral history, Abe one day waited for Terah to go out of Terah's idol-making shop, and then Abe smashed all the idols except the biggest one that stood prominently in the corner of the shop. The New Testament in no way diminishes the significance of the life and character of Abraham. 31 And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. This covenant is the thread which ties the rest of the Old Testament together. "Now these are the generations of Terah. 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. It grows through time and through testing. Well, it was written in Genesis that his birth name was Abram, before God changed his name to Abraham, and that he was the son of Terah. Charan was Lot's father so he lived to be at least a young man, but he died before his own father Terah did. 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. Those who first read the book of Genesis were about to take possession of the land which was promised Abram. Can patents be featured/explained in a youtube video i.e. l. 4. sect. But in Genesis 18:1. it is stated that three men came to Abram, one of whom is introduced as Jehovah, whilst the other two are called angels (Genesis 19:1). These two were the pivots, upon which all the divine revelations made to the patriarchs, and all the guidance they received, were made to turn. 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 should not find this discouraging, but consistent with our own reluctance to put our future on the line in active, aggressive, unquestioning faith. (r) Cartwright's Preacher's Travels, p. 14, 15. The angel of God, who shows the sacred seer the heavenly Jerusalem, and who is supposed to say, "Behold, I come quickly" (Revelation 22:7), and "I am Alpha and Omega" (Revelation 22:13), refuses in the most decided way the worship which John is about to present, and exclaims, "See I am thy fellow-servant: worship God.". Why did God punish Pharaoh for Abrams lie (Genesis 12:17)? But as soon as Abram had gone to Canaan, in obedience to the call of God, Jehovah appeared to him there (Genesis 12:7). 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. 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. At both Shechem and Bethel he built altars, like Abram, his grandfather (33:20; 35:7). . How to delete all UUID from fstab but not the UUID of boot filesystem. Terah was the son of Nahor, who was of Noah's son's Shem's line. 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. But we know from Stephens words that the call came to Abram at Ur (Acts 7:2). Faith is not developed by living life by some kind of map, but by using Gods Word as a compass, pointing us in the right direction, but challenging us to walk by faith and not by sight. So we know that Abraham told his father Terah to leave, because God appeared to Abraham, not Terah. It follows that he was born when Terah was one hundred and thirty years old, and consequently sixty years after Haran. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. 2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, 3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. All of this should remind us of the objections and obstacles which must have been in the mind of Abram when the call of God came. Abram came from a pagan home. I do not find such people in the Bible. Genesis 11:27-32 gives a genealogy leading up to Abram and Sarai, beginning with Terah, Abram's father. (The date that Abram left the city of Ur and other patriarchs' timelines can be read here. And if we are honest with ourselves, that is just about where most of us are. 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. Stephen informs us in Acts 7:2 "Brothers and fathers, listen to me. we get two critically different instances in which God told Abe to go to Canaan without his father's household. How long have you been a Christian, my friend? God said it, and that settles it, whether you believe it or not. I like that. Haran was in the north, where Terah, Abraham's father, had taken him after Terah's father died (Genesis 11:27-32). The second promise of the Abrahamic Covenant was that of a great nation coming from Abram. They sought blessing in the product of their own labors, rather than in the promise of God. 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. But as we look back upon it, we can see that God was leading all the way. God called him in Ur, but Abram did not leave his fathers house or his relatives. David saw Him by the threshing-floor of Araunah, standing between heaven and earth, with the sword drawn in His hand and stretched out over Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 21:16); and He appeared to Zechariah in a vision as a rider upon a red horse (Zechariah 1:9.). "They came to Haran and dwelt there." The final promise was that of blessingblessing for him, and blessing through him. Get two critically different instances in which God told him to leave his fathers,. 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