This is where the genealogy of Matthew ends with Abraham. Luke continued further back. He said that Judah was the son of Jacob (τοῦ Ἰακὼβ), who had 12 sons with 4 different women, that become the 12 tribes of Israel. Jacob was the son of Isaac (τοῦ Ἰσαὰκ), the son of Abraham (τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ), who was the son of Terah (τοῦ Θάρα), the son of Nahor (τοῦ Ναχὼρ). Throughout the Torah, there was a continual reference to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These 3 generations were key to Hebrew and Jewish history. Their stories can be found in the book of Genesis, chapters 12-35. Remember that Abraham had a son with his wife’s maid, Hagar, who was called Ishmael. However, both were sent away. Jacob had a twin brother named Esau, whom he tricked out of his father’s inheritance. Terah and Nahor can be found in 1 Chronicles, chapter 1:26, and Genesis, chapter 11:24-32. Nahor was the name of Abram’s grandfather and his brother. Abram, appeared to be the oldest, took a wife named Sarai, who was barren. Later it will be revealed that Sarai is his half-sister, since Terah had a concubine. They all lived at Ur in the Chaldeans, probably in northwest Mesopotamia. Terah took his son Abram and his wife, Sarai, and his grandson Lot, and left Ur and went to Canaan. However, they settled in a place that had the same name as his dead son, Haran. This may have been part of a huge migration in the early second millennium, about 2000 years before the common Christian era.
Nahor
Uz (Jer 25:20-25:20)
“I went to
All the mixed people,
All the kings
Of the land of Uz.”
Next up on Jeremiah’s world tour was the land Uz, where Job lived. Exactly where Uz was seems difficult to ascertain. Uz was probably in Edom, south of Israel, in northern Arabia or southern Jordan. In Genesis, chapter 10, Uz was the first born son of Abram, whose father was Shem, who in turn had Noah as his father. Thus Uz was the great grandson of Noah. There also was a place in southern Syria with this name. Uz was the first born of Nahor and Milcah, the brother of Abraham in Genesis, chapter 22. Thus this country of Uz could have been named after any of these people so that it was a mixed people with some Israelites.
From Shem to Abraham (1 Chr 1:24-1:27)
“Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah; Eber, Peleg, Reu; Serug, Nahor, Terah; Abram, that is, Abraham.”
This section is based on Genesis, chapter 11, which has more details about these people. Here the names are listed without indicating how they are connected. This was also a partial duplication of the preceding verses. Now we only interested in Shem as the other two sons of Noah fade away. According to Genesis, (1) Shem’s 3rd son, (2) Arpachshad, had a son, (3) Shelah, who in turn had a son, Eber. (4) Eber also had a son, (5) Peleg. There is no mention of his brother Joktan and his 13 Arab sons here. Now Peleg seems more important, the reverse of the preceding section. This genealogy went into new territory as it follows the lineage of Peleg, not Joktan. Peleg had a son, (6) Reu, who shows up in the genealogies about Abraham. Reu also had a son, (7) Serug, who in turn had a son, named (8) Nahor. Nahor is the name of Abram’s grandfather and his brother. The older Nahor had a son, (9) Terah, who had 3 named sons, (10) Abram, Nahor, and Haran, so that Nahor was the name of the father of Terah and his son also. Now we get to the family background of Abram. Abram, who appears to be the oldest, took a wife named Sarai, who was barren. Sarai was his half sister, since Terah also had a concubine. Haran had three children, Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. However, he died early before his father Terah had died. They all lived at Ur in the Chaldeans, probably in northwest Mesopotamia. The younger brother of Abram, Nahor, took a wife named Milcah, who was the daughter of his brother Haran, who had died, the sister of Lot and Iscah. Thus Haran married his niece. Haran is a name that will appear again. More importantly, Terah became the father of Abram. So we have about 10 generations from Noah to Abram, about 400 years if you go by the first born. There is never any mention of daughters.
The treaty between Jacob and Laban (Gen 31:43-32:2)
“Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, ‘The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about their children whom they have borne? Come now let us make a covenant, you and I. Let it be a witness between you and me.’ So Jacob took a stone, and set it up as a pillar. Jacob said to his kinsfolk, ‘Gather stones.’ They took stones, and made a heap. They ate there by the heap. Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, the heap of witness. But Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, ‘This heap is a witness between you and me today.’ Therefore he called it Galeed, and the pillar Mizpah, for he said, ‘Yahweh watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other. If you ill-treat my daughters, or if you take wives in addition to my daughters, though no one else is with us, remember that God is witness between you and me.’”
Laban responded that these were his daughters, sons, and flocks. However, he also said ‘let us make a covenant, you and I.’ Jacob took a stone and set up a pillar and asked everyone to gather stones. He called this place Galeed. Laban said that this pile would be a witness of their parting, saying that God would watch over all, but he warned Jacob not to take other wives or mistreat his daughters.
“Then Laban said to Jacob, ‘See this heap and see the pillar, which I have set between you and me. This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, to harm each other. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.’ So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain height and called his kinsfolk to eat bread. They ate bread and tarried all night in the hill country. Early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he departed and returned home. Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them he said, ‘This is God’s camp!’ So he called the place Mahanaim.”
This heap set up some sort of territorial line. However, neither Galeed nor Jegar-sahadutha ever appears in biblical literature again. Mizpah does many times. Laban said good-bye to his daughters and grandchildren, blessing them. The angels of God met Jacob and told him to call this place ‘God’s camp, Mahanaim, an east Jordan town that will appear again in biblical literature. This story is a combination of the Yahweh and Elohim traditions.
Jacob arrives at Haran (Gen 29:1-29:14)
“Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the people of the east. As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lying beside it. For out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place upon the mouth of the well.”
This Yahweh tradition continues as Jacob traveled further until he came upon ‘the people of the east’ at a well that had a stone on top of it with three flocks of sheep around it. This phrase ‘people of the east’ refers to Arameans, somewhere in Syria. The shepherds would roll the stone off the top of the well to water the sheep. Then put it back when they were done.
“Jacob said to them, ‘My brothers, where do you come from?’ They said, ‘We are from Haran.’ He said to them, ‘Do you know Laban son of Nahor?’ They said, ‘We do.’ He said to them, ‘Is it well with him?’ ‘Yes,’ they replied. ‘Here is his daughter Rachel coming with the sheep.’ He said, ‘Look, it is still broad daylight. It is not time for the animals to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.’ But they said, ‘We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well. Then we water the sheep.’ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep. She kept them. Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and wept aloud. Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son. So she ran and told her father. When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, and Laban said to him, ‘Surely you are my bone and my flesh!’ He stayed with him a month.”
Jacob asked them where they were from and they responded, Haran. Then he asked if they knew Laban, the son of Nahor. They answered that they did and said that his daughter Rachel was coming with the sheep, because Rachel was in charge of her father’s sheep. The stone could not be rolled off until all the sheep were gathered there. Jacob then rolled the stone off the well, kissed Rachel, and wept. He explained to Rachel that he was related to her father since he was Rebekah’s son, the brother of her father. They ran to tell Laban, but he came running out to greet them, embraced them, and brought them to his house. Laban said, ‘Surely you are my bone and my flesh,’ and Jacob stayed a month.
Marriage of Isaac (Gen 24:1-24:67)
“Abraham was old and well advanced in years. Yahweh had blessed Abraham in all things. Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, ‘Put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and get a wife for my son Isaac.’ The servant said to him, ‘Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?’ Abraham said to him, ‘See to it that you do not take my son back there. Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall get a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine. Only you must not take my son back there.’ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.”
In this Yahweh tradition, the old Abraham is perhaps over 137 years old since he just buried his wife who was 127 years old. He made his oldest trusted servant, perhaps Eliezer swear an oath by putting his hand under this thigh, a strange custom. He did not want Isaac to marry a Canaanite, but wanted him to find a wife from the country of his kindred. The servant asked what if no one is willing to come here. Abraham would excuse him of this oath if the woman does not come here, but Isaac was not to go back there either. This was an odd dilemma for this old faithful servant.
“Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master. He set out and went to Mesopotamia, Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water. It was toward evening, the time when women go out to draw water. He said, ‘Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. Let the girl to whom I shall say, `Please offer your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, `Drink, and I will water your camels.’ Let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
Then the servant took ten camels with lots of gifts and set out for Nahor, between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia, near Haran. There he had the camels kneel in order to take water at a well. This servant prayed to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, for success in his task, saying that the girl who would water his camels would be the one for Isaac. He had a plan.
“Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, coming out with her water jar upon her shoulder. The maiden girl was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, ‘Please let me sip a little water to drink from your jar.’ ‘Drink, my lord,’ she said, and she quickly lowered her jar into her hand and gave him a drink. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, ‘I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.’ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw more water, and she drew for all his camels.”
Out came Rebekah, the daughter or Bethuel, son of Nahor, a very good looking virgin girl, carrying a jar of water on her head. So the servant of Abraham went to her and asked for water, which she gave him. After he had finished drinking, she said that she would get water for his camels, which she did.
“The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether or not Yahweh had made his journey successful. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, and said, ‘Tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?’ She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.’ She added, ‘We have plenty of straw and fodder and a place to spend the night.’ The man bowed his head and worshiped Yahweh and said, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me on the way to the house of my master’s kin.’”
The servant thought that his mission was a success as he got out a gold nose ring and two bracelets weighing ten gold shekels to give to her. You thought that nose rings were a new invention. This story puts it 3,500-4,500 years ago. He asked whose daughter she was. She replied that she was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor, who was Abraham’s brother. Thus she was the grand niece of Abraham or a second cousin of Isaac. Rebekah said that the servant of Abraham could spend the night because they had straw and fodder. The servant bowed his head and worshipped Yahweh, the God of his master Abraham, because he had found a woman from the relatives of Abraham.
“Then the girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man, to the spring. As soon as he had seen the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, ‘Thus the man spoke to me,’ he went to the man. There he was, standing by the camels at the spring. He said, ‘Come in, O blessed of Yahweh. Why do you stand outside when I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?’ So the man came into the house. Laban unloaded the camels and gave him straw and fodder for the camels and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, ‘I will not eat until I have told my errand.’ He said, ‘Speak on.’”
Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who invited the servant and his camels in. Laban watered and feed his camels, then washed the servant’s feet. When the food was set out, the servant said that he had to tell his purpose for being there before he ate.
“So he said, ‘I am Abraham’s servant. Yahweh has greatly blessed my master and he has become wealthy. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old. He has given him all that he has. My master made me swear saying, `You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live. But you shall go to my father’s house, and to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’ I said to my master, `Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ But he said to me, `Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you and make your way successful. You shall get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father’s house. Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my kindred, even if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’”
So he told them about how rich Abraham was and how his son Isaac could not marry a Canaanite. He was there to find a wife for him and be freed from his oath.
“I came today to the spring, and said, `Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make me successful the way that I am going! I am standing by the spring of water. Let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, ‘Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,’ and who will say to me, ‘Drink and I will draw for your camels also.’ Let her be the woman whom Yahweh has appointed for my master’s son.’’
Then he retold the story of how he was going to choice which girl to marry his master’s son. Anyone who would be kind to his camels when he just asked for his own water would be the one. There is a lot of repetition in this long story that clearly indicates a strong oral tradition.
“Before I had done speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, `Please let me drink.’ She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, `Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. Then I asked her, `Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. Then I bowed my head and worshiped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me. If not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.’”
Rebekah was kind to the camels at the well. This was the sign that she was the one to wed his master’s son, for it was Yahweh’s will. However, the servant wanted an answer as to whether Rebekah would agree to be the wife of Isaac.
“Then Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘The thing comes from Yahweh. We cannot speak to you anything bad or good. Look, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as Yahweh has spoken.’”
Laban was joined by his father Bethuel, who said that it was God’s will that she go with him. Case closed, the father and sister agree to the marriage of Rebekah.
“When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before Yahweh. The servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they rose in the morning, he said, ‘Send me back to my master.’ Her brother and her mother said, ‘Let the girl remain with us a while, at least ten days. After that she may go.’ But he said to them, ‘Do not delay me, since Yahweh has made my journey successful. Let me go that I may go to my master.’ They said, ‘We will call the girl and ask her.’ They called Rebekah, and said to her, ‘Will you go with this man?’ She said, ‘I will.’ So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. They blessed Rebekah, and said to her, ‘May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads. May your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes.’ Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.”
Then the servant of Abraham brought out other jewelry, silver, gold, and garments and gave it to Rebekah, her brother and mother. Then they ate and drank, and spent the night there. The next morning the brother and mother of Rebekah asked that she stay another ten days. The servant wanted to go to his master since his mission was successful. So they called Rebekah to ask her what she wanted to do. She wanted to go, so they got her maid nurse to go with her. Then they blessed Rebekah with the hopes of many offspring.
“Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb. Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field. Looking up, he saw camels coming. Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel, and said to the servant, ‘Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?’ The servant said, ‘It is my master.’ So she took her veil and covered herself. The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife. He loved her. Thus Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”
Isaac, settled in the Negeb, was walking in the field one evening and saw the camels coming. Rebekah asked who that man was. The servant said it was Isaac. He then explained to Isaac everything that he had done. Then Isaac took her into his mother’s tent and they were married and lived happily ever after. ‘Thus Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.’ This is a very long detailed nice romantic fairy tale with a happy ending. Isaac marries his second cousin.
The descendants of Nahor (Gen 22:20-22:24)
“Now after these things it was told Abraham, ‘Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor, namely Uz the first-born, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.’ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These eight children Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.”
Nahor, the brother of Abram had a wife named Milcah, who was the daughter of their departed brother Haran. Milcah was Nahor’s niece, the sister of Lot. This was a very tight knit family. We have an uncle marry his niece as well as have a concubine called Reumah. Milcah had eight children with Nahor. Uz, the first born, is the same name as Uz the son of Shem and there is an area with the same name. Buz is a name that will appear later. A couple of other biblical people have Kemuel as their name, while Aram was a common name and a territory. The names Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, and Jidlaph only appear here and in no other biblical literature. Bethuel was the father of Rebekah who will marry Isaac, once again keeping it in the family. This is only mention of Nahor’s concubine Reumah and two of her sons, Gaham and Tahash. The other two names appear later.
The descendants of Terah (Gen 11:27-11:32)
“Now these are the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai was barren. She had no children.”
Now we get the family background of Abram. Abram who appears to be the oldest took a wife named Sarai, who was barren. Later it will be revealed that Sarai is his half sister, since Terah had a concubine. Haran had three children, Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. However, he died early before his father Terah had died. They all lived at Ur in the Chaldeans, probably in northwest Mesopotamia. Nahor took a wife named Milcah, who was the daughter of his brother Haran, who had died, the sister of Lot and Iscah. Thus Haran married his niece. Haran is a name that will appear again..
“Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.”
Terah took his son Abram and his wife, Sarai, and his grandson Lot, and left Ur and went to Canaan. However, they settled in a place that had the same name as his dead son, Haran. This is where Terah died at the age of 205. Nahor apparently stayed in Ur with his family, Lot’s sister Milcah. This may have been part of a huge migration in the early second millennium before the common Christian era.
The patriarchs after the flood (Gen 11:10-11:26)
“These are the descendants of Shem. When Shem was one hundred years old, he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood. Shem lived after the birth of Arpachshad five hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.”
Now we only interested in Shem as the other two sons of Noah fade away. At age of 100, 2 years after the flood, Shem has a son, Arpachshad, who was his third son, not the first born. Like the other genealogies he has other sons and daughters and died at the age of 600 years old.
“When Arpachshad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah. Arpachshad lived after the birth of Shelah four hundred three years, and had other sons and daughters.”
Arpachshad at age 35 had a son, Shelah, but he also had other sons and daughters and died at the age of 438 years old.
“When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber. Shelah lived after the birth of Eber four hundred three years, and had other sons and daughters.”
Shelah at age 30 had a son, Eber, plus other sons and daughters and died at the age of 433 years old.
“When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg. Eber lived after the birth of Peleg four hundred thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.”
Eber at age 34 had a son, Peleg, plus other sons and daughters. There is no mention of Joktan and his thirteen Arab sons. Now Peleg seems more important, the reverse of the preceding chapter. Eber died at the age of 437 years old.
“When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu. Peleg lived after the birth of Reu two hundred nine years, and had other sons and daughters.”
Now the genealogy is into new territory. Peleg at age 30 had a son, Reu, plus other sons and daughters. Reu shows up in genealogies about Abraham. Peleg died at the age of 239 years old. Notice their lives are getting shorter.
“When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug. Reu lived after the birth of Serug two hundred seven years, and had other sons and daughters.”
Reu at age 30 had a son, Serug, plus other sons and daughters. He died at the age of 237 years old.
“When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor. Serug lived after the birth of Nahor two hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.”
Serug at age 30 had a son, Nahor, plus other sons and daughters and died at the age of 230 years old.
“When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah. Nahor lived after the birth of Terah a hundred nineteen years, and had other sons and daughters.”
Nahor is the name of Abram’s grandfather and his brother. At age 29 he had a son, Terah, plus other sons and daughters and died at the age of 138 years old.
“When Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.”
Terah at age 70 had 3 sons, Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Nahor was the name of the father of Terah and his son also. More importantly, he was the father of Abram. So we have about 10 generations from Noah to Abram, about 400 years if you go by the first born.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 