Nahor
“Snorting or snorer”
Summary
Nahor is the name of two men in Abraham's family: his grandfather (son of Serug) and his brother (son of Terah), whose descendants became the family from which the patriarchs took their wives.
☩Nahor Son of Serug
The elder Nahor was the son of Serug, father of Terah, and grandfather of Abraham. He is listed in the genealogy from Shem to Abraham, and appears in Luke's genealogy of Jesus Christ. He lived 148 years and died in the city of Ur of the Chaldees.
☩Nahor Son of Terah
The younger Nahor was the son of Terah and brother of Abraham and Haran. He married Milcah, the daughter of his brother Haran. When Abraham and Lot migrated to Canaan, Nahor remained behind in the land of his birth, eventually settling at Haran in Mesopotamia. Like Jacob and Ishmael, Nahor was the father of twelve sons—eight by his wife Milcah and four by his concubine Reumah.
☩Significance of His Descendants
Nahor's family remained in Mesopotamia and became the source of wives for the patriarchs. Abraham sent his servant to 'the city of Nahor' to find a wife for Isaac, and Rebekah was identified as the granddaughter of Nahor through his son Bethuel. Jacob later fled to the same region and married Nahor's great-granddaughters Leah and Rachel. The 'God of Nahor' is mentioned distinctly from the 'God of Abraham,' suggesting that Nahor's branch of the family retained elements of the older polytheistic worship that Terah had practiced in Ur.
Related Verses18 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Nahor," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VI (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Nahor," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).