Genesis 11:27

PART III THE PATRIARCHAL AGE OF THE WORLD. CH. 11:27-50:26.

7. THE GENERATIONS OF TERAH (CH. 11:27-25:11).

Now (literally, and, intimating the close connection of the present with the preceding section) these are the generations —the commencement of a new subdivision of the history (Keil), and neither the winding-up of the foregoing genealogy ('Speaker's Commentary') nor the heading only of the brief paragraph in Genesis 11:27-32 (Lange; vide Genesis 2:4 )— of Terah . Not of Abram; partly because mainly occupied with the career not of Abram's son, in which case "the generations of Abram" would have been appropriate, but of Abram himself, Terah's son; and partly owing to the subsidiary design to indicate Nahor's connection, through Rebekah, with the promised seed. Terah begat Abram , "Father of Elevation," who is mentioned first not because he happened to be Terah's eldest son (Keil), which he was not ( vide Genesis 11:26 ), or because Moses was indifferent to the order in which the sons of Terah were introduced (Calvin), but because of his spiritual preeminence as the head of the theocratic line (Wordsworth). Nahor , "Panting," not to be confounded with his grandfather of the same name ( Genesis 11:25 ). Haran , "Tarrying," the eldest son of Terah ( Genesis 11:26 ), and, along with Abram and Nahor, reintroduced into the narrative on account of his relationship to Lot and Milcah. That Terah had other sons (Calvin) does not appear probable, And Haran begat Lot . לוֹט ; of uncertain etymology, but may be = לוּט , a concealed, i.e. obscure, low one, or perhaps a dark-colored one (Furst).