Terah
Encyclopedia
- Terah is also a place, Terah (Exodus)Terah (Exodus)Terah or Térach is a place mentioned in the Book of Numbers of the Hebrew Bible.It was a camping place of the Israelites during the Exodus, between Tahath and Mithkah....
Terah or Térach is a biblical figure in the book of Genesis, son of Nahor, son of Serug
Nahor
Nahor, Nachor, or Naghor may refer to three different names in the Hebrew bible: two biblical people, who were both descendants of Shem, and one biblical place named after one of these descendants....
and father of the Patriarch Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
, all descendants of Shem
Shem
Shem was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each...
. He is mentioned in the Hebrew bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
and the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
.
Genesis narrative
Most of what is told about Terah is recorded in . Terah's father was NahorNahor
Nahor, Nachor, or Naghor may refer to three different names in the Hebrew bible: two biblical people, who were both descendants of Shem, and one biblical place named after one of these descendants....
, son of Serug
Serug
Serug was the son of Reu and the father of Nahor, according to Genesis 11:20-23. He is also the great-grandfather of Abraham.In the Masoretic text that modern Bibles are based on, he was 30 when Nahor was born, and lived to the age of 230...
, descendants of Shem. They and many of their ancestors were polytheistic
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
. Regarding his children, Terah had three sons: Abram, Haran
Haran
Haran or Aran is a figure in Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. Haran was born in Ur Kaśdim , the son of Terah and thus a descendant of Shem. Haran's brothers were Abram/Abraham and Nahor...
, and Nahor II
Nahor
Nahor, Nachor, or Naghor may refer to three different names in the Hebrew bible: two biblical people, who were both descendants of Shem, and one biblical place named after one of these descendants....
. He also had a daughter-in-law Sarai
Sarai
-Places:*Saraj , an historic estate in Resen built by Ahmed Niyazi Bey*Bal-Sarai, a village in Amritsar District of Punjab, India*Sarai , the capital city of the Golden Horde*Saraj municipality, a municipality in Greater Skopje, Republic of Macedonia...
, wife of Abram. The entire family, including grandchildren, lived in Ur
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...
of the Chaldees
Chaldea
Chaldea or Chaldaea , from Greek , Chaldaia; Akkadian ; Hebrew כשדים, Kaśdim; Aramaic: ܟܐܠܕܘ, Kaldo) was a marshy land located in modern-day southern Iraq which came to briefly rule Babylon...
. One of his grandchildren was Lot, whose father Haran
Haran
Haran or Aran is a figure in Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. Haran was born in Ur Kaśdim , the son of Terah and thus a descendant of Shem. Haran's brothers were Abram/Abraham and Nahor...
, Terah's son, died while living in Ur.
Terah's son, Abram, had an encounter with God
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
who directed him to take the entire family and leave Haran to the land of Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
. Terah coordinated the journey intending to go to this new land, however, he ended up staying in Haran (biblical place)
Haran (biblical place)
Ḥaran, Charan, or Charran is a Biblical place. Haran is almost universally identified with Harran, an Assyrian city whose ruins are in present-day Turkey. In the Hebrew Bible, the name first appears in the Book of Genesis, in the context of Patriarchal times...
, a city that was along the way. He died in Haran at 205 years of age.
Terah's occupation
Terah was a wicked idolatrous priest who manufactured idols. In Jewish tradition, Abram is considered to be the eldest of three sons who was opposed to his father’s idol shop. After having smashed his father’s idols and chased customers away, Terah brought his unruly son before Nimrod, who threw him into a fiery furnace, yet miraculously escaped. The ZoharZohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
says that when God saved Abram from the furnace, Terah repented and Rabbi Abba B. Kahana
Kahana
- People :* Rav Kahana II, Jewish Amora sage, active in Babylon and in the Land of Israel* Rav Kahana IV, Jewish Amora sage of Babylon* Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, a collection of Aggadic Midrash which exists in two editions* Kahana b...
said that God assured him that his father Terah had a portion in the World to Come.
Rabbi Hiyya
Hiyya
The name Hiyya may refer to several rabbis mentioned in the Talmud:*Rabbi Hiyya, of the transitional period between the Tannaitic and Amoraic periods.*Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba, an Amora of the Land of Israel, and uncle of Abba Arika ....
's relates this account:
- Terah left Abram to mind the store while he departed. A woman came with a plateful of flour and asked Abram to offer it to the idols. Abram then took a stick, broke the idols, and put the stick in the largest idol’s hand. When Terah returned, he demanded that Abram explain what he'd done. Abram told his father 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 have any knowledge?” Abram replied, “Listen to what you are saying!”
Leader of the journey
Terah is identified as the person who arranged and led the family to embark on a mysterious journey to Canaan. It is shrouded in mystery to Jewish scholars as to why Terah began the journey and as to why the journey ended prematurely. It is suggested that he was a man in search of a greater truth that could possibly be found in the familiar land of Canaan, and it was by Abram who picked up the torch to continue his father's quest that he himself was unable to achieve.When Abram leaves Haran
It is believed that Abram left HaranHaran (biblical place)
Ḥaran, Charan, or Charran is a Biblical place. Haran is almost universally identified with Harran, an Assyrian city whose ruins are in present-day Turkey. In the Hebrew Bible, the name first appears in the Book of Genesis, in the context of Patriarchal times...
before Terah died as an expression that he would not be remiss in the Mitzvah
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
, of honoring a parent, by leaving his aging father behind. The significance of Terah not reaching Canaan, was a reflection of his character, a man who was unable to go “all the way”. Though on a journey in the right direction, Terah fell short at arriving to the divine destination. In contrast to Abram, who did follow through and achieved the divine goal, he was not bound by his father’s idolatrous past. By following God’s command for Abram to leave his father, this absolved him from the Mitzvah of honoring parents. He would go on to create a new lineage unrelated to his ancestors.
Islamic tradition
In IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Abraham's father is believed to have been a highly evil, ignorant and wicked man, who refused to listen to the constant advice of his wise son. In fact, the earliest story involving Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
is his discussion with his father. The name given for this man in the Qur'an is Āzar , though Arab genealogists related the name of Abraham's father as Tāraḥ . Even though the name is different in Islamic tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
to that in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
, there is no doubt that the same figure is spoken of in both texts.
Abraham's advice
As a father, Azar required his son's most sincere advice. Abraham, after receiving his first revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
s from God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, invited his father to the way of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Abraham explained to him the faults in idolatry
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
, and why he was wrong to worship objects which could neither hear nor see. Abraham told his father that he had indeed received revelations from God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, knowledge which his father did not possess, and told him that belief in God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
would grant him immense rewards in both this life and the hereafter. Abraham concluded his preaching by warning Azar of the grave punishment he would face if he did not mend his ways. When Abraham offered his father the guidance and advice of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, he rejected it, and threatened to stone
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
him to death. Abraham prayed for his father to be forgiven by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, and although he continued to seek forgiveness,it was only because of a promise that he had made earlier to him. When it became clear that Azar's unrelenting hatred towards pure monotheism
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
would never be fought, Abraham dissociated himself from him.
Wreckage of the idols
The Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
makes it clear that the people of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
were idolaters. When Abraham had become older, he decided to finally teach his community a lesson. He told his people that he had plan for their idols, whilst they would be gone away. The Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
goes onto narrate that Abraham subsequently broke the idols, all except the largest, which he kept intact. When the people returned, they began questioning each other over the wreckage, until some of the people remembered that the youth, Abraham, had spoken of the idols earlier. When Abraham arrived, the people immediately began to question him, asking him whether he had anything to do with the broken idols. Abraham then, in a clever taunt, asked the people as to why they don't ask the largest of the idols, which, they believed, could indeed hear and speak. The people of Abraham were then confounded with shame, and admitted that the idols were incapable of anything.
Abraham is thrown into the fire
After the incident of the idol wreckage, the people of Abraham, while having admitted their fault, are said to have ignored Abraham's warning and instead retaliated by throwing him into a fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
and exclaiming "protect your gods". Although the natural nature of fire is one of intense heat, God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
commanded the flame to be cool and peaceful for Abraham. Abraham, as a result, remained unhurt both physically and spiritually, having survived the fire of persecution. The people continued to taunt and persecute him, but to no result, as the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
says that it was they "that lost most".
Christian tradition
The Christian views of the time of Terah come from a passage in the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
at where Stephen
Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen The Protomartyr , the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches....
said two things that contrast with Jewish Rabbinical views. He said that God appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia and directed him to leave the Chaldeans. Whereas most Rabbinical commentators see Terah as the one who directed the family to leave Ur Kasdim
Ur Kasdim
Ur Kaśdim or Ur of the Chaldees is a biblical place mentioned in the Book of Genesis that refers to a location that the Patriarch Abraham may have been from...
from : “Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan.”
Television
Terah was the name of a character on Star Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
, played by Suzie Plakson
Suzie Plakson
Suzie Plakson is an American actress, singer, writer, poet, and artist, perhaps best known for her role as Meg Tynan in the sitcom Love & War....
.