Terah

24Nahor was 29 years old when his son Terah was born.

And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

25After Terah was born, Nahor lived 119 more years. He had more sons and daughters.

And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

26Terah was 70 years old when his sons Abram, Nahor, and Haran were born.

And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

NoteAbram is the same man who is later given the name Abraham.

27This is the family line of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot.

Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

28Haran died while his father Terah was still alive. He died in the land where he was born, in Ur of the Chaldees.

And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

NoteUr was a big, busy city near a river, with high walls and lots of people. The Chaldees were the people who lived in that part of the world.

29Abram and Nahor each took a wife. Abram's wife was named Sarai. Nahor's wife was named Milcah. Milcah was the daughter of Haran, and Haran was also the father of Iscah.

And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

NoteLong ago, people often married someone from their own big family, like a cousin. Milcah married her uncle Nahor.

30But Sarai could not have babies. She had no child.

But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31Terah took his son Abram. He took his grandson Lot, the son of Haran. He took Sarai, his daughter-in-law, who was Abram's wife. Together they left Ur of the Chaldees to go to the land of Canaan. But they came to a place called Haran, and they lived there.

And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

NoteCanaan was a land far to the west, near the sea. Careful: Haran here is a town, not the brother who died. The man and the town have names that look the same in English.

32Terah lived 205 years. Terah died in Haran.

And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

2Joshua said to everyone, "Here is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says. Long ago your family lived on the far side of the big river. Terah lived there. He was the father of Abraham and Nahor. They all worshiped other gods.

And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.

NoteThe big river is the Euphrates, far away to the east. To worship a god means to pray to it and obey it. Long ago most families kept little statues of gods in their homes.

3"But I took your father Abraham from that land far away. I led him all through the land of Canaan. I gave him many children and grandchildren. I gave him his son Isaac.

And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

NoteCanaan is the land God promised to give Abraham's family. It is the land Israel lives in now in this story.