Nahor: Son of Terah, Grandson of Serug (Patriarch of the Arameans)
Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham, Nahor and Haran, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods…
Haran was the father of Lot, Milcah and her sister Iscah.
Meanwhile, Abraham and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran.
Their brother, Haran, died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while Terah was still living.
Milcah had borne Nahor eight sons. The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the ancestor of the Arameans), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
Bethuel the Aramean became the father of Rebekah and her brother, Laban, the Aramean.
When Abraham was very old, he said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under Abraham’s thigh. He swore to follow his instructions.
Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled.
“O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.”
Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder.
Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.”
“Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink.
“Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?”
“I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.:
The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord.
Her brother, Laban, ran out to meet them at the spring.
Rebekah ran home to tell her family everything that had happened.
So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw for their bedding, fed them, and provided him and the camel drivers with water to wash their feet.
Early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.”
“Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked Rebekah. And she replied, “Yes, I will go.”
Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had returned from Beer-lahai-roi. One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming.
When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel. “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant.
And he replied, “It is my master.” Rebekah covered her face with her veil.
Isaac married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.
Rebekah became pregnant with twins. The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob.
As Esau and Jacob grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
When it came time for Jacob to marry, his father, Isaac, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters.
So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.
When Jacob arrived to Paddan-aram, he asked “Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?”
“Yes, we do,” they replied.
“Is he doing well?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, he’s well,” they answered.
“Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.”
Jacob worked 20 years for Laban’s two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel.
Jacob returned, settling again in the land of Canaan, where his father Isaac, son of Abraham, had lived as a foreigner.
His 12 sons became the patriarch of twelve tribes of Israel.
- Reuben, son of Leah
- Simeon, son of Leah
- Levi, son of Leah
- Judah, son of Leah
- Dan, son of Bilah
- Naphtali, son of Bilah
- Gad, son of Zilpah
- Ashur, son of Zilpah
- Issachar, son of Leah
- Zebulun, son of Leah
- Joseph, son of Rachel
- Benjamin, son of Rachel
Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.”
So Esau visited his uncle, Ishmael's, family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn son.
Ishmael, whose mother was Hagar, had settled in the wilderness of Paran. She’d arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt.
Ishmael had twelve sons, the patriarchs of twelve tribes of Ishmael:
Ishmael’s descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Ashur.
For Muslims, Abraham is a prophet and the ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad through his son Ishmael.
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About the Author: Lawrence Jean-Louis is the founder of eBrand Me, a digital marketing agency offering marketing & consultative services to CPAs and tax professionals. She aspires to start a money management firm by 2030.
