Terah, son of Nahor, son of Serug, and father of Abram, all descendants of Shem's son Ar'Pachshad.
Ar'Pachshad was one of the 5 sons of Shem, eldest son of Noah, and his brothers were Elam, Asshur, Lud, and Aram. Ar'Pachshad is said to have been born two years after the Flood, when Shem was 100.
In the Masoretic text, used as the basis for translations of the Old Testament in Protestant Bibles such as the King James Version and American Standard Version, says, that Serug was 30 when Nahor was born, and lived another 200 years, making his age at death 230.
The Book of Jubilees, well known to early Christians, as evidenced by the writings of Origen, gives the name of Serug's mother, Ora, and wife Milcah. It also states that his original name was Seroh, but it was changed to Serug in the time when Noah's children began to fight wars, and the city of Ur Kesdim (Ur of the Chaldees) was built, where Serug and his descendants lived. It also says that this Serug was the first of the patriarchal line to abandon the Law of God and turn to idol worship, teaching sorcery to his son Nahor. The Chaldeans scarcely discriminated between religion and magic. One difference between religious priests and magicians was that the one employed supernatural powers for religious purposes and the other used it for his own needs. The magical practices received from primeval times were developed into accepted rituals, just as primeval religious ideas evolved into dogmas under the stress of controversy and opinion. As there were men who would dispute upon religious questions, so were the persons who would discuss magical matters. It is only when they begin to evolve, to branch out, that the two systems present differences. The ethical element does not enter into the magic world as it does into true religion.
The scripture mentions in Genesis the descendants of Terah, father of Abram in this way: "These are the descendants of Terah, who was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot, and Haran died in his hometown of Ur in Babylonia, while his father was still living." (11: 27-28)
Ur is mentioned three more times in the Scripture:
-Genesis 11:31, "Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, who was the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, Abram's wife, and with them he left the city of Ur in Babylonia to go to the Land of Canaan. They went as far as Haran and settled there. Terah died there at the age of 205.
-Genesis 15:1-7, "After this (Abram rescues Lot and received Melchizedek's blessing), Abram had a vision and heard the Lord say to him, 'Do not be afraid, Abram, I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward.' But Abram answered, 'Sovereign Lord, what good will your reward do me, since I have no children? My only heir is Eliezer of Damascus. You have given me no children, and one of my slaves will inherit my property.' Then Abram heard the Lord speaking to him again, 'This slave Eleazer will not inherit your property; your own son will be your heir.' The Lord took Abram outside and said, 'Look at the sky and try to count the stars; you will have as many descendants as that.' Abram put his trust in the Lord, and because of this the Lord was pleased with him. Then the Lord said to him, 'I Am the Lord, Who led you out of Ur in Babylonia, to give you this Land as your own.'"
-Nehemiah 9, "On the 24th Day of the 7th Month the people of Israel gathered to fast in order to show sorrow for their sins. They had already separated themselves from all foreigners. They wore sackcloth and put dust on their heads as signs of grief. Then they stood and began to confess the sins that they and their ancestors had committed. For about 3 hours the Law of the Lord their God was read to them, and for the next 3 hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God. (9:1-3)
There was a platform for the Levites, and on it stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani. They prayed aloud to the Lord their God. " (9:4)
"The following Levites gave a call to worship: Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hash-Abneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They said: 'Stand up and praise the Lord your God; praise Him forever and ever! Let everyone praise His glorious Name, although no human praise is great enough.'
And then the people of Israel prayed this prayer: 'You, Lord, You alone are Lord; You made the heavens and the stars of the sky. You made land and sea and everything in them; You gave life to all.
The heavenly powers bow down and worship You.' " (9:5-6)
"You, Lord God, chose Abram and led him out of Ur in Babylonia; You changed his name to Abraham. You found that he was faithful to You, and You made a Covenant with him. You promised to give him the Land of the Canaanites, the Land of the Hittites and the Amorites, the Land of the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Girgashites, to be a Land where his descendants would live. You kept Your promise, because You are faithful." (9:7-8) ...
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