Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

1 At one time the whole world spoke a single language and used the same words

Literally, “of one lip and one set of words”.

2 *As the people** migrated eastward***, they**** found a plain in the land of Babylonia***** (Shinar) and settled there.

* 130 years after the flood.
** “The people” simply refers to those who made the choice to go.
*** From Armenia where the ark stayed.
**** That is, Nimrod and his company. Shem was not likely involved in Babylon.
***** Which was later called Chaldea.

The name "Babylon" is from Akkadian language Bāb-ilu or Bab-El, which means, "Gate of God". Its Hebrew version however, "Babel", sounds similar to a word for "confusion.

The land of Shinar is where Nimrod will later come in search of glory and conquest (10:10). It is the name of Babylonia proper. This will be the beginning of the symbol of Great Babylon which is later seen as the ultimate in rebellion against God (Revelation chapters 17-18).

"One of Cush's descendants was Nimrod, who became a heroic warrior." (Genesis 10:8). Nimrod was a descendant of Ham, through Cush; in other words, he sprang from that branch of Noah’s family on which rested the "curse." Next, we observe that it is said, “He became a heroic warrior," which suggests that he struggled for the preeminence, and by mere force of will obtained it. The intimation appears to be that of conquest or subjugation, as though he became a leader and ruler over men, as indeed he did. "He was a mighty hunter in the LORD's sight. His name became proverbial, and people would speak of someone as being "like Nimrod, a mighty hunter in the LORD's sight." (Genesis 10:9). In so brief a description, the repetition of these words, "mighty hunter in the LORD's sight" is significant. Three times in Genesis 10 and again in 1 Chronicles 1:10 the word "mighty" is applied to Nimrod. The Hebrew word is "gibbor," and is translated in the Old Testament "chief" and "chieftain." The verse in Chronicles is in perfect agreement with these in Genesis—"Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was known across the earth as a heroic warrior" The Chaldee paraphrase of this verse says, "Cush begat Nimrod who began to prevail in wickedness, for he slew innocent blood and rebelled against Jehovah.” This "Rebel" pursued his own impious and ambitious designs in brazen and open defiance of the Almighty. From Genesis 10, we gather that Nimrod’s ambition was to establish a world-empire. “Nimrod" means "the Rebel".


"He built the foundation for his empire in the land of Babylonia..." (Genesis 10:10). Here is the key to the first nine verses of the eleventh chapter. Here we have the first mention of Babel. In the language of that time Babel meant "the gate of God" but afterwards, because of the judgments which God inflicted there, it came to mean "Confusion," and from here onwards this is its force or meaning. By coupling together the various hints which the Holy Spirit has here given us we learn that Nimrod organized not only an imperial government over which he presided as king, but that he instituted a new and idolatrous worship. If the type is perfect, and we believe it is, then like the Lawless One will yet do, Nimrod demanded and received Divine honors; in all probability it is just here that we have the introduction of idolatry. From this point, Babylon in Scripture stands for that which is in opposition to God and His people — from Revelation 17 we learn that Romanism, which will gather into itself the whole of apostate Christendom, is termed "Mystery Babylon."

Nimrod was later deified as the chief god (“Merodach,” or “Marduk”) of Babylon.

3 They began to talk about construction projects. "Come," they said, "let's make great piles of burnt brick* and collect natural asphalt to use as mortar.

* The more common construction was to use stone with a clay mortar. The other was sun-baked bricks rather than furnace-fired bricks which would be stronger. Since the pitch absorbed into the bricks, it made the joints much stronger.

There is the idea here that they build with perishable materials, material that will not last, although they themselves no doubt saw it as a great advance. This may well be intended to signify the first invention of such building methods, and be seen by the writer as a sign of man’s inventiveness replacing God’s provision. It is part of their rebellion. But he knew that brick and mortar would not have the durability of stone.

4 Let's build a great city with a tower that reaches to the skies*--a monument to our greatness! This will bring us together and keep us from scattering all over the world."

* “reaches to the skies” – The word “reaches” is not in the original. They would “build a tower unto heaven” – in other words, a tower dedicated to heaven and its angelic host.

Here we discover a most blatant defiance of God, a deliberate refusal to obey His command given through Noah. He had said, "God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth." (Genesis 9:1), but they said, "Keep us from scattering all over the world."

Nimrod’s ambition was to establish a world-empire. To accomplish this, two things were necessary. Nimrod’s aim was to keep mankind all together under his own leadership "keep us from scattering."


In 670 BC, Nebuchadnezzar wrote, “A former king built [the Temple of the Seven Lights of the Earth], but he did not complete its head. Since a remote time, people had abandoned it, without order expressing their words. Since that time earthquakes and lightning had dispersed its sun-dried clay; the bricks of the casing had split, and the earth of the interior had been scattered in heaps. Merodach (Marduk), the great lord, excited my mind to repair this building. I did not change the site, nor did I take away the foundation stone as it had been in former times. So I founded it, I made it; as it had been in ancient days, I so exalted the summit.”

The word 'astrology' comes from two Greek words, astra meaning star and logos meaning word; thus, it actually means 'the word of the stars.' Astrologers believe that there is a direct link between the combination of these heavenly bodies at the time you were born and your behavior and destiny while you live on the earth.

"This earliest form of astrology was connected with the worship of the stars. The 'stars' were 'consulted' and viewed as having power over man because they were assumed to be gods. This ancient form of planetary worship is the reason God destroyed the Tower of Babel. The infamous tower was not constructed to reach 'unto heaven' as mistakenly translated in the King James Version. Rather, archaeologists identify the Tower of Babel as a ziggurat or astrological tower on top of which priests could conduct the viewing and worship of the sun, moon, and planets." - Horoscopes and the Christian, Robert A. Morey, 1981, pp.7-8.

It was not the height of the tower but the type of tower that was significant. It was almost certainly a ziggurat. These buildings, which became a regular feature of life in Mesopotamia, were stepped buildings which were meant to represent a mountain, and at the top of it was a sanctuary. It was felt that the gods dwelt on mountains, so that provision is being made for them to dwell in the city. Thus, this represented idol worship. The tower, like the city itself, is seen by the writer as a further sign of rebellion against God, replacing Him with more amenable gods who will act according to their will. On the top of this tower was the zodiac:



These figures, which had once been designed only as symbolic representations on the heavens of the coming Redeemer and of God’s great plan of salvation, now began to take on the aspect of actual spiritual entities. The Virgin, whose sign among the stars once reminded men of the promised Seed of the woman, began to assume the proportions of an actual Queen of Heaven; and Leo, the great sidereal lion at the other end of the zodiac, became a great spiritual King of Heaven. Soon, the stars, the physical “host of heaven,” were invested with the personalities of the angels, the invisible spiritual heavenly host.

After the fall, Adam retained an imperfect memory of the Original Revelation including knowledge of God's plan of redemption. This point of view seems reasonable when one considers that the earliest historical and archeological records from civilizations around the world consistently point back to and repeat portions of a similar Creation story.

Two things began to occur in the decades after the Fall: (1) information from the original revelation became distant and distorted as it was dispersed among the nations and as it was passed from generation to generation; and (2) the realm of Satan seized upon this opportunity to receive worship, and to turn people away from God, by distorting and counterfeiting the original revelation with pagan ideas and "gods". Instead of viewing the galaxy and stars as a heavenly map laid out by God, men began celebrating the stars and worshiping the 'deities' believed represented by them.

In his book, The Real Meaning Of The Zodiac, Dr. James Kennedy echoes such ideas, pointing out that the ancient signs of the Zodiac record a singular and original revelation—a kind of Gospel in the stars—and that the message of the stars, although converted into astrology after the fall of man, originally recorded the Gospel of God. He writes:

There exists in the writings of virtually all civilized nations a description of the major stars in the heavens—something which might be called their "Constellations of the Zodiac" or the "Signs of the Zodiac," of which there are twelve. If you go back in time to Rome, or beyond that to Greece, or before that to Egypt, Persia, Assyria, or Babylonia—regardless of how far back you go, there is a remarkable phenomenon: Nearly all nations had the same twelve signs, representing the same twelve things, placed in the same order....The book of Job, which is thought by many to be the oldest book of the Bible, goes back to approximately 2150 B.C., which is 650 years before Moses came upon the scene to write the Pentateuch; over 1,100 years before Homer wrote the Odyssey and the Illiad; and 1,500 years before Thales, the first of the philosophers, was born. In chapter 38, God finally breaks in and speaks to Job and to his false comforters. As He is questioning Job, showing him and his companions their ignorance, God says to them: "Can you hold back the movements of the stars? Are you able to restrain the Pleiades or Orion? Can you ensure the proper sequence of the seasons or guide the constellation of the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?" (Job 38:31-32).

We see here reference to the constellations of Orion and Pleiades. Also in the book of Job there is reference to Cetus, the Sea Monster, and to Draco, the Great Dragon. In what may be the oldest book in all of human history, we find that the constellations of the zodiac were already clearly known and understood....Having made it clear that the Bible expressly, explicitly, and repeatedly condemns what is now known as astrology, the fact remains that there was a God-given Gospel [universally acknowledged original revelation] in the stars which lays beyond and behind that which has now been corrupted.

In his book Dr. Kennedy strongly condemns the practice of astrology, while asserting his view that the constellations of the zodiac were likely given by God to the first man as "record-keepers" of the original revelation of God. The original prophetic significance of the zodiac is summarized by Kennedy thus:

1. VIRGO: Seed of the Woman, Desire of nations, Man of humiliation, becomes exalted Shepherd and Harvester.
2. LIBRA: The scales demand a price to be paid, Cross to endure, the Victim slain, a Crown purchased.
3. SCORPIO: A Conflict, Serpent's coils, Struggle with the Enemy, the Evil Vanquisher.
4. SAGITTARIUS: The double-natured One triumphs as a Warrior, Pleases the Heavens, Builds fires of punishment, Casts down the Dragon.
5. CAPRICORNUS: Life comes from death, He's the Arrow of God, Pierced, Springs up again in abundant life.
6. AQUARIUS: Life-waters from on High, Drinking the heavenly river, Delivering the Good News, Carrying the Cross over the earth.
7. PISCES: The Redeemer's People multiplied, Supported and led by the Lamb, The Bride is exposed on earth, the Bridegroom is exalted.
8. ARIES: The Lamb is found worthy, the Bride is made ready, Satan is bound, the Breaker triumphs.

9. TAURUS: The conquering Ruler comes, the sublime Vanquisher, the great Judgment, the ruling Shepherd.
10. GEMINI: The Marriage of the Lamb, the Enemy is trodden down, the Prince comes in great Glory.
11. CANCER: The great Bride, the Church and Israel, are brought safely into the kingdom.
12. LEO: The Lion King is aroused for rending, the Serpent flees, the Bowl of Wrath is upon him, his Carcass is devoured.

Deuteronomy 4:19 “And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars--all the forces of heaven--don't be seduced by them and worship them. The LORD your God designated these heavenly bodies for all the peoples of the earth.”

Romans 1:18-32 “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves. For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes. So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved. When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving. They are fully aware of God's death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.”







European Union symbol, logo (woman on a beast) and saying “Many tongues, one voice”.





MYSTERY BABYLON – Revelation 17 & 18

The Great Whore - Chapter 17
• Rides the beast with 7 heads, 10 horns
• Mother of harlots and abominations
• Drunk with the blood of the saints

Babylon the Great – Chapter 18
• Kings
• Merchants
• Those that trade by sea

All idolatry has its roots in Babylon.

5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.

6 "Look!" he said. "If they can accomplish this when they have just begun to take advantage of their common language and political unity, just think of what they will do later. Nothing will be impossible for them!

7 Come, let's go down and give them different languages. Then they won't be able to understand each other."

Notice the plural – “let’s”!

God would work on the principle of divide and conquer. Having begun in this way these men will continue with greater and greater rebellion, and lead others astray with them. So the best way to limit this was to confound their language so that men would not necessarily understand each other.

A tradition similar to that of the tower of Babel is found in Central America. It holds that Xelhua, one of the seven giants rescued from the deluge, built the great pyramid of Cholula in order to storm Heaven. The gods, however, destroyed it with fire and confounded the language of the builders. Cholula is Mexico's Largest Pyramid.

"Before the great inundation, the country of Anahuac was inhabited by giants. All those who did not perish were transformed to fishes, except seven, who fled into a cavern. When the waters subsided, one of the giants, Xelhua, went to Cholula, where, as a memorial of the mountain which had served for an asylum, he built an artificial hill in the form of a pyramid. The gods beheld with wrath this edifice, the top of which was to reach the clouds. They hurled fire upon it. Numbers of the workmen perished; the work was discontinued, and the monument was afterwards dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, the god of the air." The pyramid of Cholula is still called "the mountain of unbaked bricks."



The Hindu legend of the confusion of tongues is as follows: "There grew in the center of the earth the wonderful ‘world tree,’ or ‘knowledge tree.’ It was so tall that it reached almost to heaven. It said in its heart, ‘I shall hold my head in heaven and spread my branches over all the earth, and gather all men together under my shadow, and protect them, and prevent them from separating.’ But Brahma, to punish the pride of the tree, cut off its branches and cast them down on the earth, when they sprang up as wata trees, and made differences of belief and speech and customs to prevail on the earth, to disperse men upon its surface."

Still another form of it entered the thoughts of Plato. He held that in the golden age men and beasts all spoke the same language, but that Zeus confounded their speech because men were proud and demanded eternal youth and immortality.

Traces of a somewhat similar story have also been reported among the Mongolians in northern India and, according to Dr Livingstone, among the Africans of Lake Ngami. The Estonian myth of "the Cooking of Languages" may also be compared, as well as the Australian legend of the origin of the diversity of speech.

Polynesia: “But the god in anger chased the builders away, broke down the building, and changed their language, so that they spoke divers tongues.

American Indian, Crow: "Then Little Coyote did something bad. He suggested to Old Man that he give the people different languages so they would misunderstand each other and use their weapons in wars... Old Man did what Little Coyote said, and the people had different languages and made war on each other.”

There is a partially parallel account of this event elsewhere where Ur-Nammu (3rd millennium BC) is seen as commanded by the gods to build a ziggurat, but the gods are then offended and throw it down, confusing men’s languages and scattering them over the earth. The throwing down of the tower is clearly an addition to the story suggesting that the Ur Nammu version is later than an earlier account on which Genesis is based. Unlike this story with its deep undertones that was but an example of the irascibility of the gods.

The Biblical account of the origin of languages cannot simply be dismissed as fiction as the facts above prove. All legends, traditions and myths are based on historical facts. Over time, they evolve and are adapted to the current culture. By comparing all related legends, traditions and myths, the common threads are signs of the original historical fact. In the case of the confusion of languages, the common thread is that many languages mysteriously appeared out of one language.

8 In that way, the LORD scattered them all over the earth; and that ended the building of the city.

We must notice carefully what happened and what did not happen. There is no suggestion that the tower fell down. No cataclysmic event is described. Thus their efforts fail and they are scattered.

9 That is why the city was called Babel*, because it was there that the LORD confused the people by giving them many languages, thus scattering them across the earth.

Babel sounds like a Hebrew term that means "confusion."

The final result is that mankind is to be scattered and split up. By their act of independence unity and brotherhood is gone. The world is no longer one.

Have the two following prophecies occurred yet:

Isaiah 13:19-20 “Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean culture, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them. Babylon will never rise again. Generation after generation will come and go, but the land will never again be lived in. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not allow their sheep to stay overnight.”

Jeremiah 50:39-40 “Soon this city of Babylon will be inhabited by ostriches and jackals. It will be a home for the wild animals of the desert. Never again will people live there; it will lie desolate forever. I will destroy it just as I[a] destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns," says the LORD. "No one will live there anymore.”

Alexander the Great conquered Babylon and he died there. These prophecies have not yet been fulfilled.






The Ishtar Gate at Babylon
Reconstruction Glazed Brick
Total Height–47 Feet, Width-32 Feet
7th–6th Centuries BC
Dedicator: Nebuchadnezzar II
Date of Excavation: 1899-1914
Berlin Museum

Ishtar, from whom we derive Easter, was the ancient Sumerian-Babylonian goddess of love and fertility. The cult of Ishtar was the most important one in ancient Babylon. She is often described as the daughter of Anu, the god of the air. She was the goddess of fertility, love and war. Babylonian scriptures called her the "Light of the World, Leader of Hosts, Opener of the Womb, Righteous Judge, Lawgiver, Goddess of Goddesses, Bestower of Strength, Framer of All decrees, Lady of Victory, Forgiver of Sins, Torch of Heaven and Earth, Exalted Light of Heaven, Lady of Heaven, She Who Begets All, Guardian of the Law, Shepherdess of the Lands, Queen of Heaven. She was Venus and Astarte.

The Ishtar Gate, one of the eight gates of the inner city of Babylon, was built during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (604- 562 BC). It was the main entrance into Babylon. He restored the temple of Marduk, the chief god, and also built himself a magnificent palace with the famous Hanging Gardens, which was reported by the Greek historian Herodotus to have been one of the wonders of the world.

Ishtar Gate was the starting point for processions. The Babylonians would assemble in front of it and march through the triumphal arch and proceed along the Sacred Way to the 7-story Ziggurat, which was crowned near the temple of Marduk.

The gateway was completely covered with beautifully colored glazed bricks. Its reliefs of dragons and bulls symbolized the gods Marduk and Adad. Enameled tiles of glorious blue surrounded the brightly colored yellow and brown beasts. In front of the gateway outside the city was a road with walls decorated with reliefs of lions and glazed yellow tiles.

The Dedicatory Inscription on the Ishtar Gate reads:
“Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, the faithful prince appointed by the will of Marduk, the highest of princely princes, beloved of Nabu, of prudent counsel, who has learned to embrace wisdom, who fathomed their divine being and reveres their majesty, the untiring governor, who always takes to heart the care of the cult of Esagila and Ezida and is constantly concerned with the well-being of Babylon and Borsippa, the wise, the humble, the caretaker of Esagila and Ezida, the firstborn son of Nabopolassar, the King of Babylon.

“Both gate entrances of Imgur-Ellil and Nemetti-Ellil following the filling of the street from Babylon had become increasingly lower. Therefore, I pulled down these gates and laid their foundations at the water table with asphalt and bricks and had them made of bricks with blue stone on which wonderful bulls and dragons were depicted. I covered their roofs by laying majestic cedars length-wise over them. I hung doors of cedar adorned with bronze at all the gate openings. I placed wild bulls and ferocious dragons in the gateways and thus adorned them with luxurious splendor so that people might gaze on them in wonder


“I let the temple of Esiskursiskur (the highest festival house of Markduk, the Lord of the Gods a place of joy and celebration for the major and minor gods) be built firm like a mountain in the precinct of Babylon of asphalt and fired bricks.”



Daniel 4:30 "…Just look at this great city of Babylon! I, by my own mighty power, have built this beautiful city as my royal residence and as an expression of my royal splendor."




From Shem to Abram

10 This is the history of Shem's family. When Shem was 100 years old, his son Arphaxad was born. This happened two years after the Flood.

At this point, the “generations of Shem” are concluded. Shem had apparently kept the record from Genesis 10:1 through 11:9. The account was then taken up by Terah. However, the figures in this chapter indicate that Shem lived until after Terah’s death, so that Terah had ample opportunity to talk with Shem and get the records from him. Even Noah lived until Terah was 128 years old.

Terah, therefore, seems to have been the one who kept the brief, but important, record from Genesis 11:10 through 11:27a. He began by tying his own record back to that of Shem, using Shem’s name as the ancestor of his own line. Evidently, Shem was 97 when the flood began and 98 a year later when it ended.

The genealogy that follows links Abram back to Shem. This was why God was to be blessed with regard to Shem (9:26). It would be through him that God’s man for the times would come. There is a chosen line reflected throughout chapters 1-11, and it leads up to Abram.

It is obvious, in comparing Genesis 5 and 11, that patriarchal longevity began to decline immediately after the Flood. Noah lived 950 years, but Shem lived only 600 years, Arphaxad 438 years, Salah 433 years, and Eber 464 years. A still sharper decline took place after Peleg.

11 After the birth of Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arphaxad was 35 years old, his son Shelah was born.*

* Or his son, the ancestor of Shelah, was born; similarly in 11:14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24.

13 After the birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

Greek version reads “When Arphaxad was 135 years old, his son Cainan was born. After the birth of Cainan, Arphaxad lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan was 130 years old, his son Shelah was born. After the birth of Shelah, Cainan lived another 330 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died.”

14 When Shelah was 30 years old, his son Eber was born.

15 After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.


16 When Eber was 34 years old, his son Peleg was born.

17 After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg was 30 years old, his son Reu was born.

Peleg means “earth divided”.

19 After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu was 32 years old, his son Serug was born.

21 After the birth of Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug was 30 years old, his son Nahor was born.

23 After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor was 29 years old, his son Terah was born.

25 After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

This brief tablet is the only tablet in the first part of Genesis not based on a covenant word. The reason why it was preserved was that Abram was God’s covenant man. And indeed if Abram was the one who put together this epic this would explain why he concludes it with his genealogy.

The question of the basis of Abram’s faith has to be accounted for. While it was true that he had vivid experiences of God, we can ask what originally turned his thoughts in Yahweh’s direction when his father Terah was a worshipper of other gods and brought them up to worship them? Joshua states quite clearly to the people of Israel, “Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River (the Euphrates), even Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods.” Furthermore he gave his son the name Ab-ram ‘my father is Ram’. What then caused this great change in Abram’s life, whereby he turned from the gods his father worshipped to worship Yahweh, and why too were these tablets preserved and carried about in trying circumstances?

The answer to all these questions possibly lies in the fact that Terah as head of the family possessed the family covenant records and that Abram took these records and read them and came to faith in Yahweh. Then what more likely that he should put them together to form an epic on the pattern that we know of from the Epic of Atrahasis, which itself was probably based on earlier epics including the accounts of Creation and the Flood with which Abram was familiar. Someone with a Mesopotamian background did this. Who more likely than Abram?


The Family of Terah

27 This is the history of Terah's family. Terah was the father of Abram*, Nahor**, and Haran; and Haran had a son named Lot.

* Abram: He mentions Abram first, not because he was the first born, but for the history which properly belongs to him. Also, Abram at the confusion of tongues was 43 years old, for in the destruction of Sodom he was 99 and it was destroyed 52 years after the confusion of tongues.

** Nahor: From the fact that Haran is called "the city of Nahor”, it may be inferred that Nahor took part in the emigration and settled at Haran. Nahor was the progenitor of twelve Aramean tribes through his twelve sons, of whom eight were born to him by his wife Milcah and four by his concubine Reumah (Genesis 22:20-24). Nahor is mentioned on two other occasions. "The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor" (Genesis 31:53) was invoked by Jacob at his meeting with Laban.

The next writer, presumably Isaac (Genesis 25:19), picked up the narrative at verse 27b by tying his record back to that of Terah, giving the names of his three sons again.

28 But while Haran was still young, he died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the place of his birth. He was survived by Terah, his father.

29 Meanwhile, Abram married Sarai*, and his brother Nahor married Milcah**, the daughter of their brother Haran. (Milcah had a sister named Iscah.)

* Sarai – Abram married his half-sister (Genesis 20:12) – Terah’s daughter, but not the same mother as Abram.

** Milcah – Lot’s niece, daughter of Haran.

30 Now Sarai was not able to have any children*.

Abram had no children in Ur or Mesopotamia. The child of promise (Isaac) must be born in the land of promise!

31 Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot (his son Haran's child) and left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But they stopped instead at the village of Haran* and settled there.

* Haran was in the middle of a flat dry plain that was described as a barren wasteland nourished only by its many wells. The city of Haran was founded about 2000 BC as a merchant outpost of Ur situated on the major trade route across northern Mesopotamia. The name comes from the Sumerian and Akkadian Harran-U meaning journey - caravan - crossroad. For centuries it was a prominent Assyrian city known for its Temple of the Babylonia Moon God Sin. Haran was about 600 miles northwest of Ur. It’s possible that Terah had to travel to Haran to settle the affairs of his son, Haran, who had died. But, Terah settled down in Haran.

32 Terah lived for 205 years and died while still at Haran.