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Nahor

Both TestamentsPatriarchsMaleSonFather

Nahor, the son of Serug and father of Terah, was Abraham's grandfather.

Nahor illustration
Nahor

Biography

Nahor, the son of Serug, was Abraham's grandfather and an important link in the genealogical chain from Shem to the patriarch of Israel. According to Genesis 11:22-25, Nahor was born when Serug was thirty years old, and he lived to the age of 148 years. At twenty-nine, Nahor fathered Terah, who would become the father of Abraham, Nahor the younger, and Haran. This elder Nahor lived during the post-Flood era when humanity was spreading across the earth and settling in Mesopotamia. He appears in Luke's genealogy of Jesus Christ (Luke 3:34), traced back through David and Abraham to Adam, establishing the unbroken line of descent through which the Messiah would come. His life spans the transitional period between the Table of Nations and the call of Abraham.

Significance

Nahor's primary theological significance lies in his place within the messianic genealogy. Listed in both Genesis 11 and Luke 3, he forms one link in the chain connecting Shem, the blessed son of Noah, to Abraham, the father of the covenant people. His inclusion in Luke's genealogy of Jesus demonstrates that God's redemptive plan was unfolding across generations long before the covenant with Abraham was established. The careful preservation of these genealogical records testifies to God's faithfulness in guiding human history toward the incarnation of Christ. Nahor reminds readers that God's purposes advance through ordinary, seemingly unremarkable lives that faithfully transmit the promise from one generation to the next.

Verse Appearances (7)

References

  1. Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
  2. Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
  3. Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
  4. Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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Content compiled from public domain scholarship, academic sources, and verified references. Editorial standards · View all sources