Who was Reumah in the Bible?

Reumah was the concubine of Nahor, who was the brother of the patriarch Abraham. She is mentioned as the mother of four of Nahor's sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah (Genesis 22:24).

Why is Reumah mentioned in the Bible?

Reumah's brief mention establishes the extended family lineage of Abraham, showing the fulfillment of God's promise to make him the father of many nations. Her sons, like Maacah, later become names of people groups or regions connected to Israel's history.

What does it mean that Reumah was a concubine?

In the ancient Near East, a concubine was a secondary wife with legal protections but a lower social status than a primary wife. Her inclusion in Nahor's family highlights the cultural practice of building large households through multiple wives and concubines.

Reumah

Old TestamentPatriarchsFemaleBrother

Reumah was the concubine of Nahor, Abraham's brother, and she bore him four sons.

Reumah

Biography

Reumah was the concubine of Nahor, the brother of Abraham, mentioned in Genesis 22:24 alongside Nahor's wife Milcah. She bore Nahor four sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. Though Reumah appears only briefly in the biblical narrative, her children significantly extended the family network of Abraham's Mesopotamian relatives, contributing to the ancestral background from which key figures in Israel's story would later emerge. Her son Maacah, for instance, became the eponymous ancestor of the Maacathites, a people group whose territory lay near the region of Bashan. Reumah's story is one of the quiet, supporting threads woven into the patriarchal narratives, a concubine whose descendants shaped the ethnic and geographical landscape of the ancient Near East.

Significance

Reumah's mention in Genesis 22:24 arrives at a pivotal moment in the Abraham narrative, immediately following the account of the near-sacrifice of Isaac. The genealogical aside noting Nahor's growing family through both his wife and concubine subtly reinforces the theme of divine blessing on Abraham's wider family. It also provides the ancestral background for Rebekah (through Milcah's line) and the various peoples surrounding Israel. Theologically, Reumah represents the inclusion of secondary figures, women on the margins of patriarchal power, whose offspring nonetheless contributed to the complex human tapestry within which God's redemptive purposes unfolded. Her story reminds readers that providence works through the entire spectrum of human relationships, not only the most prominent ones.

Authority Records

Wikidata

SpouseNahorChildTebahChildGahamChildMaacahChildTahash

Verse Appearances (1)

Genesis

Genesis 22:24

References

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

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