Tebah
Tebah was a son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his concubine Reumah.
Biography
Tebah is listed in Genesis 22:24 as the firstborn son of Reumah, the concubine of Nahor, Abraham's brother. His birth is recorded in a brief genealogical passage that follows the near-sacrifice of Isaac, providing Abraham with news of his extended family in Mesopotamia. Tebah's mother Reumah bore four sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. Little additional detail is given about Tebah personally, but his lineage places him at the intersection of the Abrahamic family network and the broader Aramaean peoples who inhabited the region around Haran. Some scholars have attempted to link his name etymologically with a place name, possibly a settlement in the region of Syria, though such identifications remain uncertain.
Significance
Tebah's significance lies primarily in his structural role within the Genesis narrative. The genealogy of Nahor's family in Genesis 22:20-24 serves a deliberate literary and theological purpose: it introduces the reader to Rebekah's extended kin, preparing the ground for the marriage of Isaac in Genesis 24. As Nahor's grandson through Reumah, Tebah belongs to the network of relatives from whom God would sovereignly draw the matriarchs of Israel's founding generations. The passage underscores that God's redemptive purposes unfold within and through family lineages, and that seemingly minor genealogical notes often carry forward the great story of covenant promise that culminates in Christ.
Verse Appearances (1)
Genesis
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]