Genesis 11:27-32

Now this is the history of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot. Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldees. Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran who was also the father of Iscah. Sarai was barren. She had no child. Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there. The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.

This passage sets the stage for a more detailed look at the things that God was doing for mankind. We get more detail about who’s who in Abraham’s family and where they came from. Once again we have a close family marriage. This time, Nahor married his niece. Remember, the law was not given yet so this was not legal incest yet. It is clearly bad for us to do today because it is easier to be harmed by genetic mutations.

Terah, the father of Abraham, decided to move to Haran from Ur. From a look at the map, this was a move from southern Iraq to Syria. They probably traveled through the cities around the Arabian desert as they traveled. Abraham’s brother Haran and his nephew Lot’s father, died in Ur before they left.

We also find out that Abram’s wife, Sarai, who was later to be named Sarah, was unable to have children.

Abram’s father and Lot’s Grandpa, Terah, died at the age of 205 in Haran.

So we see that this section describes Abram and Sarai’s family history. The rest of the Bible follows the story of Abraham and his children. It is through Abraham that God was to save the whole world from death that continued to bring mankind closer to extinction.