Nahor
Who he was
Nahor, mentioned in Genesis 11, 22, 24, 29, and 31, was the son of Terah and the brother of Abraham and Haran. He was born in Ur of the Chaldeans and later settled in the city of Nahor, which was likely named after him.
Nahor married Milcah, the daughter of his brother Haran, and together they had eight children, including Bethuel, who became the father of Rebekah (Genesis 22:20–23). Rebekah would later marry Isaac, Abraham's son, thus continuing the lineage of the patriarchs.
When Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac, the servant traveled to the city of Nahor and met Rebekah at the well (Genesis 24:10). Rebekah's family connection to Nahor and Abraham was confirmed when she identified herself as Bethuel's daughter and Nahor's granddaughter (Gen.24.15, 24, 47).
Later, when Israel (or 'Jacob'), Rebekah's son, fled from his brother Esau, he sought refuge with Laban, Rebekah's brother, in the city of Nahor (Genesis 29:5). This shows that Nahor's descendants maintained close ties with Abraham's family.
In Genesis 31:53, when Jacob and Laban made a covenant, they invoked the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor as witnesses, suggesting that Nahor and his descendants had come to acknowledge the God of Abraham.
Nahor's role in the biblical narrative is primarily as a link in the lineage of the patriarchs, connecting Abraham to the subsequent generations. His descendants, particularly Rebekah and her family, play a crucial role in the continuation of the covenant promises made to Abraham.
Family
Every mention
Genesis 11 mentions
What the dictionary says
Snorting.
Sources
- STEPBible TIPNR · Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References · CC BY 4.0 · github.com/STEPBible/STEPBible-Data
- Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869) · Public domain