Genesis 11 · Verse 26

Genesis 11:26

And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Genesis 11:26, King James Version

Genesis 11:26 in other translations

BSBWhen Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
WEBTerah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
ASVAnd Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
YLTAnd Terah liveth seventy years, and begetteth Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
DARBYAnd Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
BBEAnd Terah was seventy years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
WebsterAnd Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

What does Genesis 11:26 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran - Haran was certainly the eldest son of Terah, and he appears to have been born when Terah was about seventy years of age, and his birth was followed in successive periods with those of Nahor his second, and Abram his youngest son. Many have been greatly puzzled with the account here, supposing because Abram is mentioned first, that therefore he was the eldest son of Terah: but he is only put first by way of dignity. An in stance of this we have already seen, Gen 5:32, where Noah is represented as having Shem, Ham, and Japheth in this order of succession; whereas it is evident from other scriptures that Shem was the youngest son, who for dignity is named first, as Abram is here; and Japheth the eldest, named last, as Haran is here. Terah died two hundred and five years old, Gen 11:32; then Abram departed from Haran when seventy-five years old, Gen 12:4; therefore Abram was born, not when his father Terah was seventy, but when he was one hundred and thirty. When any case of dignity or pre-eminence is to be marked, then even the youngest son is set before all the rest, though contrary to the usage of the Scriptures in other cases. Hence we find Shem, the youngest son of Noah, always mentioned first; Moses is mentioned before his elder brother Aaron; and Abram before his two elder brethren Haran and Nahor. These observations are sufficient to remove all difficulty from this place.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 11:10-26

Here is a genealogy, or list of names, ending in Abram, the friend of God, and thus leading towards Christ, the promised Seed, who was the son of Abram. Nothing is left upon record but their names and ages; the Holy Ghost seeming to hasten through them to the history of Abram. How little do we know of those that are gone before us in this world, even of those that lived in the same places where we live, as we…

Read the full comment on Genesis 11:10-26 →

Genesis 11:26 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַֽיְחִי\־vay.chi-and he livedH2421
תֶ֖רַחTe.rachTerahH8646
שִׁבְעִ֣יםshiv.'ImseventyH7657
שָׁנָ֑הsha.Nahyear[s]H8141
וַיּ֙וֹלֶד֙vai.Yo.ledand he fatheredH3205
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
אַבְרָ֔ם'av.RamAbramH87
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
נָח֖וֹרna.ChorNahorH5152
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הָרָֽן\׃ha.RanHaranH2039

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 11:26

  • Joshua 24:2

    And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.

  • Genesis 12:4-5

    So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

  • 1 Chronicles 1:26-27

    Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abram; the same is Abraham.

  • Genesis 22:20-24

    And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. …

  • Genesis 29:4-5

    And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A.M. 1948. B.C. 2056. Abram.
12:4,5; 22:20-24; 29:4,5; Jos 24:2; 1Ch 1:26,27

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 11:25

    And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

  • Genesis 11:26

    And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

  • Genesis 11:27

    Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

Read all of Genesis 11

Genesis 11:26 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y vivió Thare setenta años, y engendró á Abram, y á Nachôr, y á Harán.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Térakh vécut 70 ans, et engendra Abram, Nakhor, et Haran.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Tarah lebte 70 Jahre und zeugte Abram, Nahor und Haran.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Vixitque Thare septuaginta annis, et genuit Abram, et Nachor, et Aran.