Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Genesis Chapter 11 mean?

Genesis 11 contains three sections: the story of the Tower of Babel, the genealogy from Shem to Abram, and a description of the life of Terah, Abram’s father. Abram will later be renamed Abraham and he will become one of the most important figures in Israel’s history.

The events surrounding the building of the city and Tower of Babel are breathtaking. God exercises His power, authority, and creativity to confuse the languages of all the peoples of the earth and then to disperse them geographically around the known world.

God’s reason for doing so is equally fascinating. As the families of Noah’s children Shem, Ham, and Japheth grew, they continued to live together as a community with one language and one culture. Eventually, they moved to the area known as Shinar and began to build a massive city with a huge tower. To avoid separating from each other, they planned to make themselves great and powerful on the earth.

Not only did the people disobey God’s command to “fill the earth,” they apparently did not acknowledge God or seek His help. They became arrogant in their self-reliance and accomplishments. Some scholars think the building of the tower was an attempt to evade a future flood from God, or possibly as a symbol of man’s power.

God acknowledged that nothing would be impossible if they continued to operate as one people with one language. This comment has been interpreted in various ways, but seems to follow the same line of thought God used prior to the flood: left alone, mankind can find a way to commit any act of evil imaginable. To prevent this, God confused and dispersed the people.

The section involving the Tower of Babel is composed as a chiasm, meaning a literary mirror-image. Everything mankind attempts in the first half of the narrative is undone in the second half. The building of the city, Babel, later to be called Babylon, ceases. Later, when the Israelites came into conflict with the powerful Babylonians, the name of this city was a reminder that God’s power was far greater than the plans and might of mere human beings.

The second section of the chapter provides a simple genealogy from Noah’s son Shem to Abram, showing specifically how God’s people descended in a direct line from one to the other. This genealogy also shows that the lifespans of men quickly decreased after the flood, from nearly a thousand years, to several centuries, to roughly a century by the time of Abram.

The final section of the chapter sketches out the life of Abram’s father Terah and his family, including Abram’s two brothers, his wife, and his nephew. Together, the family moved from Ur, in what is now southern Iraq, some 600 miles closer to Canaan, settling in Haran. From Haran, God will call Abram and Sarai to leave their home and move into the promised land of Canaan. These two will eventually be renamed Abraham and Sarah, two of Israel’s most crucial ancestors.

Chapter Context
Genesis 10 provided a table of the nations, describing the peoples and tribes that descended from Noah’s three sons and where they settled. Genesis 11 describes how God scattered the peoples of the world after confusing their languages to stop the building of Babel and its tower. The chapter also provides a direct genealogy from Noah to Abram and then introduces Abram by way of his father Terah. The following chapter will begin the story of Abram and God’s chosen people, Israel.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.

Genesis 11 returns to a narrative where the world of man has not yet scattered across the earth into the nations, tribes, and languages described in chapter 10. Chapter 10’s focus was broad, and looking far into the future, many generations from the end of the flood. The actual division of nations, as described in the Bible, will not happen until after humanity is divided by language and scattered across the globe. This event happens here, in chapter 11, at the Tower of Babel.

The descendants of Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, remained together for a while, then migrated away from the region around Ararat, where the ark settled. It makes sense, given this context, that humanity continued to have one language and to share the same words, or common speech. Only one people group existed on the earth, and they all shared the same culture. Unfortunately, this led to almost the same problem which happened prior to the flood: a unified humanity can use that unity for sin, something God does not plan to allow (Genesis 11:6).

Context Summary
Genesis 11:1–9 recounts one of the most dramatic acts of God recorded in Genesis. Before the tribes and nations described in Genesis 10 were formed, all the people of the earth shared one language and one culture. They also shared the goal of not wanting to be separated. To that end, they decided to make themselves great by building a great city with an enormous tower—and without apparently acknowledging God. To keep humanity from being too powerful, and lapsing into the widespread sin which inspired the flood, God confuses human languages and scattered mankind around the world. The city of Babel, similar to the Hebrew word for ”confused,” would later become known as Babylon.

Verse 2. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

The previous chapter described all the nations, tribes, and languages that came from Noah’s three sons. Genesis 11 backs up the story to the era before the people groups were divided. Until this point, the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth remained together as a single people group with a single culture. Verse 1 told us they all shared the same language.

Here, in verse 2, we’re told that this growing extended family migrated away from the region where the ark settled to the land of Shinar. Shinar is the region where Babylon will be established. Thus, at this point in the history of the earth, all the peoples of the world were gathered together in one region.

While it sounds wonderful for mankind to be united in culture and language, human sin makes this a dangerous condition. As shown prior to the flood, mankind’s natural habit is towards depravity (Genesis 6:5). The need to restrict man’s cooperation with man, at least to some extent, is a major reason for God’s actions in this passage (Genesis 11:7–8).

Verse 3. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.

The previous verses revealed that the peoples of the earth had not yet divided and scattered into separate tribes and nations. The descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth remained a single people group with a single culture and language. Together, they had migrated to the region of Shinar where Babylon would be established.

Here, we’re told that together these people made plans to build a huge structure in their new homeland. This verse seems oddly specific in describing their building materials: bricks hardened by burning—or baking—and mortar made from tar. Scholars suggest there is wordplay going on in these verses, connecting the words for these building materials to the name of Babel. In addition, Israelite readers would have likely been interested to know that these ancient people used bricks while they themselves often used stone for building.

Verse 4. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

At this point in the history of the world, all the peoples on earth existed as a single culture with one shared language. The descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth had not yet divided and dispersed into the separate nations, tribes, and languages described in chapter 10. And, for this moment, they wanted to keep it that way. They did not want to disperse and go in different directions (Genesis 9:1).

Most likely, the people recognized that there was power and safety in their unity. If they could remain one people, they would be stronger and safer. If they divided, each group would be weaker and, likely, under threat of war and conflict with other groups. Their motive makes sense to us, but their plan to accomplish their objective was to make themselves great in a way that God found arrogant and dangerous.

The scheme mankind concocts is to build a strong, defensible city with a massive tower that would reach to the heavens. They would “make a name” for themselves. If, as a people, their city was unable to be defeated and they were prosperous and strong, why would any among them want to leave and risk becoming their rivals?

This culture of man believed that self-glorification and self-reliance would achieve their greatest goals. They did not, apparently, acknowledge God in any way or seek His help. The following verses will reveal that though they can accomplish much, God will not allow them to achieve their plan.

Verse 5. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.

The united peoples of earth make a plan to exalt themselves, by building a tower in their city that would reach to the heavens. Instead of asking God for help, they set out to make themselves powerful enough to get what they wanted. Many scholars see this as a deliberate attempt to guard against another flood, by making a structure specifically intended to protect mankind from God’s judgment.

This verse is probably intended to be taken in a dry, almost sarcastic tone. The text reveals that God chooses to “come down” to even see their tower. Of course, God did not need to travel any distance in any direction to see or know what was happening on the earth. Instead, the language is meant to emphasize what a silly idea it was that people could build a tower that would reach to the heavens, or prevent God from enacting His will.

In a more direct sense, this verse shows God “playing along,” much as He did when Adam hid from Him in the garden of Eden and God called out (Genesis 3:8–10).

Verse 6. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.

After seeing the city and the tower that the united people of the earth had built, God does not dismiss their efforts as weak and futile. Instead, He acknowledges that by working together, humanity would can accomplish whatever they set out to do. This, of course, leads to an immediate question: why is that a problem? Why would God stand opposed to such unified productivity?

The answer is in mankind’s capacity to turn gifts into curses (Genesis 3:17–19), and abilities into abuses. The flood had not changed the nature of sinful human beings. God’s observation in Genesis 6:5 still applies to the hearts of humans left to themselves: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

A powerfully united humanity, inclined to do evil, could accomplish great wickedness. No matter how perverse, outrageous, or ridiculous something might seem, mankind can and will attempt it, given the opportunity. The following verse reveals that God has no plans to give humanity that kind of opening.

Verse 7. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another ‘s speech.”

At this point in history, the peoples of the earth remained undivided, with one language and culture. They had also decided to remain unified and become great and powerful by their own strength and ability. They did not apparently worship God or call to Him for help.

So, God “came down,” and saw the great city and tower they had made. The verse uses the phrasing “let us” with respect to God. Similar language is used in Genesis 1:26 and 3:22. God may be speaking to Himself within the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Alternatively, He may be commanding the angels to come and participate.

In either case, God acknowledges that by working together, nothing would be impossible for humanity. More specifically, God points out that mankind is capable of enormous evil, when their sinful natures become aligned. God is not attempting to stifle mankind’s potential to accomplish “anything” good, but He is very concerned about their potential to accomplish “anything” evil.

God decides to stop their progress by dividing the people according to language, for starters. People who speak different languages have an immediate barrier to communication, making it harder to cooperate. Further, this would naturally begin to separate people into groups, based on those languages, and in fulfillment of God’s intent for man after the flood (Genesis 9:1).

Verse 8. So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.

In the previous verse, God decides to confuse the languages of the united peoples of the earth. This was specifically intended to stop them from accomplishing whatever they set out to do. In context, God’s concern is that a united humanity will slip back into the same cycle of sin and death as existed prior to the flood (Genesis 6:5).

Now, we’re told that God also dispersed humanity from the area of Shinar all over the earth. Taken at face value, these verses describe supernatural acts of God in creating and assigning languages to people and placing them where in the earth He wanted them to be. Other interpreters see God’s actions in this chapter in a more gradual way, describing the effects without necessarily implying that they were immediate.

Taken literally, Genesis’ claim is that these languages did not develop naturally over time as people developed their own variations on an original language. God simply did it. Such an act would require enormous power, creativity, and authority. Certainly, the God who created the world and sent a global flood would be capable of such actions.

God’s initial command to Noah and his sons was to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1). Since the people refused to separate and obey God in this way, God did it for them. He would not allow humanity to set its own agenda for the earth.

Building on the city came to a stop. It would no longer be the focus of humanity’s combined effort. The place took on the name Babel, which is very similar to the Hebrew word for “confusion.” Later, this city would be known as Babylon.

Verse 9. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Verse 9 sums up God’s act of judgment with a play on words. The word for the name of the city Babel is very similar in Hebrew to the word for “confused.” In fact, the whole section of verses 1 through 9 includes several allusions, in the Hebrew language, to the name of Babel. It is very likely that Babel became known as Babylon, the great and ancient city that became a seat of power in the world. This city, in fact, would later become symbolic of the man-centered, worldly system which sets itself against God.

Later, the Babylonians were quite proud of their impressive city. God’s people understood, however, that the city’s history was evidence that human pride and arrogance cannot stand against God. He stops the plans of humanity anytime He chooses to do so (Job 42:2).

One day, though, God will create a new kingdom with a single language and culture once again. Zephaniah 3:9–11 describes that moment, and the Holy Spirit’s act of uniting the languages at Pentecost may hint at it as well (Acts 2:6–11).

Verse 10. These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood.

This verse begins a genealogy that will directly link Noah’s son Shem with Abram, whom God will re-name Abraham (Genesis 17:5). This sets up the origins of the people of Israel. Unlike the broad, nation-spanning genealogies in chapter 10, this passage tracks a straight line from each man to one of his sons to the next in the line. This description begins with Shem. Of the three sons of Noah, Shem is the one who is overtly blessed by God (Genesis 9:26). We are told here that Shem fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood when he was 100 years old.

This is the last mention of the flood in Genesis, marking the beginning of a new era. The birth of Arpachshad so quickly after God’s command to multiply and fill the earth shows that Shem was living in obedience.

Context Summary
Genesis 11:10–26 provides a direct genealogy from Noah to Abram, through Noah’s blessed-by-God son, Shem. This record shows a direct genetic line from Noah and the flood, through Peleg and the dispersion of humanity at the Tower of Babel, to Terah, Abram’s father.

Verse 11. And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

The previous verse began this genealogy linking Shem to Abraham and the Israelites. Shem fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood when Shem was 100 years old. This verse now establishes the pattern for the rest of the genealogy, revealing how long Shem lived after the birth of the next in the line.

Putting the two ages together, Shem lived to be 600 years old, allowing him many years to have other sons and daughters as humanity set about refilling the earth with people. Verse 10 was the last mention of the flood found in Genesis, setting this passage up as a milestone. In the same vein, this genealogy does not focus on phrases such as “and then he died,” as did the genealogy of chapter 5.

Verse 12. When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah.

The line from Noah to Abraham follows through Shem to Arpachshad and now to Shelah. This is a noteworthy point in Genesis due to the age of Arpachshad when he fathers Shelah: “only” 35 years old. This is a drastic reduction in the age of having children when compared to the pre-flood era (Genesis 5). Of course, the genealogies listed prior to the flood don’t demand those children were the first-born, so those patriarchs might well have had other, earlier children. And yet, it’s significant that the ages associated with children are decreasing, as are the lifespans.

Whether as a result of the world being damaged by the flood (Genesis 7:22–24), or by God’s direct intervention (Genesis 6:3), humanity’s lifespans will taper off very quickly in the generations following Noah. To multiply and fill the earth, people had to start having children at much younger ages.

Verse 13. And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

After fathering Shelah, Arpachshad lived another 403 years and had other children. Adding the numbers together, Arpachshad lived to be 438 years old. As with other verses, this statement supports a rapid decline in human lifespans after the flood. While ancient figures such as Noah lived nearly a thousand years (Genesis 5), the generations following Abram (Genesis 11:19–26) will be lucky to live beyond a century.

Verse 14. When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber.

The line from Noah to Abraham follows through Shem to Arpachshad to Shelah and now to Eber. The Eberites and their descendants became a well-known people (Numbers 24:24). As compared to the generations listed prior to the flood (Genesis 5), this verse presents an earlier age of fatherhood, and a shorter lifespan. This is a trend which will continue through the genealogy, as man’s life rapidly shortens leading up to the birth of Abram (Genesis 11:19–26).

Verse 15. And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

After fathering Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other children. Adding the numbers together, Shelah lived to be 433 years old. Patriarchs of the pre-flood world lived close to a thousand years (Genesis 5), and aren’t directly said to have had children until having lived more than a century (Genesis 5:3). As mankind spreads after the flood, these lifespans rapidly decrease. By the time of Abram, a person would be lucky to live beyond a century. And, in stark contrast to the pre-flood world, the prospect of having children near the age of 100 would become incredible (Genesis 17:17). This might have been due to God’s direct influence (Genesis 6:3), or simply as a consequence of living on a harsher, less-ideal planet after the flood.

Verse 16. When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg.

The line from Noah to Abraham follows through Shem to Arpachshad to Shelah to Eber and now to Peleg. Peleg’s name apparently comes from a word that means “to divide.” Genesis 10:25 tells us that in Peleg’s time the earth was divided, likely referring to the dispersion of the peoples that happened after God confused the languages in Babel (Genesis 11:1–9). If so, the generations to come after Peleg will live in a drastically divided world.

This verse also continues a trend seen in the genealogy of Genesis 11: decreasing lifespans. Children are mentioned at younger ages, and years of life are much shorter. This change takes a particularly dramatic jump in the time between Eber and Peleg—those living after the Tower of Babel seem to have lifespans around half of what they were prior to that incident (Genesis 11:17–19).

Verse 17. And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

After fathering Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other children. Adding the numbers together, Eber lived to be 474 years old.

Peleg is noteworthy for his connection to the incident at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9). His name is associated with earth being “divided” (Genesis 10:25). This link also helps to make sense of the sudden drop in lifespans. While post-flood lives are already shortening, compared to the patriarchs of chapter 5, Peleg and those who follow him will live half as long as his father Eber. Within a few more generations, man’s days are cut down again by half (Genesis 11:19–24).

Verse 18. When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu.

The line from Noah to Abraham follows through Shem to Arpachshad to Shelah to Eber to Peleg and now to Reu. The name Reu appears only here in the Old Testament, though it may be a variation on other names. This verse is otherwise interesting for mentioning Peleg, a name associated with the division of humanity at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 10:25; Genesis 11:1–9).

Verse 19. And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

After fathering Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other children. Adding the numbers together, Peleg lived to be 239 years old. We notice that the lifespans continue to decrease dramatically the farther we move from the flood. Some have speculated the conditions of the environment on the earth became less ideal for long lifespans after the flood. Others see Genesis 6:3 as an indication that God acted directly to shorten human life—most likely for the same reason as His division of languages at Babel. This was to limit man’s capacity for evil (Genesis 6:5; Genesis 11:6–7). Peleg’s life is notably shorter than his father’s, as are those of the generations which follow.

Verse 20. When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug.

The line from Noah to Abraham follows through Shem to Arpachshad to Shelah to Eber to Peleg to Reu and now to Serug. The name Serug may be associated with a place called Sarugi about 20 miles from Haran, where Abram’s family will eventually settle. As shown in other verses, this generation will continue the trend of rapidly decreasing lifespans seen after the flood. From creation to the flood, man lives nearly a thousand years (Genesis 5). From the flood to Peleg, man’s life is a few centuries. From Peleg to Abram, human life drops to roughly a hundred years at best.

Verse 21. And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

After fathering Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had many other children. Adding the numbers together, Reu lived to be 239 years old. This is a noticeably shorter life than his grandfathers, such as Shelah and Eber (Genesis 11:15–17). It’s also drastically less than early men such as Adam and Seth (Genesis 5). This trend will continue until the era of Abram, when the definition of “old age” reaches the same general outlines we see in the modern world.

Verse 22. When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor.

The line from Noah to Abram—later to be renamed Abraham—follows through Shem to Arpachshad to Shelah to Eber to Peleg to Reu to Serug and now to Nahor, Abram’s grandfather. The length of a typical human life is drastically shrinking, compared to the era prior to the flood. There is a particularly large decrease seen after the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9), which is associated with the generation of Peleg (Genesis 11:17–19).

Verse 23. And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

After fathering Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other children. Adding the numbers together, Serug lived to be 230 years old. Generations immediately following the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9), such as those of Peleg (Genesis 10:25; 11:6–7), will live half as long as their predecessors. Their children will live even less than that. This culminates in the generations of people such as Abram and Sarai—later renamed Abraham and Sarah—whose lives stretch to the same general length we see in the modern world.

Verse 24. When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah.

The line from Noah to Abram—later known as Abraham—follows through Shem to Arpachshad to Shelah to Eber to Peleg to Reu to Serug to Nahor and now to Abram’s father Terah. At this point, the lifespans in Genesis have decreased to something similar to the modern pattern: man’s days are roughly a century, give or take. This is strong contrast to the prior generations, who lived twice as long. It’s a drastic change from those who lived prior to the Tower of Babel, who lived several centuries. And it’s a catastrophic drop from the ages allowed for the earliest men, who survived nearly a thousand years (Genesis 5).

The story of Terah and his son, Abram, will lead into the foundations of the nation of Israel. Soon, God will begin enacting His far-reaching plan to fulfill the promise of restoration made in Genesis 3:15.

Verse 25. And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

After fathering Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other children. Adding the numbers together, Nahor lived to be just 148 years old, the shortest lifespan yet recorded following the flood. This seems to follow God’s comment in Genesis 6:3, which might have been a direct act on His part to limit man’s capacity for evil (Genesis 6:5). Based on the rapid drop in lifespan seen after the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9), this is also likely driven by the hardships of living in a scattered, fallen world.

Verse 26. When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

The line from Noah to Abraham (Abram) is now complete. It follows through Shem to Arpachshad to Shelah to Eber to Peleg to Reu to Serug to Nahor to Terah and now to Abram. The end of this genealogy includes the fact that Terah had three male children after living 70 years. In addition to Abram, one child is named after Terah’s father and the other shares the name of the city Haran.

Abram’s name apparently means something like “exalted father.” This is a major moment in the genealogy of mankind. Abram will later be renamed Abraham. Abraham’s relationship to God will be the cornerstone of three major modern world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Abraham will be called by God (Genesis 12:1), and given special blessings (Genesis 12:2–3). His grandson, Jacob, will be renamed Israel, fathering the nation God will designate as His chosen people.

Verse 27. Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.

The previous section contained a direct genealogy from Noah’s son Shem to Abram. Now a new section is introduced under the heading of “the generations of Terah.” This long section includes the entire life of Abram through Genesis 25:11. It’s not clear why the section is described as the generations of Terah, when the focus is almost entirely on the life of Abram.

Joshua 24:2 reveals that Terah and his father Nahor worshipped false gods. Since both Ur and Haran are known to have been centers of moon worship, it’s possible they worshiped moon gods. Both men lived after the dispersal of humanity following the building of the TTower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9). Since Terah named one of his sons Haran, and then later moved to Haran, some scholars speculate that Terah had moved to Ur of the Chaldeans from there before moving back again.

Terah also fathered Nahor, named for his own father, and Abram “when he had lived 70 years” (Genesis 11:26). Haran fathered Lot, Abram’s nephew, a man who will play a large role in Abram’s story. Lot will also play a central role in one of the Old Testament’s most dramatic incidents of divine judgment: the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18—19).

Context Summary
Genesis 11:27–32 begins a long section in Genesis titled ”the generations of Terah.” Terah is Abram’s father, and in some sense, his section does not end until Abram dies in Genesis 25. Abram’s family also includes two brothers, his wife, a nephew, and a niece. Together, the whole family moves from Ur (southern Iraq) much closer to what will become the Promised Land. They settle short of Canaan in Haran, where Terah will live out the rest of his life. It is from Haran that God will call Abram to leave his home.

Verse 28. Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

Haran, one of the three sons of Terah, died long before Terah did. At the time he died, the family home was in a region known as Ur of the Chaldeans, possibly in modern day southern Iraq. Haran lived long enough to father children such as Milcah, Iscah, and Lot. This makes Lot a grandson of Terah, and the nephew of Abram. This relationship will prove to be important in Genesis.

Lot and Abram will see their paths cross many times. Abram will lead a rescue operation to save Lot from capture (Genesis 14). After establishing a relationship with God, Abram will be renamed Abraham, and soon after this, he will pray for the people of Sodom, where Lot is living. Lot, once again, has to be rescued from destruction (Genesis 19).

Verse 29. And 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 the father of Milcah and Iscah.

Several complicated family relationships are described in this verse. First, Abram married Sarai—who would later be renamed Sarah. We know from Genesis 20:12 that Sarai was Abram’s half-sister, the daughter of his father Terah, but not from the same mother. Abram’s brother, Haran, had died leaving behind at least three children: Milcah and Iscah, as well as Lot (Genesis 11:27). Abram’s other brother Nahor married Haran’s daughter Milcah.

Later, God’s Law for Israel would forbid marriages of family members so closely related. At this time, it seems, this was apparently a common practice and not forbidden by God. Most scholars see the potential for genetic problems in the children of close relatives as the reason God prohibits incest. This, most likely, would become a more and more serious issue as mankind continued to live in a fallen, corrupted, post-flood world.

Verse 30. Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

This brief verse sums up a driving force in the lives of Abram and Sarai: Sarai was barren and could not have children. Nevertheless, in the next chapter, God will promise them a child. That promise will not be fulfilled for many years, and will test their faith deeply. When the promise is fulfilled, though, it will be the victorious reassurance that the God of Abraham is trustworthy and true.

Verse 31. Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram ‘s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.

No specific reason is given here for the family’s migration from Ur. Terah, Abram, and the whole family left their home and headed for the land of Canaan. While that was their intended destination, they never reached it. Instead, after traveling some 600 miles, they settle in Haran. Scholars speculate that perhaps Terah had lived in Haran previously, and was returning. This might have been inspired by Haran’s death (Genesis 11:28), something which the inclusion of Haran’s son, Lot, seems to support.

Verse 32. The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

The chapter ends by telling us that Terah lived to be 205 years old before dying in Haran. Although quite a short lifespan compared to those who lived before and immediately following the flood, Terah would have lived long enough to be alive for nearly all the major events of Abraham’s life, including the eventual birth of Terah’s grandson, Isaac.

End of Chapter 11.

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