Genesis 11 v 10 to 30 - The ancestry of Abram

We have already looked at a summary in chapter 10 v 22 to 31 of the descendants of Shem. Here we have more selective detail of the line of Shem. It is in fact continuing the record given in chapter 5 and is given in the same style.

We are given the line of Shem straight down to Abram. So if we combine the information given in chapter 5 with that in chapter 11 verses 10 to 26, we have a complete record of Abram’s ancestry.

Some interesting facts emerge from a careful reading of the line given in chapter 11:-

• Shem lived to be 600 years old
• Abram was 150 years old when Shem died
• Abram’s possible contact with Shem could be the reason why Abram was a worshipper of the true God although he lived in an idolatrous city.

Verses 27 to 32 detail the descendants of Terah, Abram’s father. This fills in the background of Abram, who is one of the greatest characters in the Bible. (As we shall see later, his name was changed to Abraham.) The family tree below summarises verses 27 to 29 and shows how Abram was related to people about whom we shall read later.

The rest of chapter 11 tells us that Terah and his family were in Ur of the Chaldees, which was a city or district midway between Babylon and the Persian Gulf. Haran died while they were still in Ur. After this, Terah took his family to the place called Haran. While they were in Haran, Terah died. So the scene was set for God’s dealings with Abram, which we will begin to look at in the next session. The map shows their journey from Ur to Haran. Click to enlarge.