NAHOR
(Naʹhor).
1. Father of Terah and grandfather of Abraham. Nahor was a son of Serug and descendant of Shem. He lived 148 years, c. 2177 to c. 2029 B.C.E.—Gen. 11:22-26; 1 Chron. 1:24-27; Luke 3:34-36.
2. Son of Terah; grandson of Nahor (No. 1 above); and brother of Abraham. (Gen. 11:26; Josh. 24:2) Nahor married Milcah, Lot’s sister and the daughter of Nahor’s other brother Haran, hence Nahor’s niece. By her he had eight sons and by his concubine Reumah he had four more sons, totaling twelve, some of whom became tribal heads. (Gen. 11:27, 29; 22:20-24) Through his son Bethuel, Nahor became grandfather to Laban and Rebekah, and great-grandfather of Leah, Rachel, Jacob (Israel) and Esau. (Gen. 24:15, 24, 47; 29:5, 16; 1 Chron. 1:34) Through his sons Uz and Buz, Nahor may have also been a forefather of Job and Elihu.—Job 1:1; 32:2
The Genesis account of Terah and Abraham leaving Ur of the Chaldeans does not include Nahor’s name in the list of travelers. (Gen. 11:31) It does seem, however, that he may have come later, for Abraham’s servant, seeking a wife for Isaac, traveled to Haran, where Terah took up dwelling and where he died, and where Nahor’s grandson Laban lived when Jacob went to him. (Gen. 11:31, 32; 12:4; 27:43) Abraham’s servant came “to the city of Nahor,” either to Haran itself or a place close by, perhaps the Nahur frequently mentioned in various Mari tablets of the second millennium B.C.E. (Gen. 24:10; 29:4) And when Jacob parted company from Laban, Laban called on “the god of Abraham and the god of Nahor” to judge between them.—Gen. 31:53; see HARAN No. 4.