Introduction
Terah is the son of Nahor and the father of Abraham, Nahor (a second Nahor, named for his grandfather) and Haran, the patriarch whose family Genesis follows out of Mesopotamia toward the land of Canaan.
Family
Family
Terah's three sons are Abraham, Nahor and Haran. Haran died before his father, in Ur of the Chaldeans, leaving a son, Lot, whom Terah's family took with them; Nahor married his niece Milcah, Haran's daughter.
The journey from Ur
Genesis 11:31 records that Terah took Abraham, his wife Sarai (Sarah), and his grandson Lot, and set out from Ur of the Chaldeans intending to go to the land of Canaan, but the family stopped and settled in Haran, where Terah died at the age of 205, according to the text's chronology.
Significance
Terah's incomplete journey sets the stage for the fuller call and journey of his son Abraham, who resumes the movement toward Canaan after his father's death, a movement that Genesis 12 onward treats as central to the unfolding narrative of God's covenant.