5

Nechemyah 9:7-8 teaches that it was HaShem who brought (or called?) Avram forth out of the Ur Kasdim.

Bereshit 11:31 teaches that Terach took his whole household in which included Avram and they went forth from Ur Kasdim to go into Eretz Kena’an; and they came unto Charan (Haran), and dwelt there.

Later in Bereshit 12 we read that Avram had to leave this land of Charan, away from there which he came from, away from his father's household to the land HaShem will show him, which according to verse 5-6 is the land Kena'an.

I always thought the calling of Avram began at Bereshit 12:1 'Lech Lecha', but after reading this verse could it be possible HaShem called Avraham's whole household (from Terach) at first?

And second if Avram left for Kena'an a second time at the age of 75 then how old was he when his father Terach took them out of the Ur Kasdim?

Improve this question
3
  • found this website with a lot of calculations (but still looking for some sollid answers) alhatorah.org/Duration_of_the_Egyptian_Exile/2#fn29
    – Levi
    Apr 16, 2016 at 11:57
  • Abraham would have been around 30 if you do the math.
    – Turk Hill
    Oct 25, 2020 at 16:47
  • We don't need Nechemyah 9:7-8 to teach us that it was HaShem who brought (or called?) Avram forth out of the Ur Kasdim. HaShem said so Himself to Avram, in the Berit bein ha-Betarim (Bereshit 15:7).
    – Tamir Evan
    Apr 19, 2021 at 2:33

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
0

According to the Ibn Ezra on Shemot 12:40, Avraham was 70 when he left Ur.

Improve this answer
3
  • In [the body of] the question the OP asks: "... if Avram left for Kena'an a second time at the age of 75 then how old was he when his father Terach took them out of the Ur Kasdim"? (Emphasis mine.) Does the Ibn Ezra contend Avram left Ur [Kasdim] twice? Was he 70 the first time he left (when Terach took them out of the Ur Kasdim)?
    – Tamir Evan
    May 7, 2021 at 6:37
  • @TamirEvan I understood the OP's "a second time" as referring to when he left Charan, the first time being when he left Ur.
    – Harel13
    May 7, 2021 at 6:47
  • I see your point. The question has now become (for me) a little more confusing. I'll have to mull this over a bit. Thanks
    – Tamir Evan
    May 7, 2021 at 6:59
0

We know he was in Charan before the age of 52 as the Gemara states in Avoda Zara 9a:

אלא (בראשית יב, ה) מואת הנפש אשר עשו בחרן וגמירי דאברהם בההיא שעתא בר חמשין ותרתי הוה

Rather, the two-thousand-year time period of the Torah is counted from the time when it is stated about Abraham and Sarah: “And the souls that they had gotten in Haran” (Genesis 12:5), which is interpreted by the Sages as referring to the men and women who were brought closer to the Torah by Abraham and Sarah. Therefore, it was at this point that the Torah began to spread throughout the world. And it is learned as a tradition that at that time Abraham was fifty-two years old.

Tosfos points out that he left Charan twice:

וגמירי דאברהם אבינו בההיא שעתא בר חמשין ותרתי שנין הוה - ואע"ג דכתיב (בראשית י״ב:ד׳) ואברם בן חמש (שנים) ושבעים שנה בצאתו מחרן שתי יציאות הוו שהרי בברית בין הבתרים היה בן שבעים ואז היה בא"י ושוב חזר לחרן ועשה שם חמש שנים כדאיתא בסדר עולם ובפ"ק דשבת (דף י. ד"ה ושל) הארכתי היטב:

Improve this answer
-1

The Bible calculates years by lunar cycles. According to the Biblical calendar, Abraham died at 87 (175 biblical years). Thus Abraham was 37 when he left for Israel.

Improve this answer
11
  • In [the body of] the question the OP asks: "... if Avram left for Kena'an a second time at the age of 75 then how old was he when his father Terach took them out of the Ur Kasdim"? (Emphasis mine.) Was Abraham 37 when Terach took them out of the Ur Kasdim? Was he 37 when he left for Kena'an a second time? If he was 37 when he left Ur Kasdim for Kena'an a second time, "how old was he when his father Terach took them out of the Ur Kasdim" the first time (to paraphrase the OP's actual question)?
    – Tamir Evan
    May 7, 2021 at 6:47
  • Who's idea is it that the Bible calculates years by lunar cycles, and the ages stated need to be halved?
    – Tamir Evan
    May 7, 2021 at 7:02
  • @TamirEvan Good question. As for the idea, see the last few paragraphs here.
    – Turk Hill
    May 7, 2021 at 13:44
  • (1) As you bring an article from a personal blog on a news site to support your idea of how the Bible calculates years, it would be safe to assume this is a novel idea. Therefore, it would be better to elaborate on it, or at least quote/cite your source(s) for it (and not just a 'here' labeled link), in the body of your answer.
    – Tamir Evan
    May 9, 2021 at 3:29
  • 1
    I find it ridiculous to sometimes divide by 12 and other times divide by 2 just to make the ages seem more in line with what a person expects. As an example, it would be like dividing the age of Moshe Rabbeinu but not dividing any of the other years mentioned in Shmos. Similarly, one would have to arbitrarily change the way years were calculated in the middle of the lists in order to change the count from Shem through Terach. For example Serug was 30 years old when he fathered Nahor & lived 200 years after that. Seth son of Adam lived 105 years to sire Enos 105/12 = 8.75 which is ridiculous
    – sabbahillel
    Sep 17, 2021 at 18:16

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .