1. Name and Meaning
• Name: Nahor (Hebrew: נָחוֹר, Nāḥôr)
• Meaning: Possibly “snorting” or “panting,” though the exact meaning is debated; the name may reflect a family or regional identity in early Mesopotamian society
2. Genealogical Placement and Lineage Role
• Position: Eighteenth generation from Adam; eighth generation after the flood in the Messianic line
• Father: Serug – a transitional patriarch moving toward the call of Abraham
• Son: Terah – father of Abram (Abraham), Nahor (Jr.), and Haran
• Lineage Role: Immediate predecessor to Terah and grandfather of Abraham; helps anchor the Messianic line within the emerging culture of Mesopotamia
3. Life Summary and Historical Setting
• Lived during a time of urban development and rising cultural sophistication in Mesopotamia, including cities like Ur and Haran
• No personal deeds or narrative are recorded in the Bible, but his family played a significant role in shaping the context for Abraham’s calling
• Lifespan: 148 years (Genesis 11:24–25)
4. Theological and Christological Significance
• As grandfather of Abraham, Nahor plays a quiet but vital part in the divine plan of redemption
• Marks the final stage in the pre-Abrahamic generations, with the divine focus about to shift from general lineage to specific covenantal promise
• Contributes to the continuity and narrowing of the Messianic line leading to Christ
5. Legacy and Interpretive Reflections
• Distinguished from his grandson Nahor (Abraham’s brother), who shares the same name
• Mentioned without controversy in genealogical records and preserved in the ancestral listings of Christ
• Acts as a symbolic forerunner of a new covenantal era, having handed on the divine promise through his son Terah
6. Summary Insight
• Nahor represents the final generational link before the Abrahamic covenant, securing the passage of redemptive purpose through familial continuity in Mesopotamian history.
7. Biblical References
• Genesis 11:22–25
• 1 Chronicles 1:26
• Luke 3:34