Abram and Nahor married wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah.
Parallel Translations
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Abram and Nahor married wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah.
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And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
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And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Genesis 11:29 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 17:15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but her name will be Sarah.
- Genesis 22:20 After these things, Abraham was told, “Behold, Milcah, she also has borne children to your brother Nahor:
- Genesis 20:12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
- Genesis 24:15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Some think that this Iscah was Sarai.
Some think that this Iscah was Sarai.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives:…
Gen 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife [was] Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
Ver. 29. And the father of Iscah.] The Chaldee Paraphrast addeth Hi Sara; , the same is Sarah. It was not yet flatly forbidden to marry a brother’s daughter, as afterwards it was. {Lev 18:14} Why then should Burgensis on the text say, that such marriages were never prohibited?
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Such marriages of uncles and nieces being permitted then,…
Such marriages of uncles and nieces being permitted then, Exo 6:20, (as in the beginning of the world the marriages of brethren and sisters were), though afterwards, the church being very much enlarged, they were severely forbidden, Lev 18:12,14.
Iscah is either Sarai, as the Jews and many others think, or rather another person. For,
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1. Why should Moses express Sarai thus darkly and doubtfully? Had he meant her, he would have added after Iscah, this is Sarai, according to his manner in like cases, Gen 14:2,7; 35:6.
2. He elsewhere calleth her, the daughter, not of his brother, as he should have done, had she been Iscah, but of his father, by another mother.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 29. Milcah, the daughter of Haran] Many suppose…
Verse 29. Milcah, the daughter of Haran] Many suppose Sarai and Iscah are the same person under two different names; but this is improbable, as Iscah is expressly said to be the daughter of Haran, and Sarai was the daughter of Terah, and half sister of Abram.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Jescha, whom many confound with Sarai, as if both…
Jescha, whom many confound with Sarai, as if both Nacher and Abram had married the daughters of their brother Aran. But why then does Moses mention Sarai before, and then call her Jescha in the same verse? It seems as if he intended to designate two different women. (Haydock) --- In effect, Abram himself says, Sarai was truly his sister, born of the same father, chap. xii. 13. See chap. xx. 12, where we shall give the reasons that seem to prove that she was the daughter of Thare, and not Aran. (Calmet) --- Jescha does not accompany her grandfather, preferring, perhaps, to stay with Nachor, or to marry in her own country; if she were not already dead when Thare departed from Ur, a city of the Chaldees. (Haydock) --- This city is probably Ura, in Mesopotamia, not far from Nisibis, which the Scripture often mentions is a part of Chaldea. (Acts. vii. 2, &c.) (Calmet) --- It is not, however certain that the rest of Thare’s family remained behind; if they did, they removed soon after into the country about Haran, or Charræ, on the Charboras. (chap. xxix. 4; Josephus, Antiquities 1. 6.) (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 29. Iscah is, by Josephus, (Ant., 1:6,) and by…
29. Iscah is, by Josephus, (Ant., 1:6,) and by the Jewish writers generally, identified with Sarai or Sarah. If so, Abram married his niece, and Lot was his brother-in-law as well as his nephew. See the plan under Gen_11:27. That Sarah was in some way descended from Terah appears from Abram’s statement to Abimelech, Gen_20:12, “She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 29. Sarai] Abram’s wife was, according to Gen_20:12, his…
29. Sarai] Abram’s wife was, according to Gen_20:12, his half-sister, i.e. a daughter of Terah by another wife. Milcah, Nahor’s wife, is Nahor’s niece. Whether in these marriages we have to deal with the actual details of relationship permitted in nomadic life, or whether we have presented to us, under the imagery of matrimony, the fusion of families or tribes in the main community, is a question which we are not able through lack of evidence to answer. The blending of personal and tribal history produces a result, in which it is impossible to be sure of disentangling the separate elements.
“Sarai” is believed to be an archaic form of “Sarah” = “princess”: cf. Gen_17:15.
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The fact that Sarratu (= “princess”) was a title of the moon-goddess, consort of Sin, and Malkatu (= “queen”), a title of Istar, among the deities worshipped in Harran, raises questions with regard to the origin of the Hebrew proper names, Sarah and Milcah.
For Milcah cf. Gen_22:20; Gen_22:23; Gen_24:15; Gen_24:24; Gen_24:47. “Iscah,” otherwise unknown: by some identified with Sarai; by others as Lot’s wife.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (29) Iscah.—Not the same as Sarai, for we learn…
(29) Iscah.—Not the same as Sarai, for we learn in Gen_20:12 that she was Abraham’s half-sister—that is, a daughter of Terah by another wife. Nor was she Lot’s wife, as Ewald supposed, for she was his full sister. Marriages between near relatives seem to have been allowed at this time, and were perhaps even common for religious reasons (see Gen_24:3-4; Gen_28:1-2), but not marriages between those actually by the same mother. Thus Abraham takes his half-sister to wife, and Nahor his niece. Iscah, like Naamah (Gen_4:22), was probably eminent in her time, but for reasons not recorded.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Abram and Nahor took them wives: (cf. Gen_6:2)…
And Abram and Nahor took them wives: (cf. Gen_6:2) the name of Abram"s wife was Sarai. My princess," from sarah, to rule (Gesenius, Lange); "Strife" (Kalisch, Murphy): "Jah is ruler" (Furst). The LXX write Sara, changing afterwards to SarjrJa to correspond with Sarah. That Sarai was Iscah (Josephus, Augustine, Jerome, Jonathan) has been inferred from Gen_20:12; but, though receiving apparent sanction from ver. 31, this opinion "is not supported by any solid argument" (Rosenm And the name of Nahor"s wife, Milcah (Queen, or Counsel), the daughter of Haran, i.e. Nahor"s niece. Marriage with a half-sister or a niece was afterwards forbidden by the Mosaic code. (Lev_18:9, Lev_18:14) The father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah, whose name "Seer" may have been introduced into the narrative like that of Naamah, (Gen_4:22) as that of an eminent lady connected with the family (Murphy). Ewald"s hypothesis, that Iscah was Lot"s wife, is pure conjecture.
HOMILIES BY W. ROBERTS Vers. 29, 30. Two weddings.
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I THE TWO BRIDEGROOMS Abram and Nahor.
1. Younger sons in Terah s family.
2. Eminent men in Ur of the Chaldees.
3. Favored saints in the Church of God. Marriage is honorable in all.
II THE TWO BRIDES Sarai and Milcah.
1. Near relations of their husbands. Though permissible at that early stage of the world"s history, the intermarriage of relatives so close as half-sister and niece is not now sanctioned by the law of God.
2. Attractive ladies in themselves. As much as this may be inferred from their names. It is both allowable and desirable to seek as wives women distinguished for beauty and intelligence, provided also they are noted for goodness and piety.
3. Descendants of the holy line. Doubtless this was one cause which led to the choice of Abram and Nahor. So Christians should not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.
III THE TWO HOMES. Formed it might be at the same time, and under similar benignant auspices, they were yet divided.
1. And from the first in their constitutions. This was of necessity.
2. And afterwards in their fortunes. Sarai had no child; Milcah was the mother of a family. "Lo, children are the heritage of the Lord.
3. And eventually in their locations. Nahor and Milcah remained in Ur, and ultimately moved to Haran; Abram and Sarai pitched their tent and established their home in Canaan. So God parts the families of earth. W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 took wives
took wives
"married wives"
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Iskah
This is a female name. (See: How to Translate Names)
Now
This word is used to introduce new information about Sarai that will become important in later chapters.
barren
This term describes a woman who is physically unable to conceive or bear a child. (See: Euphemism)
translationWords
Abraham
Sarah
barren
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 11:29 Sarai means “princess” in Hebrew. No mention is…
11:29 Sarai means “princess” in Hebrew. No mention is made of Sarai’s parentage, perhaps to add suspense to the Abimelech story, which reveals that she was Abram’s half sister (20:9-12). Later, the law prohibited such a marriage (Lev 18:9; 20:17; Deut 27:22). • Nahor’s wife was Milcah: Milcah was Haran’s daughter and Nahor’s niece (see Gen 11:29). Her son Bethuel was the father of Rebekah, the wife of Abram’s son Isaac (24:10, 15, 24). The name Milcah is related to the Hebrew word meaning “queen.” In Akkadian, it is a title of the goddess Ishtar, the moon-god’s daughter. Terah’s name is related to the word for “moon” in Hebrew; his whole family appears to have worshiped Sin, the moon-god (see Josh 24:14).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.