How Readest Thou? by Ellet Joseph Waggoner

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jun 11, 1885

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 23.

“How Readest Thou?”

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

THERE has been of late quite an interest raised over the question in a recent Sabbath-school lesson, as to how old Abram was when his father died. Several letters have been written about it. We will therefore quote a portion of one letter from a brother who requests an answer through the SIGNS, and the answer to it will serve for all. He says:—

“The idea was conveyed in the Sabbath-school lesson in the SIGNS, a few weeks ago, that Abram was seventy-five years old when his father died, and the subject was brought up in the school at —, which caused some comment.

“As well as I remember, the SIGNS stated plainly that he was that age at the death of his father, and suppose the conclusion was gotten at in this way. In the last verse of Gen. 11 we have an account of the death of Terah, Abram’s father, and the 12th chapter begins with what the Lord had told Abram in regard to leaving his father’s house, etc., and says: ‘So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran,’ and as his father had died before he departed, he must have been seventy-five when his father died.”

The brother has the idea exactly, and when we had read his words we wondered that there could be any question in his mind. But the next few words of his letter show the cause of his difficulty. He continues:—

“But right here is where I think the mistake is. The Bible does not say that Terah died before Abram left Haran, but, on the other hand, conveys the idea very strongly that he did not. It is true that the last verse of chapter 11 gives an account of the death of Terah, and the first verse of chapter 12 gives an account of what the Lord told Abram about leaving his country, but it does not say that it was after his father’s death that he told him this, or that he did not leave before his father’s death.”

And right here is where we would place several exclamation marks. It is strange that the brother should have forgotten or overlooked Acts 7:2-4, which was referred to in the same lesson, and which reads thus:—

“Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken: The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran [Haran], and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land wherein ye now dwell.”

The question, then, is reduced to this simple proposition: Since Abram left Haran when his father died (Acts 7:2-4), and he was seventy-five years old when he left Haran (Gen. 12:4), how old was he when his father died? No great mathematical skill is required to solve this problem. This was about the order in which it was stated in the Sabbath-school lesson, if we remember correctly. We apprehend that the question concerning Abram’s age at the death of his father, was raised in order to see if those studying the lessons were in the habit of comparing scripture with scripture, and noting the bearing of one upon the other. It seems that in this case many did not do so.

What has thrown so many off the track is this: They read in Gen. 11:26, “And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.” And in Gen. 11:32 they read: “And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.” Putting these two together, they say, “Why, of course Abram was 135 years old when his father died. Thus they ignore the plain and positive statements of Gen. 12:4 and Acts 7:4, by which we must be guided. The record does not say that Abram was born when his father was seventy years old. There are two statements in Gen. 11:26; one is that Terah lived seventy years without children, and the other is that he begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. We are not to suppose that these three sons were all born at the same time, any more than we are to suppose when we read (Gen. 5:7), ‘And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters,’ that all his sons and daughters were born at one time. Neither is it necessary to suppose that Abram was the first-born. The youngest son, if he was the most noted, is very often named first. Thus, ‘Ephraim and Manasseh’ is the order in which Joseph’s sons are usually named, although Ephraim was the younger. See Gen. 41:51, 52; 48:17-20.

For another illustration, see Gen. 5:32: “And Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” The casual reader might suppose that these sons were all born to Noah at one time, and he would certainly suppose that Shem was the eldest, and Japheth the youngest. But by comparing Gen. 9:22-24 with Gen. 10:21, we learn that Japheth was the eldest son, and Ham the youngest, and that therefore Shem was Noah’s second son. He is mentioned first, because he is most worthy of note, as being the ancestor of Abraham. So it is in Gen. 11:26. Terah was seventy years old when the first of his sons was born; but this was not Abram, since he was not born until his father was 135 years old. (Compare the age of Abram at his father’s death, with Gen. 11:32.) He is, however, named first, because he was the only one of note among the sons of Terah.

We have not devoted so much space to this question because we thought it a matter of great importance that all should know just how old Abraham was at his father’s death, but to show the necessity of careful thought in studying the Scriptures. All the facts of any case do not always appear in a single passage, and different ones must be compared. One thing must always be borne in mind: Whenever a thing is plainly stated in any text or must necessarily be concluded from a comparison of two or more positive statements, no seeming contradiction based on an inference, can be entertained. Incomplete statements, or inferences, must always be interpreted in harmony with positive declarations. By so doing we shall find perfect harmony in the Bible. E. J. W.