English Standard Version
Genesis 11:29
29And Abram and Nahor took 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 Iscah.
Genesis 11:29 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Abram and Nahor took 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.)
Context of Genesis 11:29
27Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. And Abram and Nahor took 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 Iscah. 30Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.
Read all of Genesis 11Genesis 11:29 word by word
וַיִּקַּ֨ח אַבְרָ֧ם וְנָח֛וֹר לָהֶ֖ם נָשִׁ֑ים שֵׁ֤ם אֵֽשֶׁת־אַבְרָם֙ שָׂרָ֔י וְשֵׁ֤ם אֵֽשֶׁת־נָחוֹר֙ מִלְכָּ֔ה בַּת־הָרָ֥ן אֲבִֽי־מִלְכָּ֖ה וַֽאֲבִ֥י יִסְכָּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Abramאַבְרָם'abrâm · AbramH87
- and Nahorנָחוֹרnâchôr · NahorH5152
- tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: marryH3947
- them wivesאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- the nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- Saraiשָׂרַיώâray · SaraiH8297
- Milcahמִלְכָּהmilkâh · MilcahH4435
- the daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- of Haranהָרָןhârân · HaranH2039
- the fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
- of Iscahיִסְכָּהyiskâh · IscahH3252
Cross-references for Genesis 11:29
- Genesis 17:15And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
- Genesis 20:12Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.
- Genesis 22:20Now after these things it was told to Abraham, "Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:
- Genesis 24:15Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.
- Genesis 11:31Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.
Commentaries on Genesis 11:29
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 29Milcah, 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27-32Verses 27-32 - Section X - Abraham - XXXVI. The Father of Abram 27. לוט lôṭ Lot, “veil;” verb: “cover.” 28. אוּר 'ûr Ur, “light, flame.” כשׂדים kaśdı̂ym Kasdim, Cardi, Kurds, ͂ Kaldaioi כסד kesed “gain?” Arabic. Ur Kasdim has been identified with Hur, now called Mugheir (the bitumened), a heap of ruins lying south of the Euphrates, nearly opposite its jucnction with the Shat el-Hie. Others place it at Edessa, now Orfa, a short way north of Carrhae. 29…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 27-32Verses 27-32 Here begins the story of Abram, whose name is famous in both Testaments. Even the children of Eber had become worshippers of false gods. Those who are through grace, heirs of the land of promise, ought to remember what was the land of their birth; what was their corrupt and sinful state by nature. Abram's brethren were, Nahor, out of whose family both Isaac and Jacob had their wives; and Haran, the father of Lot, who died before his father…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 29Sarai means "princess" in Hebrew. The text does not mention Sarai's parents. This might have been to create suspense in the story of Abimelech. This story reveals her as Abram's half-sister (20:9–12). Later, the law forbade such marriages (Leviticus 18:9; 20:17; Deuteronomy 27:22). Nahor's wife was Milcah, who was the daughter of Haran and Nahor's niece (see Genesis 11:29). Her son Bethuel was Rebekah's father. Rebekah became the wife of Abram's son Isaac…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-321. the whole earth was of one language. The descendants of Noah, united by the strong bond of a common language, had not separated, and notwithstanding the divine command to replenish the earth, were unwilling to separate. The more pious and well-disposed would of course obey the divine will; but a numerous body, seemingly the aggressive horde mentioned (Ge 10:10), determined to please themselves by occupying the fairest region they came to.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 11:29
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries