By -His(story) is meant .according to someones story., whether Abram’s God’s or Terah

The Journeys’ of Terah and Abraham sit within a timeframe Middle Bronze Age I-II (circa 2000-1700 BCE).

As I have said many times before, the Scriptures were not written to us, or even for us. The Hebrew Scriptures were compiled by various classes of Recorders and the Canon fixed anywhere from 400 BCE to  the 2nd century CE. Without touching on the details the canon was redacted more than once before development of criteria to measure the inclusivity of certain Scriptures.

Genesis is the Book of Beginnings, we are now dealing with the beginning of Judaism, via the his(story) of Abraham and Terah

Every nation has created its own god in its own image and resemblance.

And most Christians yearn to find their God in history:-

From the point of view of the Jews, whose His(story) this is, they agree with the Genesis Tradition, Abram hailed from Ur of the Chaldees ( Ur-Kasdim ) and they have written of the journey of Terah and Abram from this perspective..

Ur-Kasdim was the Seat of the Moon god Sin which influenced Abram and peaked his curiosity as to who or what god truly was. According to Genesis Rabbah 38.13 R. (Midrashes) Hiyya, a first generation Jewish sage, tells the following story:

 Abraham cast into the fire.
Terah was an idol manufacturer who once went away and left Abraham in charge of the store. A man walked in and wished to buy an idol. Abraham asked him how old he was and the man responded “fifty years old.” Abraham then said, “You are fifty years old and would worship a day old statue!” At this point the man left ashamed…. [ ->]

Video: Young Abraham: Smashing Idols The famous story from the Midrash about how Abraham destroyed the idols in his father’s shop. An excerpt from the full DVD “Young Abraham”.

Terah and his extended family leaves Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan

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 out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there. 32 The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11:31,32 New American Standard Bible )

Why leave  Ur-Kasdim? Most probably just part of the usual nomads resettlement, made restless by the Elamites, who about this time overran Western Asia. God, through the Scriptures would  like us to associate this move as a Religious one thereby setting the movements of his people into his(story). Or the Authors through the Scriptures would probably  like us to associate this move as a Religious one thereby setting the movements of the people into his(story).

I have always taken the Chaldees to be a geographical region rather than a place named for a people. I have no problem with Terah and his family living there, the importance is the Message of God as told through the text.

God Calls Abram

12. 1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”[b]

[b] Or earth / will use your name in blessings (see 48:20)

Genesis 12:1-3 NIV

Next Fr Abrams his(story)

• Reading list  Religions in the Ancient World by Joshua J. Mark published on 02 September 2009
• Sumer by Joshua J. Mark published on 28 April 2011