Did Terah worship the LORD?

[tonychanyt]

Here, I define the LORD as the God not represented by idols.

Joshua 24:

2 Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.

Terah was a polytheist.

3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac.

The LORD revealed himself to Abraham.

Did Terah's gods include the LORD or only gods of idols?

Terah (great-grandfather) → Haran (grandfather) → Bethuel (father) → Laban (son)

Laban was Terah's great-grandson. He might give us some hints of Terah's religiosity. Both of them lived in Haran.

Laban answered Abraham's servant in Gen 24:

50b, “The thing has come from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51 Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.”

Laban heard of the LORD.

Some decades later, Laban's nephew, Jacob, worked for Laban to marry his daughters Rebecca and Rachel. When Jacob decided to leave Laban secretly, Genesis 31:

19b Rachel stole her father’s household gods.

Laban worshipped idols.

Laban caught up with Jacob, and they made a covenant:

48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed, 49 and Mizpah, for he said, “The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight. 50 If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”

Laban acknowledged Jacob's God, the LORD. Laban continued:

51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. 53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father,

i.e., Terah

judge between us.”

Laban believed that Terah knew about the LORD.

So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, 54a and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread.

Did Terah worship the LORD?

Terah was a polytheist. He worshipped many gods of idols (teraphim) plus the LORD. Then, the LORD separated Abraham from his relatives so that he could focus on worshipping the LORD only.