Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Genesis 11:26/אבן עזרא על בראשית י״א:כ״ו

אואברם נולד במקום נקרא אור כשדים וכמוהו על כן באורים כבדו ד' (ישעי' כד טו) והקרוב שהי' לו שם אחר כי כשדים מבני נחור אחי אברם רק משה כתב השם הנודע בימיו והעד כי שם נולד אברם ששם מת הרן אחיו וכתוב בארץ מולדתו ויתכן שאור עשו הכשדים במקום הנזכר, ונקרא כן כמו "אשר אור לו בציון" (ישעי' א, ט)

1[AND BEGOT ABRAM.] Abraham was born in a place called Ur of the Chaldees. Therefore glorify ye the Lord in the regions of light (be-urim) (Is. 24:15)⁵⁵: (a) boundaries, i.e., countries or regions; (b) valleys. According to (a) the verse reads: in the regions, honor God. According to (b) the verse should read: In the valleys honor God. The same apparently applies to the term Ur Chasdim. Hence Ur Chasdim means the land of the Chaldees, or the valley of the Chaldees. In Isaiah, I.E. prefers interpretation (a). is like it. It appears to me that at the time of Abraham’s birth Ur of the Chaldees had another name since the Chaldees are descended from Nahor, the brother of Abraham,⁵⁶ and that in writing the Torah Moses used the name in vogue in his time when he cited Ur of the Chaldees. Proof that Abraham was born in Ur of the Chaldees can be found in the fact that Haran died there and Scripture says, And Haran died…in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees (v. 20).⁵⁷ as referring to the entire family of Terah (Krinsky). It is also possible that the Chaldees made a flame (altar) and the place thereof was called Ur (the flame, altar) of the Chaldees. In this instance Ur has the meaning of fire, as in whose fire (ur) is in Zion (Is. 31:9).⁵⁸ as meaning a region or valley (see note 55). He now interprets it to mean a fire (altar).