Answering 439 Bible Contradictions: #8

Answer: Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.

Problem: If Abraham’s father Terah was 70 at Abraham birth (Gen. 11:26) and Abraham was 75 when he left Haran (Gen. 12:4), his father must have been 145. But Genesis 11:32 says that his father Terah was actually 205 years old when Abraham left Haran (Gen. 11:32; Acts 7:4).

Explanation: There is a contradiction here only if one assumes that Abraham was Terah’s first born. Scripture does list Abraham’s name first of the three sons (11:26) but this is most likely to show that he was the most prominent. Terah started having sons at 70, not but not necessary his son Abraham. A more likely scenario is that Terah had Nahor at 70 years of age and Abraham at 130 years of age. Seventy-five years later (as Gen. 12:4 tells us), Abraham left Haran upon his father’s death at age 205.

I have not been able to discern, however, how this apparent contradiction relates to Abram’s age at Ishmael’s birth.