Interesting Facts

• Serug dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees.
• He engaged in the worship of idols.
• Serug was instructed in the researches of the Chaldees to divine and augur, according to the signs of heaven.
• His name, Serug (Sêrôh), was given because “every one turned to do all manner of sin and transgression” during his time.
• Serug lived near to the father of his wife’s mother.

Genealogy

• Serug was the son of Reu.
• His mother was Ora, the daughter of ‘Ûr, the son of Kesed.
• He was born in the seventh year of the third week of the thirty-fifth jubilee [1687 A.M.].
• Serug married Melka, the daughter of Kaber, the daughter of his father’s brother, in the thirty-sixth jubilee, in the fifth week, in the first year thereof, [1744 A.M.].
• He begat Nahor in the first year of the fifth week of the thirty-sixth jubilee [1744 A.M.].
• Serug died in the first year of the birth of Isaac son of Abraham, at the age of two hundred and thirty-nine years.

Historical Context

Serug’s lifetime was situated in a period characterized by a significant departure from the ways of the Lord. The very derivation of his name, as recorded in the Book of Jubilees, underscores this reality, indicating an era where “every one turned to do all manner of sin and transgression”. This period followed the confusion of languages at Babel and the subsequent scattering of humankind. The sources highlight the rise of idolatry, with people fashioning and worshipping molten and graven images, influenced by malignant spirits. The building of strong cities, walls, and towers, coupled with instances of warfare and the shedding of blood among Noah’s descendants, further defined the tumultuous times in which Serug lived. His engagement in idol worship and the Chaldean arts of divination reflect the prevailing cultural and religious practices of Ur of the Chaldees during this epoch.

Narrative

The narrative concerning Serug focuses primarily on his adherence to the idolatrous practices prevalent in his time and location. He resided in Ur of the Chaldees, a city whose very founding is linked to the lineage preceding Abraham. Unlike his eventual descendant Abraham, Serug embraced the worship of idols and was even learned in the divinatory arts of the Chaldees, suggesting a deep immersion in the local religious customs. The text notes that he lived near his wife’s maternal grandfather, further rooting him within a specific familial and cultural context in Ur. The naming of Serug, tied directly to the pervasive sinfulness of the age, positions him as a figure emblematic of the spiritual decline following the dispersal from Babel. While the sources do not elaborate on specific actions or dialogues of Serug beyond his religious practices, his life serves as a stark contrast to the emerging monotheistic understanding that would later define his lineage through his great-grandson Abraham. His existence in Ur, a center of Chaldean culture and idolatry, sets the stage for the theological and familial shifts that would lead to the covenant with Abraham and the foundation of the Israelite nation. His death is noted to coincide with the birth of Isaac, marking a transition to a new era in the unfolding patriarchal narrative.