Limitless Word
the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
Luke 3:34 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
  • KJV Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,
  • NKJV the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
  • NASB the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
  • NLT Judah was the son of Jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham. Abraham was the son of Terah. Terah was the son of Nahor.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The line reaches the patriarchs Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. Jesus is the promised seed of Abraham.

Overview

Luke traces Jesus back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the fathers of the covenant. Through Abraham's seed all nations were to be blessed, a promise fulfilled in Christ. By extending the line beyond Abraham toward Adam, Luke also signals that Jesus is Savior of all humanity, not Israel alone.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Josh 24:2And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods.
  • Gen 21:3And Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore to him.
  • 1 Chr 1:34Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.
  • Acts 7:8Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
  • 1 Chr 1:24–28So from Shem came Arphaxad, Shelah,
  • Gen 25:26After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
  • Matt 1:2Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
  • Gen 11:24–32When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 3:34YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.

How Luke 3:34 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.