I'm sure you know the story of the flood. Perhaps you have wondered if God warned the world they needed to change their evil ways. There is a Jewish Midrash that asserts He gave mankind a chance to change; they would not. At the very least the act of building an ark, a teivah, should have gotten Noah's neighbors curious. Regardless, the flood came, the ark did its job, the waters receded, the ark came to rest on dry land. The next major milestone in the journey to help humanity with God will be the calling of Abraham, and we get there via the sons of Noah.
Noah brought three sons, (Shem, Ham, and Japheth), into the ark along with their wives. Japheth is my favorite as from him come the mariners. Ham, AKA Canaan, is the bad boy. But Shem is the prize winner as Abram is descended from his line.
Abram's forefathers lived long lives compared to us today, Eber lived 430 years; can you imagine? Finally, in Genesis 11:26 we read "When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran." Haran lived long enough to father Lot, Abram's nephew and then he died.
Terah, Abram's father decides to leave Ur and move to Haran, an inland city in modern day Turkey, taking Lot, his grandson, Abram and his wife Sarai with him.
