Hi Judy:
Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran [Gen 11:28]
Terah lived till he was 205 years old and he died in Haran [Gen 11:32]
Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran [Gen 12:4]
Therefore he left while his father was still alive.
When Luke wrote that passage in Acts, I'm sure his Jewish buddies, especially Paul who knew the OT inside out, must have pointed out the "error" in Acts 7:4. Luke could have just cut out the phrase "After the death of his father" but I'm guessing God would not let him. I think he must have agonized over that but he had to leave it.
The people who later picked Luke's gospel and Acts to be a part of the bible also knew about the "error" but they chose these two works anyway. They agreed Luke's writings were inspired. As a matter of fact, Luke has a great reputation among secular historians as an accurate and meticulous recorder of history, which is why I think it mortified him that he was not allowed to change that little itsy bitsy bit in Acts 7.
There are several such little hiccups scattered through the bible. None of them are crucial doctrinal stuff though they do cause the reader to go whoa! didn't I just read somewhere else....?!?
Now why would God do this? :-) Could it be that He foresaw us trying to replace a relationship with Him with a leather bound, gilt-edged god we can hold in our hands?
I've written answers to your questions in the post below just under your questions. I intend to tackle the other question you asked me which I "answered" by giving you those two passages. I'll do that tonight when I have more time. Hope you're having a pleasant evening, dear Judy.
Love,
Caroline
And the multitude was silent for the space of one half hour. After that time, the Ogre from the North Country, a large hairy beast with two canines unttered a short sentence containing no life giving breath --- an audible that was of no greater consequence than a grunt or growl from whose who wondered about in his kingdom. He and his kingdom gathered around the written message above but could not comprehend its true meaning. So they gathered together, breaking the silence, and gave response with words that had nothing to do with The Message and everthing to do with the anger they felt just before tearing the flesh off some unsuspecting victim. This they called "evangelism" and peace of mind of the result.
JD
