29-2: “The Son of…”does NOT always refer to a “Father-Son relationship”

And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?”
And they said, “We are from Haran.”
Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?”
And they said, “We know him.”
-Genesis 29:4-5

So Jacob asks the shepherds at the well, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?”

This gives me an opportunity to address the scholarly naysayers who claim the Bible has many contradictions.

In this chapter, Laban is referred to as the son of Nahor.

However, in other parts of Genesis, Laban is referred to as the son of Bethuel.

“And Isaac sent away Jacob;
and he went to Paddan-aram unto Laban,
son of Bethuel the Aramean,
the brother of Rebekah,
Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.”
-Genesis 28:5

How to explain this seeming contradiction?

First of all, technically speaking, Nahor is Laban’s grandfather.

Second, what is being referred to is the clan that Laban belongs to.

Another way to put it, would be to say “The clan of Nahor“.

In the bible, when we come to the expression “The Son of…”, it is NOT always referring to a biological father and son relationship.

Sometimes it is but not always.

It all depends on the context.

It is assumed here that the reader understands that Nahor is Abraham’s brother and Laban is his grandson.

It was the normal way of expressing identity in this era.

So there is no contradiction.