He was the ancestor of Abraham (see Genesis 11:10). Josephus states that he was the ancestor of the Chaldeans, who lived on the lower Euphrates. In Hebrew, the Chaldeans were known as Casdim (see note on Genesis 11:28). They lived near the Persian Gulf (Yov'loth 9:4). The Targum translates the name as Arphasdai (Targum on 1 Chronicles 1:17,18). See Herodotus 6:5.