Haran

Haran or Aran (Hebrew: הָרָןHārān)[1] is a man in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible.[2] He died in Ur of Chaldees (Ur Kaśdim), was a son of Terah, and brother of Abraham. Through his son Lot, Haran was the ancestor of the Moabites and Ammonites, and through his daughter Milcah he was ancestral to the Aramaeans.

Haran
Bornunknown
Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq
Diedunknown
Ur of the Chaldees (Ur Kaśdim), Sumer, Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq
Other namesAran
ChildrenLot (son), Milcah (daughter), Iscah (daughter)
Parent(s)Terah (father)
RelativesAbraham (brother), Nahor (brother)

Haran and his family

Terah, a descendant of Shem son of Noah, was the father of Abram/Abraham, Nahor, and Haran. Their home's location is not certain, but it is usually supposed to have been in Mesopotamia. Besides Lot and Milcah, Haran fathered a daughter Iscah.

After Haran died in Ur of the Chaldees 'before his father Terah', his family travelled towards Canaan, the promised land. However, Terah stopped at Charan (or Haran) and settled there, as did Nahor and Milcah, whereas Lot accompanied Abraham and others onwards to Canaan.[3][4]

Etymology

The name Haran possibly comes from the Hebrew word har, = "mountain", with a West Semitic suffix appearing with proper names, anu/i/a.[5] Thus, it has been suggested that Haran may mean "mountaineer".[6] Personal names which resemble Haran include ha-ri and ha-ru, from texts of second millennium BC Mari and Alalakh, and ha-ar-ri, from one of the Amarna Letters—but their meanings are uncertain.[7][8][9] The initial element of Haran can be found in the Phoenician personal name hr-b`l, and also in the Israelite personal name hryhw from Gibeon.[9]

Family tree

Terah
Sarah[10]AbrahamHagarHaran
Nahor
IshmaelMilcahLotIscah
Ishmaelites7 sons[11]Bethuel1st daughter2nd daughter
IsaacRebeccaLabanMoabitesAmmonites
EsauJacobRachel
Bilhah
EdomitesZilpah
Leah
1. Reuben
2. Simeon
3. Levi
4. Judah
9. Issachar
10. Zebulun
Dinah (daughter)
7. Gad
8. Asher
5. Dan
6. Naphtali
11. Joseph
12. Benjamin

Others called Haran

Haran is the English name of two other people mentioned in the Bible.

See also

References

  1. Freedman, Meyers & Beck. Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible ISBN 978-0-8028-2400-4, 2000, p.551
  2. Genesis 11:27-32
  3. Genesis 11:28-12:5
  4. Eerdmans dictionary, p. 997
  5. D. Sivan, Grammatical Analysis and Glossary of the Northwest Semitic Vocables in Akkadian Texts of the 15th-13th C., BC from Canaan and Syria, 1984, p.97-98
  6. A Dictionary of the Bible: Dealing with its Language, Vol. 1, 1899, p.301
  7. H. Huffmon, Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Archives: A Structural and Lexical Study, 1965, p.204
  8. D. Sivan, Grammatical Analysis of Northwest Semitic Vocables, p. 222
  9. Alexander & Baker. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, 2002, p. 380
  10. Genesis 20:12: Sarah was the half–sister of Abraham.
  11. Genesis 22:21-22: Uz, Buz, Kemuel, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, and Jidlaph
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