Haran (biblical place)

Haran (Hebrew: חָרָן‎ – Ḥārān) is a place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Haran is almost universally identified with Harran, a city whose ruins lie within present-day Turkey. Haran first appears in the Book of Genesis as the home of Terah and his descendants, and as Abraham's temporary home. Later biblical passages list Haran among some cities and lands subjugated by Assyrian rulers and among Tyre's trading partners.

For biblical people named Haran, see Haran. For the ancient Hurrian city in Upper Mesopotamia and now a village in Şanlıurfa, Turkey, see Harran. For the village in Azerbaijan, see Haran, Azerbaijan.
Abram Leaves Haran, 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld

Chronology

Haran was a place where Terah settled with his son the Patriarch Abraham (who was known as Abram at that time), his nephew Lot, and Abram's wife Sarai, all of them descendants of Arpachshad son of Shem, during their planned journey from Ur Kaśdim (Ur of the Chaldees) to the Land of Canaan.[1] The region of this Haran is referred to variously as Paddan Aram and Aram Naharaim. Abram lived there until he was 75 years old before continuing on to Canaan, in response to the command of God.[2] Although Abram's nephew Lot accompanied him to Canaan, Terah and his other descendants remained in Paddan-Aram,[3] where Abraham's grandson Jacob sought his parents' relatives, namely Laban, for whom he worked for twenty years in Haran.[4]

In 2 Kings (19:12) and Isaiah (37:12) Haran reappears in the late 8th to early 7th century BC context of the Neo-Assyrian Empire's conquests. It appears again in the Book of Ezekiel (27:23) (6th century BC) as a former trading partner of the Phoenician city Tyre. In the New Testament, Haran is mentioned in the Book of Acts (7:2–4), in a recounting of the story in Genesis wherein it first appears.

In Genesis 28:10–19, Abraham's grandson Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. Along the way he had his dream of Jacob's Ladder.

Name

Though the placename can be found in English as Haran, Charan, and Charran, it should not be confused with the personal name Haran, borne by Abram's brother, among others. The biblical placename is חָרָן‎ (with a ḥet) in Hebrew, pronounced [ħaːraːn] and can mean "parched". The personal name Haran is spelled הָרָן‎ (with a hei) in Hebrew and means "mountaineer".

Identification
Location of Haran and other associated Biblical/Torah sites

Haran is usually identified with Harran, now a village of Şanlıurfa, Turkey. Since the 1950s, archeological excavations of Harran have been conducted,[5][6] which have yielded insufficient discoveries about the site's pre-medieval history[7] or of its supposed Patriarchal era.[8][9] The earliest records of Harran come from the Ebla tablets, c. 2300 BC. Harran's name is said to be from Akkadian ḫarrānum (fem.), "road"; ḫarrānātum (pl.).[10]

See also

References
  1. Genesis 11:26–32
  2. Genesis 12:4–5
  3. Genesis 27:42–43
  4. Genesis 31:38–41
  5. Lloyd and Brice. Harran, Anatolian Studies, Vol. 1, 1951, p. 77-111
  6. Rice, David S. Medieval Harran. Studies on its Topography and Monuments, Anatolian Studies Vol. 2, 1952, p.36–84
  7. Bienkowski & Millard. Dictionary of the ancient Near East (ISBN 0812235576, ISBN 978-0-8122-3557-9), 2000, p.140
  8. Lloyd and Brice
  9. Alexander & Baker. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, (ISBN 0830817816, ISBN 978-0-8308-1781-8) 2003, p. 379
  10. Huehnergard, John. A Grammar of Akkadian (Second Edition, 2008), p. 36, p. 497
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