Haran

Haran or Aran (Hebrew: הָרָן Hārān)[1] is a man in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible.[2] He died in Ur of the Chaldees, was a son of Terah, and brother of Abraham. Through his son Lot, Haran was the ancestor of the Moabites and Ammonites.

For other uses, see Haran (disambiguation).
Haran
Born
Ur Kaśdim
(present-day unknown; probably Harran, Turkey)
Died
Paddan Aram, or Haran
(present-day Harran, Turkey)
Other namesAran
ChildrenLot (son), Milcah (daughter), Iscah (daughter)
ParentTerah (father)
Relatives

Haran and his family

Terah, a descendant of Shem son of Noah, was the father of Abram/Abraham, Nahor, and Haran.[3] 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.[4]

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 [Hebrew חָרָן, Ḥārān]) and settled there, as did Nahor and Milcah, whereas Lot accompanied Abraham and others onwards to Canaan.[5][6]

Etymology

The name Haran possibly comes from the Hebrew word har, = "mountain", with a West Semitic suffix appearing with proper names, anu/i/a.[7] Thus, it has been suggested that Haran may mean "mountaineer".[8] 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.[9][10][11] 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.[11]

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 11:10–27
  4. Genesis 11:29
  5. Genesis 11:28–12:5
  6. Eerdmans dictionary, p. 997
  7. 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
  8. A Dictionary of the Bible: Dealing with its Language, Vol. 1, 1899, p.301
  9. H. Huffmon, Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Archives: A Structural and Lexical Study, 1965, p.204
  10. D. Sivan, Grammatical Analysis of Northwest Semitic Vocables, p. 222
  11. Alexander & Baker. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, 2002, p. 380
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