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Haran


Hair´uhn

A city located in northern Mesopotamia about sixty miles above the confluence of the Balikh and Euphrates Rivers. Haran figures prominently in the patriarchal narratives and in the attempts at historical reconstruction of the patriarchal period. In addition to Haran, the father of Lot and brother of Abram (Gen 11:31), the names of several of Abram’s relatives are the names of cities or towns in the region of Haran: Peleg, a distant ancestor (Gen 11:18); Serug, Abram’s great-grandfather; Nahor, his grandfather and his brother; and Terah, his father (Gen 11:22-29). Terah took his household to Haran after leaving Ur of the Chaldees (Gen 11:31-32) and died in Haran. Abram left Haran for Canaan at God’s instruction (Gen 12:1), gathering with him his sizable household and considerable wealth, amassed while in Haran (Gen 12:4-5). Abraham sent his servant back to the region of Haran to procure a wife for his son Isaac (Gen 24:10). Jacob is instructed by Rebekah to return to Haran as a place of refuge following his appropriation of Esau’s birthright (Gen 27:43; Gen 28:10). In Haran, he took his wives and fathered the sons who would become the fathers of Israel’s tribes. Haran became an important center for the worship of the moon god, Sin. Activity there is mentioned in (Ezek 27:23). Following the fall of Nineveh in 612 BCE, the remaining Assyrians fled to Haran for refuge. (2Kgs 19:12) mentions the destruction of Haran by a coalition of Medes, Scyths, and Babylonians.

  • Powell, Mark Allan, ed. HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. Abridged Edition. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009.