Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 024

The ruins of the city of

Harran Harran (), historically known as Carrhae ( el, Kάρραι, Kárrhai), is a rural town and district of the Şanlıurfa Province in southeastern Turkey, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Urfa and 20 kilometers from the border ...

, called Haran ( he, חָרָן, ''Ḥārān'') in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. Haran first appears in the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...

as the home of Terah and his descendants, and as

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

's temporary home. Later biblical passages list Haran among some cities and lands subjugated by Assyrian rulers and among Tyre's trading partners.

Name

Although the placename can be found in English as ''Haran'', ''Charan'', and ''Charran'', it should not be confused with the personal name ''

Haran Haran or Aran ( he, הָרָן ''Hārān'') is a man in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. 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 Ammoni ...

'', borne by Abram's brother, among others. The biblical placename is (with a ''ḥet'') in Hebrew, pronounced and can mean "parched," but is more likely to mean "road" or "crossroad," cognate to Old Babylonian ḫaranu (MSL 09, 124-137 r ii 54'). The personal name ''Haran'' is spelled (with a ''hei'') in Hebrew and means "mountaineer".

Identification

Haran is usually identified with

, now a village of

Şanlıurfa Urfa, officially known as Şanlıurfa () and in ancient times as Edessa, is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the Euphrates River. Its climate features ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. Since the 1950s, archeological excavations of Harran have been conducted, which have yielded insufficient discoveries about the site's pre-medieval history or of its supposed patriarchal age. The earliest records of Harran come from the

Ebla tablets The Ebla tablets are a collection of as many as 1,800 complete clay tablets, 4,700 fragments, and many thousands of minor chips found in the palace archives of the ancient city of Ebla, Syria. The tablets were discovered by Italian archaeologist ...

, c. 2300 BC. Harran's name is said to be from

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic ...

''ḫarrānum'' (fem.), "road"; ''ḫarrānātum'' (pl.).

Biblical mentions

According to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Terah settled with his son

(at that time called Abram), his grandson Lot, and Abram's wife

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pio ...

(at that time known as Sarai) during their planned journey from Ur Kaśdim (

Ur of the Chaldees Ur Kasdim ( he, ''ʾūr Kaśdīm''), commonly translated as Ur of the Chaldeans, is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the birthplace of the Israelite and Ishmaelite patriarch Abraham. In 1862, Henry Rawlinson identified Ur Kaśdim with ...

) to the Land of Canaan. The region of 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. Although Abram's nephew Lot accompanied him to Canaan, Terah and his other descendants remained in Paddan-Aram,. In Genesis 28:10–19, Abraham's grandson

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ...

left

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

and went toward Haran. Along the way he had his dream of Jacob's Ladder. In

2 Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the book ...

(19:12) and

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

(37:12) Haran reappears in the late 8th to early 7th century BC context of the

Neo-Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew ...

's conquests. It appears again in the

Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Tanakh and one of the major prophetic books, following Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during ...

(27:23) as a former trading partner of the Phoenician city Tyre. In the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

, Haran is mentioned in the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

(7:2–4), in a recounting of the story in Genesis wherein it first appears.

References

External links

* {{Cite NIE, wstitle=Haran, short=x Hebrew Bible words and phrases Book of Genesis Torah cities Harran

Name

Identification

Biblical mentions

See also

References

External links