Aram-Naharaim ( ''ʾĂram Nahărayim'') is the biblical term for an ancient land along the great bend of the
Euphrates River.
It is mentioned five times in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
. '' Old Testament
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
. In Genesis, it is used somewhat interchangeably with the names ''
Paddan Aram'' and ''
Haran
Haran or Aran ( ''Hārān'') is a man in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. He was a son of Terah, brother of Abraham, and father of son Lot and daughters Milcah and Iscah. He died in Ur of the Chaldees. Through Lot, Haran was the ance ...
'' to denote the place where
Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
stayed briefly with his father
Terah
Terah or Terach ( ''Teraḥ'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis. He is listed as the son of Nahor and father of the patriarch Abraham. As such, he is a descendant of Shem's son Arpachshad. Terah is mentioned in Genesis 11:26–27, ...
's family after leaving
Ur of the Chaldees
Ur Kasdim (), commonly translated as Ur of the Chaldees, is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the birthplace of Abraham, the Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Israelites and the Ishmaelites. In 1862, Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet, Hen ...
, while ''en route'' to
Canaan
CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
(Gen. 11:31), and the place from which later patriarchs obtained wives, rather than marry daughters of Canaan.
See also
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Aram (region)
*
Chushan-Rishathaim
*
Paddan Aram
Notes
References
Sources
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{{refend
External links
The Land of Aram (Syria)
Aramean states
Torah places
Hebrew Bible regions
Historical regions
Ancient Mesopotamia
Ancient Near East