Paddan Aram or Padan-aram () was a biblical region referring to the northern plain of

Aram-Naharaim 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 BibleGenesis 24:10; Deuteronomy 23:4; Judges 3:8,10; 1 Chronicles 19:6; Psalm ...

. Paddan Aram in

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

means ''the field of Aram'', a name that distinguishes the flatland from the mountainous regions to the north and east. In the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

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 ...

, the patriarch of the

Abrahamic religions The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...

, describes Aram as "my land" (Genesis 24:4).

In the Hebrew Bible

Paddan Aram designates the area of

Harran Harran is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 904 km2, and its population is 96,072 (2022). It is approximately southeast of Urfa and from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale. ...

upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia constitutes the Upland and lowland, uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the regio ...

. "Paddan Aram" and "Haran" may be dialectical variations regarding the same locality as ''paddanū'' and ''harranū'' are synonyms for "road" or "caravan route" in Akkadian.Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, p.627, 1915
Padan-aram or Padan appears in 11 verses in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' documentary hypothesis The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Book of Genesis, Genesis, Book of Exodus, Exodus, Leviticus, Bo ...

often attribute most of these verses to the

priestly source The Priestly source (or simply P) is perhaps the most widely recognized of the sources underlying the Torah, both stylistically and theologically distinct from other material in it. It is considered by most scholars as the latest of all sources, a ...

and the remainder to a later redactor.Friedman 87, 89 The city of

, where

and 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, ...

settled 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 ...

, according to the Genesis 11:31, was located in Paddan Aram, that part of

"Aram between the Rivers" that lay along the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

. Abraham's brother Nahor settled in the area. Abraham's nephew

Bethuel Bethuel ( – ''Bəṯūʾēl''), in the Hebrew Bible, was an Aramean man, the youngest son of Nahor and Milcah, the nephew of Abraham, and the father of Laban and Rebecca. Bethuel was also a town in the territory of the tribe of Simeon, ...

, son of Nahor and Milcah, and father of Laban and

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

, lived in Padan-aram. Abraham sent his steward back there to find a wife among his kinfolk for his son, Isaac. The steward found Rebecca.

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

and Rebecca's son

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

was sent there to avoid the wrath of his brother

Esau Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the minor prophet, prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming ...

. There Jacob worked for Laban, fathered eleven sons and daughter,

Dinah In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only named daughter of Leah and Jacob. The episode of her rape by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent revenge of her brothers Simeon and Levi, commonly ...

,
Gen. 35:22–26
, and amassed livestock and wealth.

From there, Jacob went to Shechem and the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

, where his twelfth son was born to him.
Gen. 33:18.

In rabbinic interpretation

In the

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

, Isaac bar Judah taught that the people of Padan-aram were rogues and Rebekah was like a lily among the thorns. (

Genesis Rabba Genesis Rabbah (, also known as Bereshit Rabbah and abbreviated as GenR) is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is an expository midrash comprising a collection of ...

h 63:4 see also

Leviticus Rabbah Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (''Vayikrah'' in Hebrew). It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel (c. 1035–1106) in his ''Arukh'' as well as by Rashi (1040–110 ...

23:1 (deceivers); Song of Songs Rabbah 2:4 (tricksters);

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

, Bereshit 1:136b (wicked); Rashi t
Gen. 25:20
(wicked).) Rabbi Isaac thus considered Rebecca's sojourn in Padan-aram as emblematic of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's among the nations. (Zohar, Bereshit 1:137a.)

References

{{Reflist Aramean states History of Aram (region) Ancient Upper Mesopotamia Torah places Ancient Mesopotamia Ancient Near East

In the Hebrew Bible

In rabbinic interpretation

See also

References