mountainous country

(a mountaineer).

1. The third son of Terah, and therefore youngest brother of Abram. (Genesis 11:26) (B.C. 1926.) Three children are ascribed to him --Lot, vs. (Genesis 11:27,31) and two daughters, viz., Milcah, who married her uncle Nahor, ver. (Genesis 11:29) and Iscah. ver. (Genesis 11:29) Haran was born in Ur of the Chaldees, and he died there while his father was still living. ver. (Genesis 11:28)
2. A Gershonite Levite in the time of David, one of the family of Shimei. (1 Chronicles 23:9)
3. A son of the great Caleb by his concubine Ephah. (1 Chronicles 2:46)
4. HARAN or CHARRAN, (Acts 7:2,4) name of the place whither Abraham migrated with his family from Ur of the Chaldees, and where the descendants of his brother Nahor established themselves. Comp. (Genesis 24:10) with Genesis27:43 It is said to be in Mesopotamia, (Genesis 24:10) or more definitely in Padan-aram, ch. (Genesis 25:20) the cultivated district at the foot of the hills, a name well applying to the beautiful stretch of country which lies below Mount Masius between the Khabour and the Euphrates. Here, about midway in this district, is a small village still called Harran . It was celebrated among the Romans, under the name of Charrae, as the scene of the defeat of Crassus.

1. The eldest son of Terah, brother of Abraham, and father of Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. He died before his father Terah, Genesis 11:26 31.

2. An ancient city called in the New Testament Charran, in the northwest part of Mesopotamia. Here, after leaving Ur, Abraham dwelt till is father Terah died; and to this old homestead Isaac sent for a wife, and Jacob fled from the wrath of Esau, Genesis 11:31,32; 12:5; 24:1-67; 27:43; 28:10; 29:4. Haran was ravaged by the Assyrians in the time of Hezekiah, 2 Kings 19:12; Isaiah 37:12. Here also Crassus the Roman general was defeated and killed by the Parthiuated on a branch of the Euphrates, in 36 degrees 52- north latitude, and 39 degrees 5- east longitude, in a flat and sandy plain, and is only peopled by a few wandering Arabs, who select it for the delicious water it furnishes.

ha'-ran (haran):

(1) Son of Terah, younger brother of Abraham and Nahor, and father of Lot (Genesis 11:27). He had two daughters, Milcah and Iscah (Genesis 11:29).

(2) A Gershonite, of the family of Shimei (1 Chronicles 23:9).

HARAN (2)

ha'-ran (charan; Charhran): The city where Terah settled on his departure from Ur (Genesis 11:31 f); whence Abram set out on his pilgrimage of faith to Canaan (Genesis 12:1). It was probably "the city of Nahor" to which Abraham's servant came to find a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24:10). Hither came Jacob when he fled from Esau's anger (Genesis 27:43). Here he met his bride (Genesis 29:4), and in the neighboring pastures he tended the flocks of Laban. It is one of the cities named by Rabshakeh as destroyed by the king of Assyria (2 Kings 19:12 Isaiah 37:12). Ezekiel speaks of the merchants of Haran as trading with Tyre (27:23).

The name appears in Assyro-Babalonian as Charran, which means "road"; possibly because here the trade route from Damascus joined that from Nineveh to Carchemish. It is mentioned in the prism inscription of Tiglath-pileser I. It was a seat of the worship of Sin, the moon-god, from very ancient times. A temple was built by Shalmaneser II. Haran seems to have shared in the rebellion of Assur (763 B.C., the year of the solar eclipse, June 15). The privileges then lost were restored by Sargon II. The temple, which had been destroyed, was rebuilt by Ashurbanipal, who was here crowned with the crown of Sin. Haran and the temple suffered much damage in the invasion of the Umman-Manda (the Medes). Nabuna`id restored temple and city, adorning them on a lavish scale. Near Haran the Parthians defeated and slew Crassus (53 B.C.), and here Caracalla was assassinated (217 A.D.). In the 4th century it was the seat of a bishopric; but the cult of the moon persisted far into the Christian centuries. The chief temple was the scene of heathen worship until the 11th century, and was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th.

The ancient city is represented by the modern Charran to the Southeast of Edessa, on the river Belias, an affluent of the Euphrates. The ruins lie on both sides of the stream, and include those of a very ancient castle, built of great basaltic blocks, with square columns, 8 ft. thick, which support an arched roof some 30 ft. in height. Remains of the old cathedral are also conspicuous. No inscriptions have yet been found here, but a fragment of an Assyrian lion has been uncovered. A well nearby is identified as that where Eliezer met Rebekah.

In Acts 7:2, 4, the King James Version gives the name as Charran.

W. Ewing

(1.) Hebrews haran; i.e., "mountaineer." The eldest son of Terah, brother of Abraham and Nahor, and father of Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. He died before his father (Genesis 11:27), in Ur of the Chaldees.

(2.) Hebrews haran, i.e., "parched;" or probably from the Accadian charana, meaning "a road." A celebrated city of Western Asia, now Harran, where Abram remained, after he left Ur of the Chaldees, till his father Terah died (Genesis 11:31, 32), when he continued his journey into the land of Canaan. It is called "Charran" in the LXX. and in Acts 7:2. It is called the "city of Nahor" (Genesis 24:10), and Jacob resided here with Laban (30:43). It stood on the river Belik, an affluent of the Euphrates, about 70 miles above where it joins that river in Upper Mesopotamia or Padan-aram, and about 600 miles northwest of Ur in a direct line. It was on the caravan route between the east and west. It is afterwards mentioned among the towns taken by the king of Assyria (2 Kings 19:12; Isaiah 37:12). It was known to the Greeks and Romans under the name Carrhae.

(3.) The son of Caleb of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:46) by his concubine Ephah.

1028. Beth Haran -- Beth-haran
Beth Haran. << 1027, 1028. Beth Haran. 1029 >>. Beth-haran. Transliteration: Beth
Haran Phonetic Spelling: (bayth haw-rawn') Short Definition: Beth-haran. ...
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3252. Yiskah -- a daughter of Haran
... << 3251, 3252. Yiskah. 3253 >>. a daughter of Haran. Transliteration: Yiskah
Phonetic Spelling: (yis-kaw') Short Definition: Iscah. Word ...
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2771. Charan -- "crossroads," a city in N. Mesopotamia
... << 2770, 2771. Charan. 2771a >>. "crossroads," a city in N. Mesopotamia.
Transliteration: Charan Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-rawn') Short Definition: Haran. ...
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2771b. Charan -- son of Caleb
... son of Caleb. Transliteration: Charan Short Definition: Haran. Word Origin from
the same as Charan Definition son of Caleb NASB Word Usage Haran (2). ...
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2771a. Charan -- "crossroads," a city in N. Mesopotamia
... << 2771, 2771a. Charan. 2771b >>. "crossroads," a city in N. Mesopotamia.
Transliteration: Charan Short Definition: Haran. Word Origin ...
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1027. Beth Haram -- "house of the height," a place East of the ...
... Word Origin from bayith and perhaps rum Definition "house of the height," a place
E. of the Jordan NASB Word Usage Beth-haram (1), Beth-haran (1). Beth-aram. ...
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