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Easton's Bible Dictionary
(1) Hebrew 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) Hebrew 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 ,
11:32 ), 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 ( Genesis 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.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
mountainous country
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(1) The third son of Terah, and therefore youngest brother
of Abram (Abraham). ( Genesis 11:26 ) (B.C. 1926.) Three children are ascribed
to him --Lot, vs. ( Genesis 11:27 , 11:31 ) 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 , 7:4 ) 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 Genesis 27:43. 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.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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).
(3) ha'-ran (charan; Charhran):
The city where Terah settled on his departure from Ur (Genesis 11:31); 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 (Ezekiel 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 BC,
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 BC), and here Caracalla was assassinated (217 AD). 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
Tags:
bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, brother of abraham, charran, define, father of lot, haran, mesopotamia, padan-aram, son of caleb
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