Haran, in the Bible. 1 Abraham's brother. 2 Caleb's son.

Haran or Harran, ancient city of Mesopotamia, now in SE Asian Turkey, 24 mi (39 km) SE of Şanlıurfa. It was an important center on the trade route from Nineveh to Carchemish and the seat of the Assyrian moon god. The Babylonians defeated the Assyrian army at Haran in 609 B.C. Frequently mentioned in the Bible, it was the home of Abraham's family after the migration from Ur. The Greek form of the name is Charan or Charran. In Roman times it was Carrhae.

For the village in Azerbaijan, see Haran, Azerbaijan.

In the Bible, Haran is the name of a man and of a place. Though usually spelled identically in English, they are not in Hebrew.

Genesis records that Haran (Hebrew: הָרָן) was born and died in Ur of the Chaldees. He was a son of Terah and brother of Nahor and Abram (later Abraham). He was the father of Lot, Milcah, and Iscah (Genesis 11:27, 29).

According to Genesis, sometime after Haran's death Terah set out with Abram, Abram's wife Sarai, and Lot towards Canaan, along the way settling in the place called Haran (also spelled Harran, Charan, and Charran; Hebrew: חָרָן). After the death of Terah in Haran (also related in Acts 7:4), Abram, Sarai and Lot continued on to (southern) Canaan, current-day Israel. The city of Harran, in modern southern Turkey (32 km/20 mi southeast of Şanlıurfa, formerly Edessa) near the border with Syria, is probably the Haran of the Biblical accounts.

References

• E. M. Blaiklock and R. K. Harrison, eds. The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology. (Zondervan, 1983):228.