Haran
A city of Upper Mesopotamia where Abraham’s family settled on the way from Ur and from which he left for Canaan. Jacob later spent twenty years here with his uncle Laban.
Haran lies in the plain of Upper Mesopotamia, south-east of modern Şanlıurfa and close to the Syrian border. The Romans knew it as Carrhae. Terah settled and died here (Genesis 11:31–32), and from here Abram set out for Canaan (Genesis 12:4–5). His brother’s family stayed in the region: Rebekah sends Jacob to her brother Laban in Haran (Genesis 27:43), and Jacob serves Laban there for twenty years (Genesis 29:4–5) (Genesis 31:41). Later books name Haran among the cities taken by Assyria (2 Kings 19:12) and among the trading partners of Tyre (Ezekiel 27:23).
What happened here
- about 2091 BC, traditional dateThe Call of Abraham
Genesis tells how God calls Abram to leave his country and his father’s house for a land he will be shown, promising to make him a great nation through whom all the families of the earth will be blessed. Abram leaves Haran for Canaan.