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חָרָן

𐤇𐤓𐤍

Charan

H2771 noun

SILEX Entry

Root חָרַר to be hot, to burn, to become parched

Definition

Proper noun designating (1) a region or settlement in northern Mesopotamia, and (2) a personal name. As a place name, refers to a significant ancient city located on key trade and migration routes between the rivers Euphrates and Balikh; as a personal name, borne by a member of Terach's family. The place name does not carry generic connotations of being 'parched' or 'dry' in normal usage; the semantic connection to heat/parchedness is primarily etymological, not descriptive of usage.

Semantic Range

proper place name (Haran in Mesopotamia), proper personal name (Terach's son); rarely, by etymological extension, 'parched' (but not so in biblical usage)

Root / Etymology

From the root חָרַר (ḥ-r-r), meaning 'to be hot' or 'to burn'; the noun formation חָרָן likely gives a sense of 'parched place' or 'burnt place'. The word is a proper name (toponym and personal name) and does not function as a common noun in the Hebrew Bible. It is possible that the place name preserves an older toponym of non-Hebrew origin, and the connection to the root is therefore partly popular etymology.

Historical & Contextual Notes

חָרָן occurs primarily as the name of a geographic location (the city or region of Haran in upper Mesopotamia) most notably in the patriarchal narratives (Genesis 11, 12, etc.), as the place where Terach's family settles after leaving Ur and from which Abraham later departs. In these contexts, it is a major crossroads for trade and travel between Mesopotamia and the Levant, not a general descriptive term for dry or parched terrain. The name also occurs as a personal name (Haran, the brother of Abram). In post-biblical tradition, the city Haran continued to be a significant regional center. English translations often use 'Haran' without conveying the etymological sense. The later translation tradition sometimes anachronistically associates Harran with later 'Jewish' history, but in the biblical context it was a Mesopotamian city relevant to the origins of the Israelite patriarchs; its residents were not Israelites or Judahites. There is a different personal name, הָרָן (Haran, Strong's H2039), which derives from a different root and should not be confused with חָרָן.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from חָרַר; parched; Charan, the name of a man and also of a place; Haran.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חרר (ḥ-r-r) — to be hot, to burn, to become parched

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2715 חֹר nobles of
H2746 חַרְחֻר burning fever
H2787 חָרַר they burned
H2788 חָרֵר scorched regions

Word Forms

5 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2771-02 חָרָ֖ן charan HNp Haran Haran 5
H2771-03 חָרָֽנָ/ה charanah HNp/Sd toward Haran toward Haran 2
H2771-05 בְ/חָרָ֑ן vecharan HR/Np and Haran Haran 2
H2771-04 מֵ/חָרָֽן mecharan HR/Np from Haran from Haran 2
H2771-01 בְּ/חָרָֽן becharan HR/Np in Haran in Haran 1

Occurrences in Scripture

12 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2771-02 Genesis 11:31 חָרָ֖ן charan HNp Haran Haran
H2771-01 Genesis 11:32 בְּ/חָרָֽן becharan HR/Np in Haran in Haran
H2771-04 Genesis 12:4 מֵ/חָרָֽן mecharan HR/Np from Haran from Haran
H2771-05 Genesis 12:5 בְ/חָרָ֑ן vecharan HR/Np in Haran Haran
H2771-03 Genesis 27:43 חָרָֽנָ/ה charanah HNp/Sd Haran toward Haran
H2771-03 Genesis 28:10 חָרָֽנָ/ה charanah HNp/Sd toward Haran toward Haran
H2771-04 Genesis 29:4 מֵ/חָרָ֖ן mecharan HR/Np from Haran from Haran
H2771-02 2 Kings 19:12 חָרָ֑ן charan HNp Haran Haran
H2771-02 Isaiah 37:12 חָרָ֑ן charan HNp Haran Haran
H2771-02 Ezekiel 27:23 חָרָ֤ן charan HNp Haran Haran
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