HARAN
(a) Son of Terah and brother of Abraham, he was the father of Lot (Gen. 11:26-31).
(b) Son of Shimei, a Gershonite (1 Chr. 23:9).
(c) Son of Caleb and Ephah (1 Chron. 2:46). The Hebrew form of the latter differs from the first two.
(d) Ancient city of Mesopotamia to which Terah and his family went when leaving Ur of the Chaldeans. Abraham lived there until the death of his father. The descendants of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, also settled there (Gen. 24:10).
This name appears in Gen. 11:31, 32; 28:10; 29:4; Isaiah 37:12; Ez. 27:23, and several more. In Greek it appears in the form of Tern (Acts 7:2, 4. Cf. the 1909 revision of the Reina-Valera). It is a district located between the Habor River (see) and the Euphrates.
There is still a town called Harran in this area, around 30° 50′ N, 39° E. In Akkadian, this name means “road.” It is possible that it received this name because of the caravan routes from Syria, Assyria and Babylon that passed through it. It was the seat of a bishopric in the 4th century, and there are the ruins of a cathedral there.