Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Mark Spitsbergen:

Ur is east of the Euphrates River.  The Euphrates River is often referred
to as NHR.

Genesis 11: 31 strongly implies that Harran is a long distance from Ur. 
That supports the view that Biblical Ur is historical Ur, in southeastern
Mesopotamia, and Biblical Harran is historical Harran, in northwestern
Mesopotamia.

In chapter 11 of Genesis, Terakh’s family goes from Ur to Harran.  In
chapter 31 of Genesis, in connection with Jacob leaving Harran and going back
home to Canaan, the text specifically tells us at Genesis 31: 21 that Jacob
crosses “the NHR/river”, which in context must be the Euphrates River.

But nothing in the Patriarchal narratives says that Ur is Abraham’s “
hometown”:

(1)     When Abraham tells his trusted servant to go to the place of Abraham
’s MWLDT at Genesis 24: 4, the servant goes to Harran, not Ur, to find
Rebekah as Isaac’s ideal bride.

(2)     I go with the view of many scholars that MWLDT in Biblical Hebrew
means “kindred”, not “birth” or “birth place”, an issue that we discussed
at some length on another thread last week.  On that view, Genesis 11: 28
says that Abraham’s brother Haran died in the presence of his father and at
the place where his MWLDT were at the time (namely Ur), with MWLDT meaning
Abraham, Nahor and Lot, as descendants of Terakh.  Genesis 24: 4 says that 
Isaac
’s bride is to be found at the place where Abraham’s MWLDT are, that is at
Harran, where the descendants of Abraham’s brother Nahor were living.
Genesis 31: 3 says that Jacob is to go back to the place where Jacob’s MWLDT
are, that is Canaan, where Jacob’s siblings (other than Esau) and Jacob’s
half-siblings, together with their many descendants, are living.

Most historians see the Hebrews as being indigenous to Canaan, rather than
being from Mesopotamia.  In my controversial view, that’s what the
Patriarchal narratives have been accurately telling us for 3,500 years now.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

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