Paddan-Aram: Jacob’s Spiritual Growth — Genesis 34

Paddan-aram refers to the Mesopotamian plain lying between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Centered around Haran, where Abraham’s family once settled, it was an Aramaic-speaking region in which Jacob spent twenty years in exile, building his family, accumulating wealth, and growing spiritually.

Paddan-Aram: Jacob’s Spiritual Growth — Genesis 34

The Hebrew name “Paddan-aram” means “the plain of Aram” or “Aram of the two rivers.” The Septuagint renders it as “Mesopotamia,” and some Korean Bible translations have followed that same rendering. Paddan-aram designates the broad plain between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and appears to be the same region as “Aram-naharaim.”

Paddan-aram 34 (Paddan Aram)

It is sometimes referred to simply as “Paddan.” More specifically, it corresponds to the northern region of Mesopotamia, which can be identified with the south-central part of modern-day Turkey. The most prominent city of this area is Haran, and its inhabitants spoke Aramaic. (Gen 31:47) Terah, the father of Abraham, and his household left Ur of the Chaldeans on their way to Canaan and stayed in Haran for an extended period. After settling in Canaan, Abraham sent his servant Eliezer to Paddan-aram to find a wife for his son Isaac; it was the homeland of Rebekah, Isaac’s future wife, and her brother Laban. Jacob later fled to Paddan-aram, where his uncle Laban lived, to escape the anger of his brother Esau. During his twenty years there, Jacob married his cousins and fathered thirteen children, and it was in this region that he tended Laban’s flocks and accumulated considerable wealth.

Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com