It may be noted in passing that Terah and his clan can scarcely have felt themselves out of their element in Paddan-aram. In the pasture lands near Haran they could still feel at home, for they continued to be under the protection of YAHWEH. The choice of the Haran region cannot therefore be regarded as the result of mere chance.

It should be emphasized, moreover, that Terah and Abram, as Arameans, found themselves in good company in the Paddan-aram region. It seems indeed that at this period groups of Aramean nomads (to use Scriptural language) had settled here and there throughout the whole region of Haran. These wandering shepherds seemed to creep in everywhere. From the delta of the Euphrates to the upper reaches of the two rivers on the steppes at least, these little clans of Aramean 1 shepherds were to be found at every turn. But in the heighbourhood of Haran the Aramean ethnic element was largely in the majority, and we know that in this province the Aramean language remained in use for some time. In addition, worship of the Aramean deities was maintained for centuries to come.

When Abram arrived in sight of Haran he would have observed, at the foot of the fortress, a city with houses surmounted (as still is the case today) by roofs in the form of a sugar-loaf. It was an extraordinary form of architecture, effected by placing bricks one upon another, but not bound together by cement. This was because of the deficiency of wood, for not a single tree is to be found in this region.

Abram would not have actually lived in Haran, any more than he had lived in the city of Ur. From time to time he must have gone into the city to sell wool or buy corn and salt, but he and his shepherds would normally find themselves fully occupied with their flocks: animals to be cared for or to be moved to fresh pasture. Between Haran and the nearby course of the Euphrates stretches the plain of Servdj (its modern name) surrounded by a circle of hills whose lower slopes come to an end on the steep banks of the river. It is a small enclave, scarcely twelve square miles in area, furrowed with little streams in the rainy season, in which some twenty villages are to be found. Quite certainly Abram and his shepherds with their sheep must have traversed the length and breadth of this small area. 

Near the present village of Haran is the well to which the village women and the wives of the nomads come even nowadays, morning and evening, to fetch their water; it provides a golden opportunity for gossiping. Near the curb are the earthenware troughs, to which the shepherds lead their flocks at the close of the day. It is very probable that this same well was used by Abram's shepherds. 2  

1 The Aramean nomads were not then established as an historical group, as they were to become later in about 1000 B.C.

2 The wells of these semi-desert regions must not be thought of as like our modern wells which are narrow and deep with a raised curb. The wells of the Near East have a diameter at their opening of eight to twelve feet, thus enabling a fair number of shepherds to draw water at the same time. Obviously, the depth depends on the underground water level. Usually the well is surrounded by large rough stones to a height of between one and a half to two and a half feet above the ground to prevent the caving in of the sides. Over the centuries these stones have been worn into a series of parallel ridges by the rubbing of the cords pulling up the filled buckets.

 

Buildings of town-dwellers, at Haran

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"Be not ignorant of the past, for they show the pattern of things to come."