Lives of Scripture
Paddan-aram
The upper-Mesopotamian region around Haran where Abraham's brother Nahor's family settled after leaving Ur, and where Isaac sent his servant to find Rebekah (Genesis 24) and later sent Jacob himself to find a wife and escape Esau's anger (Genesis 28:2-5). Jacob spent twenty years there working for his uncle Laban, marrying Leah and Rachel, and fathering most of his children before fleeing back to Canaan (Genesis 29-31). The name distinguishes this specific district from the broader term "Aram" used elsewhere for Syrian territory further west and north.
References: Genesis 25:20; Genesis 28:2-5; Genesis 29-31
People connected to Paddan-aram
- Asher (M) — born here to Jacob and Leah's servant Zilpah
Genesis 30:12-13
- Bethuel (M) — the Aramean of this region, father of Rebekah and Laban
Genesis 25:20
- Bilhah (F) — Rachel's servant here, who bore Dan and Naphtali to Jacob
Genesis 30:3-8
- Dan (M) — born here to Jacob and Bilhah
Genesis 30:5-6
- Gad (M) — born here to Jacob and Zilpah
Genesis 30:10-11
- Israel (M) — served Laban here twenty years and gained his wives, children, and flocks
Genesis 28:2; Genesis 31:38
- Issachar (M) — born here to Jacob and Leah
Genesis 30:17-18
- Laban (M) — Jacob's uncle here, who tricked him into marrying Leah first
Genesis 29:15-27
- Leah (F) — Laban's elder daughter here, given to Jacob by her father's trick
Genesis 29:23-25
- Naphtali (M) — born here to Jacob and Bilhah
Genesis 30:7-8
- Rachel (F) — Laban's younger daughter here, for whom Jacob served fourteen years
Genesis 29:18-28
- Rebekah (F) — sought from this region as a wife for Isaac
Genesis 25:20
- Reuben (M) — Jacob's firstborn, born here to Leah
Genesis 29:31-32
- Zebulun (M) — born here to Jacob and Leah
Genesis 30:19-20
- Zilpah (F) — Leah's servant here, who bore Gad and Asher to Jacob
Genesis 30:9-13