Aram ( ''Aram'') is a son of Shem, according to the

Table of Nations The Generations of Noah, also called the Table of Nations or ''Origines Gentium'', is a genealogy of the sons of Noah, according to the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, Genesis ), and their dispersion into many lands after Genesis flood narrative ...

in Genesis 10 of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Uz, Hul,

Gether According to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, Gether ( ''Geṯer'') was the third son of Aram, son of Shem. He appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible, and both times is only mentioned in passing in genealogical lists. ...

and Mash or Meshech. The Book of Chronicles lists Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech as descendants of Shem, although without stating explicitly that Aram is the father of the other four. In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' eponymous ancestor of the Aramean people of ancient

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. On the contrary, Australian Chinese revolutionary and ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'' co-founder Tse Tsan-Tai claim that Aram’s sons Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech are the ancestors of the

indigenous peoples of the Americas In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

, Austroasiatic peoples, Austronesians, and the

indigenous peoples of Siberia Siberia is a vast region spanning the North Asia, northern part of the Asian continent and forming the Asiatic portion of Russia. As a result of the Russian conquest of Siberia (16th to 19th centuries) and of the subsequent Special settlements in ...

, respectively, while also assigning the

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

to Aram.

Name

The name Aram (, ''Aram'') means etymologically "height, high region", according to

Wilhelm Gesenius Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius (3 February 178623 October 1842) was a German orientalist, lexicographer, Christian Hebraist, Lutheran theologian, Biblical scholar and critic. Biography Gesenius was born at Nordhausen. In 1803 he bec ...

and "the highland" according to Strong's Concordance, in which it is referred to as Hebrew word #758.

Masoretic Text

The

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

of the Hebrew Bible uses the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

word ארמי ''ărammì'' for '' Aramean'' (or ''Syriac,'' some translations).

Bethuel Bethuel ( – ''Bəṯūʾēl''), in the Hebrew Bible, was an Aramean man, the youngest son of Nahor and Milcah, the nephew of Abraham, and the father of Laban and Rebecca. Bethuel was also a town in the territory of the tribe of Simeon, ...

''the Aramean from Padan-aram'' is identified as the father-in-law of

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

. Laban the son of Bethuel is also referred to as an Aramean who lived in Haran in Padan-aram (map, bottom).

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...

26:5 might refer to the fact that both

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

and his grandfather

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

had lived for a time in Syria, or to Jacob being the son of a Syrian mother: "Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: 'My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous.' " (''New International Version'') The Hebrew word רמי ''rammîy'' is found at 2 Chronicles 22:5, also translated ''Aramaean'' or ''Syrian.'' The land of Aram-Naharaim ("Aram of the Two Rivers") included Padan-Aram and the city of ''Haran'' (or Harran), Haran being mentioned ten times in the Bible. This region is traditionally thought to be populated by descendants of Aram, as is the nearby land of Aram that included

Aram-Damascus Aram-Damascus ( ) was an Arameans, Aramean polity that existed from the late-12th century BCE until 732 BCE, and was centred around the city of Damascus in the Southern Levant. Alongside various tribal lands, it was bounded in its later years b ...

and Aram Rehob. David wrote of his striving with Aram-Naharaim and Aram- Zobah (Psalm 60, title). Aram-Naharaim is mentioned five times in ''Young's Literal Translation.'' Tigr-euph

Book of Division (Jubilees)

According to the ''

Book of Jubilees The Book of Jubilees is an ancient Jewish apocryphal text of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as well as by Haymanot Judaism, a denomination observed by members of Ethiopian Jewish ...

'' (9:5,6), the portion of the earth to be inherited by the descendants of Aram included all of the land between the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

and

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

rivers "to the north of the Chaldees to the border of the mountains of Asshur and the land of 'Arara."The Book of Jubilees
9:5-6, Wesley Center Online, cited as from: ''"The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament" R.H. Charles Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913,'' Scanned and Edited by Joshua Williams Northwest Nazarene College "The mountains of Asshur in the north, and all the land of Elam, Asshur, and Babel, and Susan and Ma'edai" (

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

, and

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

, i.e. the

Medes The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian peoples, Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media (region), Media between western Iran, western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the m ...

the sons of Madai) were apportioned to sons of Shem (Jubilees 8:21) and, consistent with the statement of the ''Book of Jubilees'' on Aram, the Aramaeans have historically been predominant in the north here, specifically central

, where

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

was the

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

, or common language, before the advent of Christianity.The Book of Jubilees
8:21, Wesley Center Online, cited as from: ''"The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament" R.H. Charles Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913,'' Scanned and Edited by Joshua Williams Northwest Nazarene College

Antiquity of historical references to people of Aram

The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

''A-ra-mu'' appears in an inscription at

Ebla Ebla (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', , modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a Tell (archaeology), tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was ...

listing geographical names, and the term ''Armi'', which is the Eblaite term for nearby

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, occurs frequently in the Ebla tablets (ca. 2300 BC). The inscriptions of

Naram-Sin of Akkad Naram-Sin, also transcribed Narām-Sîn or Naram-Suen (: '' DNa-ra-am D Sîn'', meaning "Beloved of the Moon God Sîn", the "𒀭" a determinative marking the name of a god; died 2218 BC), was a ruler of the Akkadian Empire, who reigned –22 ...

, in the Akkadian language, closely associated ''Arman'' (i.e. Aleppo) with Ebla.Horowitz, Wayne, 1998
Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography
The Sargon Geography, The Text: Commentary, p. 82. One of the annals of Naram-Sin (22nd century) mentions that he captured "Dubul, the ensi of ''A-ra-me''" (''Arame'' is seemingly a

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

form), in the course of a campaign against Simurrum in the northern mountains. Other early references to a place or people of "Aram" have appeared in the archives at Mari (c. 1900 BC) and at Ugarit (c. 1300 BC).

Tiglath-Pileser I Tiglath-Pileser I (; from the Hebraic form of , "my trust is in the son of Ešarra") was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian period (1114–1076 BC). According to Georges Roux, Tiglath-Pileser was "one of the two or three great Assyri ...

(c. 1100 BC), in impressions of his later annals, referred to the Arameans: "I have crossed the Euphrates 28 times, twice in one year, in pursuit of the Aramaean Aḫlamū" (^kur''Aḫ-la-me-e'' ^kur''Ar-ma-a-ia''^meš).Lipiński, Edward, 2000
The Aramaeans, Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion
p. 25-27.Lipiński, Edward, 2000
The Aramaeans, Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion
p. 35-36. There may also have been a city named ''Arman'' east of the

river. The Semitic storm-god, Hadad, was patron deity of both Aram and Ugarit. The King of Aram (Syria) was called Ben-Hadad (English: ''son of Hadad''; Aramaic: ''Bar-Hadad'').

In Islam

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

Hud, a Prophet of ancient Arabia, is believed by Muslim scholars to have been a descendant of Aram. Hud is said to have preached in ʿĀd, in

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, according to the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

. The town's eponymous ancestor, Ad, is considered to have been the son of Uz, one of Aram's sons. The chapter of the Quran named '' Hud'', Chapter 11, mentions the people of ʿĀd, and in verse 44, the ship of Noah is described as coming to rest on Mount Judi after "waves like mountains brought punishment upon wrongdoing people."Quran Surah Hud ( Verse 44 )
/ref> The Islamic prophet Saleh is also told to be a descendant of Aram.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aram, Son Of Shem Book of Genesis people Arameans Shem Noach (parashah) Book of Jubilees