ARAM. - A region of western Asia, mentioned in the Bible, which with A. also designates the people (v. ARAMEI). Aram Nahārajim (Gen. 24:10 and Deut. 23:5; Judg. 3:8; I Chron. 19:6; Ps. 59 [60]:2) designated the highland between the Tigris and the Euphrates in their northern course. The Septuagint (and the Vulgate) translate it now as "Mesopotamia," now as "Syria Mesopotamia," now as "Syria of the Rivers."
This region had as its center Harrān (v.), the city in which Thare (Terah), the father of Abraham, settled after his migration from Ur of the Chaldees with his family (Gen. 11:32). Harrān remained the residence of Nahor, Abraham's brother; relations were maintained between the descendants of Abraham, who had moved to Canaan, and the descendants of Nahor, who remained in Harrān. From ch. 28 of Gen. Harrān is called Padānu A.; since the Assyrian padānu, "way," is a synonym of the Assyrian harrānu, both terms designate the same locality: the name "way" suited this important caravan junction between the Tigris and the Euphrates, between Assyria and the lands on this side of the Euphrates. The inhabitant of the place is called an "Aramean" (Gen. 25:20; 28:5; 31:20, 24).
Between Harrān and Ur (v.) of the Chaldees the relations must have been not only commercial but also based on ethnic affinity; for the inhabitants of these two centers appear in antiquity to have been linked by similar social customs and above all by the identical worship of the moon. Gen. 22:21 ff. derives from the lineage of Nahor, Aram, perhaps the eponym of a group of Arameans, and Kesed, the eponym of the Kaldu, "Chaldeans." Such correspondences presuppose an immigration of peoples from Ur into Harrān, whether for reasons of trade or because of the warlike turmoil that convulsed the region and induced its inhabitants to seek a more peaceful dwelling. The family of Abraham must have formed part of one such migration.
The name A. also designated, in later times, certain territories on this side of the Euphrates: A. of Damascus (II Sam. 8:5), A. Zobah (ibid. 10:6) to the northwest of Damascus, A. Beth Rehob (ibid.) at the beginning of the depression north of the Jordan, A. Maacah (I Chron. 19:6, 7) north of the lake of Huleh.
Outside the Bible, A. occurs in an inscription of Naram-Sin (mid-3rd millennium B.C.), which says that he fought Haršamadki, lord of A. and of Am, defeating him on Mount Tibar. Tibar seems to refer to the region of the Tibareni, who, besides populating the southern shores of the Black Sea, also resided in the region between Cilicia and Melitene: the king, in his flight, must have reached some mountain of the Taurus, where he was defeated. His kingdom therefore should be located in the northern part of Mesopotamia, and include the territory called A. in the Bible. Where Am should be placed it is difficult to say; but it is improbable that it is Ham (Gen. 14:5) north of the Dead Sea on the left bank of the Jordan. There is then no further information about A. until the 11th century; this may be explained by the fact that the region was invaded by various other peoples.