ARAM. - A region of western Asia, mentioned in the Bible, where the term "Aram" also designates the people (see ARAMEL). *Aram Naharaim* (Gen. 24:10 and Deut. 23:5; Judg. 3:8; 1 Chron. 19:6; Ps. 59 [60]:2) referred to the plateau between the Tigris and Euphrates in their northern course. The Septuagint (and the Vulgate) translate this alternately as "Mesopotamia," "Syrian Mesopotamia," or "Syria of the Rivers."
This region had as its center Harran (see HARRAN), the city where Terah, the father of Abraham, settled after migrating from Ur of the Chaldees with his family (Gen. 11:32). Harran remained the residence of Nahor, Abraham’s brother; among the descendants of Nahor who remained in Harran, relationships were maintained. From Gen. 28 onward, Harran is called Padan-Aram; since the Assyrian *padan-u* ("road") is synonymous with the Assyrian *har-nu*, both terms designate the same locality: the name "road" suited this important caravan junction between the Tigris and Euphrates, between Assyria and the lands beyond the Euphrates. The inhabitants of the place are called "Arameans" (Gen. 25:20; 28:5; 31:20, 24).
The relationship between Harran and Ur of the Chaldees (see UR OF THE CHALDEES) was not merely commercial but also one of ethnic affinity; for the inhabitants of these two centers appear in antiquity to have been linked by similar social customs and especially by the identical cult of the moon. Gen. 22:21-22 traces from the lineage of Nahor, Aram, and Kesed—perhaps an opinion of a group of Arameans—and Casdim, described as from the Chaldeans. Such correspondences presuppose an immigration of people from Ur to Harran, either for reasons of trade or due to the warlike disturbances that unsettled the region and induced the inhabitants to seek a more tranquil dwelling. Abraham’s family may have been part of one such migration.
In later times, the name Aram also designated certain territories beyond the Euphrates: Aram of Damascus (2 Sam. 8:5), Aram-Zobah (ibid., 10:6) to the northwest of Damascus, Aram-Beth-Rehob (ibid.) at the beginning of the depression north of the Jordan, and Aram-Maacah (1 Chron. 19:6-7) to the north of Lake Huleh.
Outside the Bible, Aram occurs in an inscription of Rim-Sin (mid-18th century B.C.), which states that he fought against Haramadki, lord of Aram and Am, who was abandoned 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, would have reached some mountains of the Taurus, where he was defeated. His kingdom therefore should be located in the northern part of Mesopotamia and include the territory called Aram in the Bible. The location of Am is difficult to determine; but it is unlikely that it refers to Ham (Gen. 14:5) north of the Salt Sea on the left bank of the Jordan. There is no further mention of Aram until the 11th century; this can be explained by the fact that the region was invaded by various other peoples.