Definition and Location:
Padan-aram, also known as Paddan-aram, is a region mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. It is located in the upper Mesopotamian area, corresponding to the northern part of modern-day Syria. The name "Padan-aram" translates to "the field of Aram," indicating its association with the Arameans, a Semitic people who inhabited the region.

Biblical Significance:
Padan-aram holds significant importance in the biblical narrative, particularly in the patriarchal accounts of Genesis. It is the homeland of the ancestors of the Israelites and serves as a backdrop for key events in the lives of the patriarchs.

Key Biblical References:

1. Abraham's Family Origins:
Padan-aram is first introduced in the context of Abraham's family. Abraham's brother Nahor settled in this region, and it became the home of his descendants. Genesis 25:20 states, "And Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Padan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean."

2. Isaac and Rebekah:
The region is notably the place from which Isaac's wife, Rebekah, was brought. Abraham sent his servant to Padan-aram to find a wife for Isaac, ensuring that his son would marry from his own kin rather than the Canaanites (Genesis 24).

3. Jacob's Sojourn:
Padan-aram is most prominently featured in the account of Jacob. After deceiving his brother Esau, Jacob fled to Padan-aram to escape Esau's wrath and to find a wife from his mother's family. Genesis 28:2 records Isaac's instruction to Jacob: "Go at once to Padan-aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother."

4. Jacob's Marriages and Family:
During his time in Padan-aram, Jacob married Leah and Rachel, the daughters of Laban, and fathered eleven of his twelve sons, who would become the progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Genesis 31:18 recounts Jacob's departure from the region: "He drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Padan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan."

5. Return to Canaan:
After twenty years in Padan-aram, Jacob returned to Canaan with his family and possessions, marking a significant transition in the narrative of the Israelite patriarchs.

Cultural and Historical Context:
Padan-aram was part of the larger region of Aram-Naharaim, often associated with the city of Haran. It was a fertile area conducive to pastoral life, which aligns with the biblical depiction of the patriarchs as herdsmen. The region's cultural and familial ties to the patriarchs underscore the importance of kinship and covenant in the biblical narrative.

Theological Implications:
The events in Padan-aram highlight themes of divine providence, covenant faithfulness, and the unfolding of God's promises to Abraham and his descendants. The marriages and offspring of Jacob in Padan-aram are integral to the development of the nation of Israel, fulfilling God's promise to make Abraham's descendants as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:5).

Padan-aram serves as a crucial setting in the biblical account, illustrating God's guidance and provision in the lives of the patriarchs and the establishment of His chosen people.Padan-Aram

cultivated field or table-land

Padan-Aram

The plains of Aram or Syria, Genesis 25:20 28:2:31:18, or simply PADAN, Genesis 48:7, the plain, in distinction from the "mountains" of Aram Numbers 23:7. See MESOPOTAMIA, and SYRIA.

The plain of Aram, or the plain of the highlands, (Genesis 25:20; 28:2, 5-7; 31:18, etc.), commonly regarded as the district of Mesopotamia (q.v.) lying around Haran. 6307. Paddan -- the place where Rachel died
... Word Origin of uncertain derivation Definition the place where Rachel died NASB
Word Usage Aram (1), Paddan (1), Paddan-aram (10). Padan, Padan-aram. ...
/hebrew/6307.htm - 6k

Jacob-Wrestling
... "Jacob called the name of the place Peniel.""Genesis 32:30. ALL the time that Jacob
was in Padan-aram we search in vain for prayer, for praise. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/whyte/lord teach us to pray/iv jacob-wrestling.htm

part 2
... tithes unto Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God, and that Jacob, when he
had that revelation from the Lord on his way out to Padan-aram, promised to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/tithing/part 2.htm

The Pilgrim's Longings
... Frequent opportunities came in their way; there was communication kept up between
them and the old family house at Padan-Aram: they had news sometimes from the ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 18 1872/the pilgrims longings.htm

Go Back? Never!
... Frequent opportunities came in their way. There was communication kept up
between them and the old family house at Padan-Aram. They ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 61 1915/go back never.htm

Jacob's Waking Exclamation
... as far as Jacob's knowledge would go, he was fully assured that all the way from
the place where he left his father until he arrived at Padan-Aram, he would ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 7 1861/jacobs waking exclamation.htm

Appendix D.
... True enough it is that Jacob, when he came from Padan Aram, "bought a parcel of
a field" at "Shalem a city of Shechem," "at the hand of the children of Hamor ...
//christianbookshelf.org/burgon/inspiration and interpretation/appendix d.htm

Never! Never! Never! Never! Never!
... He is guided to Padan-aram; God, his guide, leaves him not. At Padan-aram
Laban cheats him, wickedly and wrongfully cheats him in ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 8 1863/never never never never never.htm

A Man Expects to Reap the Same Kind as He Sows.
... friend, hold on. Follow him to Padanaram. He was there twenty years, and
during that time his wages were changed ten times. He worked ...
//christianbookshelf.org/moody/sowing and reaping/chapter iv a man expects.htm

No Compromise
... worldly as your neighbours. Thus is Isaac going down into Padan-aram: thus
is the church going down to the world. Men seem to say ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 34 1888/no compromise.htm

The Nations of the North-East
... Genesis, Mesopotamia, the country between the Euphrates and Tigris, is called not
only Aram-Naharaim, "Aram of the Two Rivers," but also Padan-Aram, "the acre ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter iv the nations of.htm

Padanaram (10 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Padanaram (10 Occurrences). ... Genesis 28:7 And that Jacob
obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram; (KJV). ...
/p/padanaram.htm - 9k

Padan-aram (10 Occurrences)
Padan-aram. Padanaram, Padan-aram. Padan-'aram . Easton's Bible Dictionary ...
(DBY WBS YLT). Padanaram, Padan-aram. Padan-'aram . Reference Bible.
/p/padan-aram.htm - 9k

Padan-'aram (1 Occurrence)
Padan-'aram. Padan-aram, Padan-'aram. Paddan . Multi-Version
Concordance Padan-'aram (1 Occurrence). Genesis 48:7 And ...
/p/padan-'aram.htm - 6k

Jacob (361 Occurrences)
... taking an affectionate farewell of his daughters, returns to his home in Padanaram. ...
before, the weary, solitary traveller, on his way to Padan-aram, saw the ...
/j/jacob.htm - 77k

Esau (89 Occurrences)
... When Jacob was sent away to Padan-aram, Esau tried to conciliate his parents (Genesis
28:8, 9) by marrying his cousin Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael. ...
/e/esau.htm - 41k

Padan (1 Occurrence)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary A plain, occurring only in Genesis 48:7, where it designates
Padan-aram. Multi-Version Concordance Padan (1 Occurrence). ...
/p/padan.htm - 6k

Rebecca (28 Occurrences)
... Genesis 25:20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebecca as wife, the daughter
of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. ...
/r/rebecca.htm - 14k

Paddan (11 Occurrences)

/p/paddan.htm - 10k

Thence (152 Occurrences)
... Genesis 28:2 Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father;
and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's ...
/t/thence.htm - 37k

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