Ur of the Chaldees is the city where Abraham (Abram) grew up and lived in until the age of seventy. The Chaldeans, under King Nebuchadnezzar, helped build the Neo-Babylonian world empire that lasted only for a relatively short period of time (612 to 539 B.C.).
Full Answer
What is Ur of the Chaldees in the Bible?
Ur Kaśdim (Hebrew: אוּר כַּשְׂדִּים ʾur kasdim), commonly translated as Ur of the Chaldees, is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the birthplace of the Israelite and Ismaelite patriarch Abraham.
Is the Ur of the Chaldees at Muqayyar?
In 1878 C. F. Keil could state, based on epigraphic evidence found at al-Muqayyar by Taylor and others, that the Ur of the Chaldees was not to be found in northern Mesopotamia but “most likely at the ruins of al-Muqayyar because the phonetic pronunciation of the Assyrian ideographic name for this place is said to be Uruu.”
Where is Ur of the Chaldees (Ur Kasdim)?
Another possible location for Ur of the Chaldees (Ur Kasdim) is the ancient Assyrian and Seleucid city Edessa, now called Şanlıurfa. According to some Jewish traditions, this is the site where Abraham was cast into a furnace by Nimrod as punishment for his monotheistic beliefs, but miraculously escaped unscathed.
What is the origin of the word Chaldees?
The Septuagint Greek used the word Χαλδαίων, or Chaldaion, from which Chaldees is derived. The Book of Jubilees states that Ur was founded in 1688 Anno Mundi (year of the world) by 'Ur son of Kesed, presumably the offspring of Arphaxad, adding that in this same year wars began on Earth.
What is the meaning of Ur of chaldees?
[ kal-deez, kal-deez ] SHOW IPA. / kælˈdiz, ˈkæl diz / PHONETIC RESPELLING. noun. the city where Abraham was born, sometimes identified with the Sumerian city of Ur.
What does Chaldeans mean in the Bible?
Definition of Chaldean 1a : a member of an ancient Semitic people that became dominant in Babylonia. b : the Semitic language of the Chaldeans. 2 : a person versed in the occult arts.
Where is Ur of the Chaldeans today?
IraqDefinition. Ur was a city in the region of Sumer, southern Mesopotamia, in what is modern-day Iraq.
What is the significance of the city of Ur in the Bible?
Mentioned in the Bible as the hometown of Abraham, Ur around 2000 B.C. was the center of a wealthy empire that drew traders from as far away as the Mediterranean Sea, 750 miles to the west, and the Indus civilization—called Meluhha by ancient Iraqis—some 1,500 miles to the east.
Is Abraham a Chaldean?
Did you know that Abraham was born a Chaldean but died a Hebrew? This is a fascinating story of a man who took God at his word, and did everything God asked him to do without hesitation. Ten times God tested him, but he never wavered. That's why God called him righteous and blessed him beyond measure.
What race are Chaldeans?
The original Chaldean tribe had long ago became Akkadianized, adopting Akkadian culture, religion, language and customs, blending into the majority native population, and eventually wholly disappearing as a distinct race of people, as had been the case with other preceding migrant peoples, such as the Amorites, ...
What is Ur of the Chaldeans known for?
Ur Kasdim (Hebrew: אוּר כַּשְׂדִּים ʾūr Kaśdīm), commonly translated as Ur of the Chaldeans, is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the birthplace of the Israelite and Ishmaelite patriarch Abraham.
What nationality was Abraham in the Bible?
AbrahamאַבְרָהָםBornAbram ben Terah c. 2150 BCE Ur Kaśdim, Chaldea, Sumer (present-day Iraq)Diedc. 1975 BCE Hebron, Canaan (present-day West Bank)SignificanceNamesake of the Abrahamic religions: traditional founder of the Jewish nation, spiritual ancestor of Christians, major Islamic prophet5 more rows
What language did Abraham speak?
same meaning as Galeed. This compound Jegarshahaduthla is Aramaic. The only reason why Laban would use Aramaic, would be because it was his own lan- guage and that of the country in which he lived. any difficulty in conversing with its inhabitants.
What does Ur mean in Hebrew?
Biblical Names Meaning: In Biblical Names the meaning of the name Ur is: Fire, light, a valley.
Who lived in Ur of the chaldees?
This location is said to be the “residence of [Abraham's] fathers” and Abraham's own residence and “country” (Abraham 1:1; 2:3). The Book of Abraham gives some specific details about Ur and this “land of the Chaldeans” that are not found in the Genesis account (Genesis 11:26–32; 12:1–5).
Does the city of Ur still exist?
Although Ur was once a coastal city near the mouth of the Euphrates on the Persian Gulf, the coastline has shifted and the city is now well inland, on the south bank of the Euphrates, 16 kilometres (9.9 miles) from Nasiriyah in modern-day Iraq.
What is Ur of the Chaldees called?
According to T.G. Pinches and A.T. Clay, some Talmudic and medieval Arabic writers identified Ur of the Chaldees with the Sumerian city of Uruk, called Erech in the Bible and Warka in Arabic. Both scholars reject the equation.
Who built the city of Ara of the Chaldees?
And 'Ur, the son of Kesed, built the city of 'Ara of the Chaldees, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father.". (Jubilees 11:3).
What is the name of the city in the Bible that was the birthplace of Abraham?
Ur of the Chaldees. Ur Kaśdim ( Hebrew: אוּר כַּשְׂדִּים ʾur kaśdim ), commonly translated as Ur of the Chaldeans, is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the birthplace of the Israelite and Ishmaelite patriarch Abraham. In 1862, Henry Rawlinson identified Ur Kaśdim with Tell el-Muqayyar, near Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.
Where did the Chaldeans settle?
In 1927 Leonard Woolley identified Ur Kaśdim with the Sumerian city of Ur (founded c. 3800 BC), in southern Mesopotamia, where the Chaldeans settled much later (around the 9th century BC); Ur lay on the boundary of the region later called Kaldu (Chaldea, corresponding to Hebrew Kaśdim) in the first millennium BCE.
Where did Abram leave his native land?
In Genesis 12:1, after Abram and his father Terah have left Ur Kaśdim for the city of Haran (probably Harran ), God instructs Abram to leave his native land (Hebrew moledet ). The traditional Jewish understanding of the word moledet is "birthplace" (e.g. in the Judaica Press translation ). Similarly, in Genesis 24:4–10, Abraham instructs his ...
What does Moledet mean?
Nevertheless, this interpretation of moledet as meaning "birthplace" is not universal. Many Pentateuchal translations, from the Septuagint to some modern English versions, render moledet as "kindred" or "family".
Where is Ur Kasdim?
According to A.S. Issar, Ur Kasdim is identified with the site of Urkesh – the capital of the Hurrian Kingdom, now in northeastern Syria. It is further hypothesized that the Biblical travel of Abraham's kin from Urkesh to Harran in order to reach Canaan is much more reasonable than a travel from the Sumerian city of Ur.
What does the name Chaldea mean?
The name Chaldea is a Biblical Names baby name. In Biblical Names the meaning of the name Chaldea is: As demons; or as robbers.
What does the name Ur mean?
The name Ur is a Biblical Names baby name. In Biblical Names the meaning of the name Ur is: Fire, light, a valley.
What is the name of the city in the Bible that Abraham was born in?
Urs Kaśdim (Hebrew: ??? ?????? ʾur kasdim), commonly translated as Ur of the Chaldeans, is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the birthplace of the Israelite and Ismaelite patriarch Abraham. In 1862, Henry Rawlinson identified Ur Kaśdim with Tell el-Muqayyar, near Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.
Who did God choose to bring out of Ur of the Chaldeans?
In Genesis 15:7, God identifies Himself to Abram: “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”. In Nehemiah 9 the Israelites confess their sins and recount the history of Israel: “You are the LORD God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham” ...
Where did the Chaldeans rule?
Depending upon the time period, the territory of the Chaldeans varied, but it would have included the lower part of the Fertile Crescent, extending from the upper edge of the Persian Gulf northwest to the area of the city of Babylon. The Chaldeans ruled Babylon for a while. The exact boundaries of their territory are not clear.
What does the name Ur mean?
Many scholars believe that Ur is not the name of a city but simply a word that means “land. ”. If this is the case, then Ur of the Chaldees is simply the land of the Chaldees. Chaldea was in the area known as the Fertile Crescent. Depending upon the time period, the territory of the Chaldeans varied, but it would have included the lower part ...
Where is Ur located?
The site that is most commonly suggested is a city on the Euphrates River, about 150 miles northwest of the Persian Gulf. The Septuagint (an Ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) simply calls Ur ...
What is the point of the story of Abram?
The point of the story is that God called Abram out of an area of civilization and prosperity. Ur of the Chaldees, the place where he lived, would have had ample water and land for pasturing and would have been active with commerce. It was “the place” to be. God called him away from that to a place that was unknown to him.
Where is the Ur of the Chaldees?
Before the turn of this century, there were three prevailing scholarly opinions, each supported by one or more Classical, Jewish or Moslem source, concerning the location of the Ur of the Chaldees: (1) at modern Urfa on the Balikh River within the great western bend of the Euphrates, (2) at a site west of the Tigris River and between Hatra and Nisibis [Turkish text here], and (3) in southern Mesopotamia, usually at Tell (Arabic for a ruin mound) al-Muqayyar.
Where is the Ur of the Chaldees of Abraham?
Now that it has been demonstrated that placing the Ur of the Chaldees of Abraham in southern Mesopotamia has little to recommend it, we may turn to the book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price for further evidence. From this book it becomes clear (1:1) that Abraham’s ancestors [35] resided in the land of the Chaldees and that Abraham was to be offered as a sacrifice by the priest of Pharaoh on an altar at Potiphar’s Hill in the plain of Olishem (1:10), which was in the land of Ur of the Chaldees (1:20).
Where is the Uri in the Bible?
For instance, the Interpreters Bible, 1:13–14, states, “Ur of the Chaldeans [of Abraham] is the city of Ur [i (m)] in southern Babylonia,” and cites Woolley’s book Ur of the Chaldees published in 1930. [18]
What is the connection between Ur and Uri?
The third reason for connecting Ur with Uri (m) involves an artifact, a goat, that Wo olley found while excavating in Uri (m). This goat, as it has been reconstructed, is “caught” in a bush. [34] This is compared with the “ram caught in a thicket” in Genesis 22:13, thus establishing a link between the sacrifice of Abraham and the goat of Uri (m).
What is the name of the tell?
First, the ancient name of the tell, Uri (m), is similar in sound to the Hebrew ‘ ur, rendered in English as Ur.
Where did the Chaldeans come from?
If they are Arameans or related to the Arameans, and this is not certain, we may safely seek their origin in northern Syria and southeastern Turkey where the oldest Aramaic inscriptions, none of which predate the first millennium, have been found. [43] Again, in the case of the Arameans, the Ur of the Chaldeans cannot be located in southern Mesopotamia but must be sought in an area comprising present-day Syria, Lebanon and the southeastern parts of Turkey bordering Syria. Again, the area delineated above falls within this possible homeland of the Kaldū.
Where did Abraham leave the Chaldees?
Second, when Abraham left the land of the Chaldees, he probably went immediately to a place outside the direct influence of Egypt, that is, away from the reach of Pharaoh and his priest. The discussion above should make it evident that Abraham would have moved away from the land of the Chaldeans but not in a direction radically away from the land of Canaan. Abraham’s first prolonged stop was in Haran, a site that may be located with relative certainty on the east of the Euphrates on the Balikh River just north of the present day Syrian-Turkish border. [39] Therefore, we must look for an Ur from which, in relation to Canaan, Haran would not be far removed or present a circuitous route. This would rule out all of Lebanon and probably all of Syria south of Aleppo.
