A major city in northern Mesopotamia, identified with Harran in the area of the Balikh River, Haran was an important economic and worship center on the route leading from southern Mesopotomia to Cappadocia, Syria, Canaan, and Egypt.

• Terah settled with his family in Haran on his journey from Ur (Genesis 11, 31-32).
• Avraham departed from Haran to Canaan. (Genesis 12, 4).
• Avraham sent his servant to Haran in order to find a wife for Yitzhak (Genesis 24, 4).
• Yaakov fled to Rivka's family in Haran to escape from his brother Esav (Genesis 28, 11).
• One of the cities the Assyrians conquered as mentioned in Ravshakeh's speech (Kings II 19,12).
• In a lyrical lament about Tyre, Yehezkel mentions Haran as being one of the "traffickers" of Tyre (Ezekiel 27, 23).

For further reference, see Lexicon HaMikra, Vol. II