Gill on Genesis 11

Imported boundary: John Gill's Exposition of the Bible: Genesis, assembled from Bible Study Tools per-verse public-domain pages. Luke24 mirrors the historical commentary body while excluding site navigation, recommendation blocks, footnote bodies, and modern source-editor notes.

Primary passage: Genesis 11:1-32.

Introduction

This chapter gives an account of the inhabitants of the earth before the confusion of tongues at Babel, of their speech and language, which was one and the same, and of the place where they dwelt, Ge 11:1,2 and of their design to build a city and tower, to make them a name and keep them together, which they put in execution, Ge 11:3,4 of the notice the Lord took of this affair, and of the method he took to put a stop to their designs, by confounding their speech, and dispersing them abroad upon the face of the earth, Ge 11:5-9 then follows a genealogy of Shem's posterity down to Abraham, Ge 11:10-26 and a particular relation is given of Terah, the father of Abraham, and his family, and of his going forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, in order to go into the land of Canaan, and of his death at Haran by the way, Ge 11:27-32.

Verse 1

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech*, &c.] Or had been, before the flood, and from that time to this, and still was, until the confusion took place; the account of which, and the occasion of it, are given in this chapter: by the whole earth is meant the inhabitants of it, see ( Isaiah 37:18 ) ( 1 Kings 10:24 ) and so the Jerusalem Targum paraphrases the words,

Verse 2

And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east That is, the inhabitants of the whole earth; not Ham and his posterity only, or Nimrod and his company; but as all the sons of Noah and his posterity for a while dwelt together, or at least very near each other, and finding the place where they were too scanty for them, as their several families increased, they set out in a body from the place where they were, to seek for a more convenient one: it seems a little difficult how to interpret this phrase, "from the east", since if they came from Ararat in Armenia, where the ark rested, as that lay north of Shinar or Babylon, they might rather be said to come from the north than from the east, and rather came to it than from it: so some think the phrase should be rendered, "to the east", or eastward, as in ( Genesis 13:11 ). Jarchi thinks this refers to ( Genesis 10:30 ) "and their dwelling was" at "the mountain of the east"; from whence he supposes they journeyed, to find out a place that would hold them all, but could find none but Shinar; but then this restrains it to Joktan's sons, and besides, their dwelling there was not until after the confusion and dispersion. But it is very probable the case was this, that when Noah and his sons came out of the ark, in a little time they betook themselves to their former habitation, from whence they had entered into the ark, namely, to the east of the garden of Eden, where was the appearance of the divine Presence, or Shechinah; and from hence it was that these now journeyed: and so it was as they were passing on, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; which the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases the land of Babylon; and Hestiaeus, a Phoenician historian, calls it Sennaar of Babylon; there are plain traces of this name in the Singara of Ptolemy and Pliny, the Hebrew letter ( e ) being sometimes pronounced as "G", as in Gaza and Gomorrah; the first of these place a city of this name in Mesopotamia, near the Tigris, and that of the other is reckoned a capital of the Rhetavi, a tribe of the Arabs, near Mesopotamia. This plain was very large, fruitful, and delightful, and therefore judged a fit place for a settlement, where they might have room enough, and which promised them a sufficient sustenance: and they dwelt there*; and provided for their continuance, quickly beginning to build a city and tower, afterwards called Babylon: and that Babylon was built in a large plain is not only here asserted, but is confirmed by Herodotus, who says of it, that it lay ( en pediw megalw ), in a vast plain, and so Strabo; which was no other than the plain of Shinar.

Verse 3

And they said one to another, go to Advising, exhorting, stirring up, and encouraging one another to the work proposed, of building a city and tower for their habitation and protection; saying, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly; they knew the nature of bricks, and how to make them before: according to Sanchoniatho, the brothers of Vulcan, or Tubalcain, before the flood, were the first inventors of them; for he relates, that and they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar*: they could not get stone, which they would have chosen, as more durable; they got the best bricks they could make, and instead of mortar they used slime; or what the Septuagint version calls "asphaltos", a bitumen, or kind of pitch, of which there was great plenty in that neighbourhood. Herodotus speaking of the building of Babylon, uses language very much like the Scripture;

Verse 4

And they said, go to, let us build us a city and a tower, &c.] Some Jewish writers say, these are the words of Nimrod to his people; but it is a question whether he was now born, or if he was, must be too young to be at the head of such a body of people; but they are spoken to one another, or by the principal men among them to the common people, advising and encouraging to such an undertaking. It is generally thought what led them to it was to secure them from another flood, they might be in fear of; but this seems not likely, since they had the covenant and oath of God, that the earth should never be destroyed by water any more; and besides, had this been the thing in view, they would not have chosen a plain to build on, a plain that lay between two of the greatest rivers, Tigris, and Euphrates, but rather one of the highest mountains and hills they could have found: nor could a building of brick be a sufficient defence against such a force of water, as the waters of the flood were; and besides, but few at most could be preserved at the top of the tower, to which, in such a case, they would have betook themselves. The reason of this building is given in a following clause, as will be observed. Some think by "a city and tower" is meant, by the figure "hendyadis", one and the same thing, a city with towers; and, according to Ctesias, there were two hundred and fifty towers in Babylon: but no doubt the city and tower were two distinct things; or there was one particular tower proposed to be built besides the city, though it might stand in it, or near it, as an acropolis or citadel to it; as it is not unusual in cities to have such, to betake unto in case of danger: whose top [may reach] unto heaven: not that they imagined such a thing could be literally and strictly done, but that it should be raised exceeding high, like the cities in Canaan, said to be walled up to heaven, ( Deuteronomy 1:28 ) ( 9:1 ) hyperbolically speaking; and such was the tower of Babel, by all accounts, even of Heathens: the Sibyl in Josephus calls it a most high tower; and so Abydenus reports; and let us make us a name; which some render "a sign", and suppose it to be a signal set upon the top of the tower, which served as a beacon, by the sight of which they might be preserved from straying in the open plains with their flocks, or return again when they had strayed. Others take it to be an idol proposed to be set upon the top of the tower; and the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem intimate as if the tower was built for religious worship, paraphrasing the words, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth*: which they seemed to have some notion of, and feared would be their case, liking better to be together than to separate, and therefore were careful to avoid a dispersion; it being some way or other signified to them, that it was the will of God they should divide into colonies, and settle in different parts, that so the whole earth might be inhabited; or Noah, or some others, had proposed a division of the earth among them, each to take his part, which they did not care to hearken to; and therefore, to prevent such a separation, proposed the above scheme, and pursued it.

Verse 5

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower Not locally or visibly, being immense, omnipresent, and invisible; nor in order to see and take notice of what he otherwise could not see from heaven, for he is omniscient; but this is spoken after the manner of men, and is to be understood of some effects and displays of his power, which were manifest, and showed him to be present: the Targum is, which the children of men builded*; or were building, for they had not finished their building, at least not the city, as appears from ( Genesis 11:8 ). These were either the whole body of the people, under the general appellation of "the children of men": or else a part of them, distinguished by this character from the "sons of God", who were truly religious; by which it seems that Noah, Shem, Arphaxad, Salah, and others, were not concerned in this affair, who though they might come with the rest unto Shinar, yet when they understood their design, refused to join with them in it; so that it was only the carnal and irreligious part of them, who very probably were by far the majority, and therefore there was no overruling their debates, and stopping them in their works, that were the builders; and these might be the posterity of Ham in general, with others of Shem and Japheth mixed with them. Josephus makes Nimrod to be the head of them, which is not likely, as before observed.

Verse 6

And the Lord said Not to the angels, as Aben Ezra, but rather to the Son and Spirit, or within himself: behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; which some think is spoken ironically; but I see no reason why it may not be understood seriously, that the people who were concerned in this building were unanimous, not only in their religious principles, such as they were, as Aben Ezra, but in their counsel, purpose, and design in building; they went on with great concord, harmony, and vigour, and being of one language, they understood one another, and so could carry on their work with the greater expedition: and this they begin to do; to build the city and the tower, and had made considerable progress in it: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do*; they had prepared bricks, and slime or bitumen, a sufficient quantity for their use, or could easily come at more if they wanted; and they were not to be prevailed upon to desist from their work, by any advice that the sons of God could give them; they were obstinate and self-willed, and not to be argued with and persuaded to leave off; and there was no power on earth superior to them, to oblige them to it; they could only be restrained from their enterprise, and hindered from executing it, by divine power; and which was judged necessary to exert, as appears by what follows: and the words may be rendered, "shall they not be restrained? &c." they shall.

Verse 7

Go to, let us go down, [and] there confound their language*, &c.] These words are not spoken to the angels, as the Targum and Aben Ezra; for, as Philo the Jew observes, they are said to some as co-workers with God, which angels could not be in this work of confounding the language of men; it being above the power of creatures so to work upon the mind, and on the faculty of speech, as to make such an alteration as was at the confusion of tongues, when men were made to forget their former language, and had another put into their minds, and a faculty of speaking it given; or, however, the first language was so differently inflected and pronounced, that it seemed another, and various; all which could not be done but by him who is almighty, even that Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, said ( Genesis 11:8 ) to confound man's language; and the first of these speaks to the other two, with whom he consulted about doing it, and with whom he did it. Not that every man had a new and distinct language given him, for then there could have been no society and converse in the world, but one was given to each family; or rather to as many families as constituted a nation or colony, designed for the same place of habitation; how many there were, cannot be said with any certainty. Euphorus, and many other historians, say they were seventy five, according to the number of Jacob's posterity that went down into Egypt; others say seventy two: the Jewish writers generally agree with the Targum of Jonathan in making them seventy, according to the number of the posterity of Noah's sons, recorded in the preceding chapter; but several of them spoke the same language, as Ashur, Arphaxad, and Aram, spoke the Chaldee or Syriac language; the sons of Canaan one and the same language; and the thirteen sons of Joktan the Arabic language; Javari and Elisha the Greek language; so that, as Bochart observes, scarce thirty of the seventy will remain distinct: and it is an observation of Dr. Lightfoot

Verse 8

So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence, upon the face of all the earth Hence that which they feared came upon them, and what they were so careful to guard against befell them, occasioned by those measures they took to secure themselves from it; for not being able to understand one another, they left off their design, and as many as spoke the same language joined together, and so parted in bodies; some went one way, and some another, and settled in different places, until at length, by degrees, the whole world was peopled by them, which was the will of God should be done, and was brought about in this way. The Heathen writers themselves ascribe this dispersion to a divine Being, as well as speaking different tongues. Eupolemus says, that first the city of Babylon was built by those that were saved from the flood, who were giants; and then they built tower, so much spoken of in history, which falling by the power of God, the giants were "scattered throughout the whole earth". One would think this writer, by his language, must have read this account of Moses: some of them say the fall of the tower was by storms and tempests raised by the gods. So the Sybil in Josephus says, and they left off to build the city*; it seems they had finished the tower, but not the city, and therefore are only said to leave off building that; though the Samaritan and Septuagint versions add, "and the tower"; for not understanding one another, they were not able to go on with their work, for when they asked for one thing, as before observed out of Jarchi, they had another brought them; which so enraged them, that the Targum of Jonathan says they killed one another; and, say some Jewish writers, they fought one with another upon this occasion, until half the world fell by the sword. (Unlike traditions of the Flood, legends of the Tower of Babel and confusion of speech are not common. That said, noteworthy support for the biblical account comes from Babylonia itself, where a damaged inscription reads: {12} Strickling, J. E., 1974. "Legendary evidence for the confusion of tongues." Creation Research Society Quarterly, 11:97-101. {13} Sayce, A. H. (ed.), "Records of the Past" (old Series), Vol. VII, p. 131f. {14} "Journey of American Oriental Society", 88:108-111 (1968) {15} Smith, J., 1876. "Chaldean Account of Genesis", Scribners, New York. {16} Hyginus, C. Julius, Fabulae 143. Editor)

Verse 9

Therefore is the name of it called Babel The name of the city mentioned, and the tower also, which signifies "confusion", as the Septuagint version renders it; and so Josephus says the Hebrews call confusion "Babel": perhaps this name was given it by the sons of Eber, or it might be a common name preserved in all languages, as some are; and though the first builders desisted from going on with building it, yet it seems that afterwards Nimrod went on with it, and completed it, and made it the beginning of his kingdom, or his capital city; and perhaps he and his family might continue after the confusion and dispersion somewhere near unto it, see ( Genesis 10:10 ). The reason of its name is given, because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth; and therefore it is false what is said by some, that the above city had its name from Babylon, the son of Belus: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth*; which is repeated for the confirmation of it, and that it might be taken notice of and observed as a very wonderful and important event. These Babel builders were an emblem of self-righteous persons, who, as those were, are the greater part of the world, and, under different forms of religion, are all upon the same foot of a covenant of works; they all speak the same language; and indeed all men naturally do, declaring and seeking for justification by their own works; and journey from the east, depart from Christ, one of whose names is the east, or rising sun; they turn their backs on him and his righteousness; build on a plain, not on a rock or mountain, but on the sandy bottom of their own works, in a land of Shinar, or shaking, on a tottering foundation; their view is to get themselves a name, to be seen of men, and be applauded for their work sake, and that they might reach heaven, and get to it this way; but the issue of all is confusion and scattering abroad; for upon the foot of their own righteousness they can never enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Verse 10

These are the generations of Shem Or a genealogy of the posterity of Shem; not of all of them, only of those of the line which led to Abraham, by which might appear the true line in which the Messiah from Adam through Abraham sprung: Shem was one hundred years old, and begat Arphexad two years after the flood; by which it is pretty plain that he was younger than Japheth; (See Gill on Genesis 10:21 ) of Arphaxad his son, (See Gill on Genesis 10:22 *).

Verse 11

And Shem lived, after he begat Arphaxad, five hundred years, &c.] So that his whole age was six hundred years, and therefore must live to the times of Abraham, and even throughout the life of that patriarch, or near the end of it; and if he was the same with Melchizedek, as is the general opinion of the Jews, and is embraced by many Christians, they had an interview with each other: and begat sons and daughters*; of whom we have no account, because the Messiah did not spring from them; the design of this genealogy being to carry down his direct line from Shem to Abraham: it is to be observed, that in the account of the patriarchs, and their children after the flood, it is not added as before the flood, "and he died", their lives being long, that remark is made; but the lives of these being shorter, and gradually decreasing, it is omitted. An Arabic writer says, that Shem died in the month Elul, on a Friday, at the close of the year of the world 2758. A Jewish writer says, he died in the fifteenth year of Jacob, and that he saw twelve generations; according to Bishop Usher, he died A. M. 2158.

Verse 12

And Arphaxad lived thirty five years, and begat Salah. ] Arphaxad is the first on record that had a son born to him so early; of Salah, (See Gill on Genesis 10:24 *).

Verse 13

And Arphaxad lived, after he begat Salah, four hundred and three years In all four hundred and thirty eight; the Vulgate Latin wrongly reads, three hundred and three: and begat sons and daughters*; not mentioned by name: he died, as the above Arabic writer says, in the month Nisan, A. M. 2696; and a Jewish writer says he died in the forty eighth year of Isaac, and who also says, that in his days they began to build the city of Babel.

Verse 14

And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber. ] He had a son born to him five years sooner than his father had; of Eber, (See Gill on Genesis 10:25 *).

Verse 15

And Salah lived, after he begat Eber, four hundred and three years In all four hundred and thirty three: and begat sons and daughters*; of whom also there is no other account: the same Arabic writer says, he died in the month, Adar, which is called Barhamath, at the close of A. M. 2950; and the Jewish chronologer says, he died in the fourteenth year of Jacob.

Verse 16

And Eber lived thirty four years, and begat Peleg. ] Of Peleg, (See Gill on Genesis 10:25 *).

Verse 17

And Eber lived, after he begat Peleg, four hundred and thirty] years All the years of his life were four hundred and sixty four: and he begat sons and daughters*; one of which is elsewhere mentioned, whose name is Joktan, ( Genesis 10:25 ) according to the above Jewish writer, he died in the seventy ninth year of Jacob.

Verse 18

And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu*. ] Or Ragau, as he is called in the Septuagint version, the letter ( e ) being pronounced as a "G", as in Gaza and Gomorrah: he is supposed to give name to a large plain called Ragau, near Assyria, about Tigris and Euphrates,

Verse 19

And Peleg lived, after he begat Reu, two hundred and nine years In all two hundred and thirty nine, little more than half the age of his father: and begat sons and daughters*; but not named the Arabic writers say he begat Melchizedek the priest, and that he died in the month Elul, A. M. 3126; and a Jewish writer says he died in the forty eighth year of Abraham.

Verse 20

And Reu lived thirty two years, and begat Serug*. ] He is thought to give name to a city called Sarug, which, according to the Arabic geographer, was near Charrae, or Haran, in Chaldea; and another Arabic writer speaks of a city called to this day <arabic> "Sarug", which he places in Mesopotamia.

Verse 21

And Reu lived, after he begat Sarug, two hundred and seven years So that the whole of his life was two hundred and thirty nine years, the exact age of his father: in his days various kingdoms arose; according to the Arabic writer, in the one hundred and thirtieth year of his life began Nimrod to reign at Babylon, the first king that reigned on earth: and according to the Jewish writers, in his days began the kingdom of Egypt, which continued to the times of Octavian; and the kingdom of the Bohemians, the metropolis of which was Prague, and the kingdom of the Amazons, which continued to the times of Alexander: in his time also, the Arabic writers say, idolatry prevailed, the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, and other things; and images of men and women were made by the Babylonians and Egyptians, and worshipped by them: and he begat sons and daughters* of whom no account is given; according to a Jewish writer, he died in the seventy fifth year of Abraham.

Verse 22

And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor*. ] The grandfather of Abraham, one of the same name was Abraham's brother, ( Genesis 11:26 ).

Verse 23

And Serug lived, after he begat Nahor, two hundred years, &c.] The years of his life were two hundred and thirty: and he begat sons and daughters*; nowhere else mentioned: he died, according to the above Jewish writer, in the one hundredth year of Abraham, and in his days, according to the eastern writers, idolatry began, and the kingdom of Damascus was set up; and Samirus, king of the Chaldeans, invented weights and measures, weaving silk, and the art of dying.

Verse 24

And Nahor lived twenty nine years, and begat Terah*. ] The father of Abraham, and the first of the patriarchs of this line of Shem that fell off from the true religion to idolatry.

Verse 25

And Nahor lived, after he begat Terah, one hundred and ninteen years In all one hundred and forty eight years; so sensibly did the lives of the patriarchs decrease: in the days of Nahor, the Arabic writers say, was a great earthquake, which had never been observed before; idolaters increasing and offering their children to demons, God raised a tempest like a deluge, which broke their images and destroyed their temples in Arabia, and covered them in heaps of sand, which remained to the days of those writers, as they affirm: in his days it is also said Spain, Portugal, and Arragon were founded: and begat sons and daughters*; of whom no other account is given: he died, as a Jewish chronologer says, in the one hundred and tenth year of Abraham.

Verse 26

And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran*. ] Abram, though named first, does not appear to be the eldest, but rather Haran; nay, it seems pretty plain that Abram was not born until the one hundred and thirtieth year of his father's life, for Terah was two hundred and five years old when he died, ( Genesis 11:32 ) and Abram was but seventy five years of age when he went out of Haran to Canaan, ( Genesis 12:4 ) and that was as soon as his father died there; and so that if seventy five are taken out two hundred and five, there will remain one hundred and thirty, in which year and not before Abram must be born: the wife of Terah, of whom Abram was born, according to the Jewish writers, her name was Chamtelaah, the daughter of Carnebo, or as others call her, Amthalai; but by the Arabic writers

Verse 27

Now these are the generations of Terah Or the genealogy of his posterity, which is a very short one; for it only gives an account of his three sons as before, Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran: and of three grand children, Lot, Milcah, and Iscah, the children of Haran; and chiefly for the sake of Abram it is given, and indeed the above genealogy of Shem, which ends with him; and of whom and whose posterity the remaining part of this book of Genesis treats: and Haran begat Lot*: of whom we have some further account in ( Genesis 13:1-14:24 ) ( 19:1-38 ).

Verse 28

And Haran died before his father Terah In his father's presence, before his face, in his life time, as Jarchi; he seeing him, as Aben Ezra: it does not so much respect the time of his death, that it was before his father, though that is true, as the place where he died, his father being present there at the time this was; in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees*; Ur, which Ben Melech renders a valley, was the place of his birth, as it was of Abram's; it was in Mesopotamia, that part of it next to Assyria being called the land of the Chaldeans; hence these are spoken of as the same by Stephen, ( Acts 7:2 Acts 7:4 ) mention is made by Pliny, of a place in those parts called Ura, which seems to be the same with this: Eupolemus

Verse 29

And Abram and Nahor took them wives Very probably after the death of their elder brother Haran, whose daughters they married, at least one of them did, and some think both; the name of Abraham's wife was Sarai*: it is not said whose daughter she was, unless she is the same with Iscah, the daughter of Haran, and so had two names, Iscah her name before marriage, Sarai after it, Abram calling her "my mistress", as "Sarai" signifies, as she called him my lord: so the Targum of Jonathan, Iscah, this is Sarai; in like manner Jarchi, Baal Hatturim, and other Jewish writers, take them to be the same; but according to ( Genesis 20:12 ) Sarai should be the daughter of Terah, the father of Abraham, by another woman; and so the Arabic writers say,

Verse 30

But Sarai was barren; she had no child*. ] Aben Ezra observes, there are some that say that Abraham was impotent, and not Sarai barren; the very reverse of the Scriptures; but as he rightly adds, his son Ishmael and his sons by Keturah show the contrary, see ( Genesis 15:2 ) ( 16:1 ).

Verse 31

And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife, &c.] Many words are made use of in describing Lot and Sarai, and yet still we are left pretty much in the dark who Sarai was; for, as Aben Ezra observes, if she was the sister of Abram and daughter of Terah, the Scripture would have said, Terah took Abram his son and Sarai his daughter, and wife of Abram; and if she was the sister of Lot, it would have said, and Sarai the daughter of his son, as it does of Lot: and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; that is, as Jarchi interprets it, Terah and Abram went forth with Lot and Sarai, or "with them" may mean with Nahor and Milcah: for Josephus says, that all went into Charan of Mesopotamia, the whole family of Terah; and the Arabic historian is express for it, and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there*; which Josephus calls Charan of Mesopotamia, and yet Stephen speaks of Abraham being in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Charan; but then Mesopotamia is to be taken both in a more general and a more limited sense; in general, it took in Mesopotamia and Chaldea, and in the eastern part of it was Ur of the Chaldees, and when Abram came from thence to Haran, he came into Mesopotamia, strictly so called. Stephen calls it Charran it is by Herodian called ( karrai ), by Ptolemy Carrae, by Pliny Carra, a city famous in Lucan for the slaughter of Crassus, by whom it is called an Assyrian city. Benjamin of Tudela speaks of it as in being in his time, and as two days journey from the entrance into the land of Shinar or Mesopotamia; and says, that in that place where was the house of Abraham, there is no building on it, but the Ishmaelites (the Mahometans) honour the place, and come thither to pray. Rauwolff, who was in this town A. D. 1575, calls it Orpha; his account of it is this, that it is a costly city, with a castle situated on the hill very pleasantly; that the town is very pleasant, pretty big, with fortifications well provided; and that some say it was anciently called Haran and Charras: a later traveller says, who also calls it Orpha,

Verse 32

And the days of Terah were two hundred years His days are summed up as none of the rest are in this genealogy, that it might be observed; his death being the time of Abram's leaving Chaldea and coming into the land of Canaan, given to him and his seed for an inheritance; see ( Acts 7:4 Acts 7:5 ) and Terah died in Haran*: the Arabic historian says, he died in Haran in the month Elul, in the year of his age two hundred and sixty five; but he gives him sixty years too many: a Jewish chronologer says he died in the thirty fifth year of Isaac. Perhaps he gave the name to this place, where he dwelt a while, in memory of his son Haran, which before might be called by another name, Padanaram, as it seems to be called even after this; see ( Genesis 24:10 ) ( 25:20 ) ( Genesis 28:2 Genesis 28:5 Genesis 28:10 ) ( Genesis 29:4 Genesis 29:5 ).