Aram

In the Bible

• Genealogy: In Genesis 10:22, Aram appears as a son of Shem.
• Patriarchal period: Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, and her brother Laban are described as Arameans of Paddan-aram (KJV: "the Syrian of Padanaram"; Genesis 25:20). Jacob lived in Laban's household in Haran (Genesis 28–31). The confession of faith in Deuteronomy 26:5 calls Israel's ancestor "a wandering Aramean."
• Monarchic period: David fought the Arameans of Zobah and Damascus (2 Samuel 8; 10). Later, the Aramean kingdom centered on Damascus frequently waged war against the northern kingdom of Israel under kings such as Ben-hadad and Hazael (1 Kings 20; 22; 2 Kings 6–8). Naaman, commander of the Aramean army, washed in the Jordan River at the word of Elisha and was healed of leprosy (2 Kings 5). Rezin, king of Aram, allied with the northern kingdom of Israel to threaten Judah (Isaiah 7), and Damascus was eventually conquered by Assyria (2 Kings 16:9).

Background

The Arameans are understood not to have formed a single unified nation but to have lived in a number of separate city-states. For this reason the Bible distinguishes them by attaching regional names, as in Aram-zobah, Aram-naharaim ("Aram of the two rivers"), and Aram-damascus. The etymology of the name "Aram" is uncertain.

The Aramaic language they spoke later became the international lingua franca of the Assyrian and Persian empires. This is reflected in 2 Kings 18:26, where officials of Judah ask the Assyrian commander, "Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language." Portions of Ezra and Daniel were also written in Aramaic.

"Syria" derives from a Greek place name. The Septuagint generally renders Aram as Syria. The New Korean Revised Version (개역개정) mostly uses "Aram" in the Old Testament and "Syria" in the New Testament.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Aram was both kin and enemy to Israel. The families from which the patriarchs took their wives were Aramean, yet during the monarchic period Aram was the power that most directly confronted the northern kingdom of Israel. Amos proclaimed judgment against Damascus (Amos 1:3–5).

In the New Testament, Jesus cited "Naaman the Syrian" to show that God's grace extends even to the Gentiles (Luke 4:27). The New Testament region of Syria included Damascus, where Paul was converted, and Antioch, where the disciples were first called "Christians" (Acts 11:26). It is widely held that Jews in the time of Jesus spoke Aramaic in daily life. The New Testament preserves Aramaic words such as "Talitha cumi" (Mark 5:41), Abba (Mark 14:36), and Maranatha (1 Corinthians 16:22).

Interpretive Issues

• The "wandering Aramean" of Deuteronomy 26:5 is usually identified as Jacob, though some interpreters identify him as Abraham. Some translations render the Hebrew word translated "wandering" as "ready to perish" (as in the KJV: "A Syrian ready to perish was my father").
• Naaman asked to be pardoned for having to enter the house of Rimmon when attending his king, and Elisha answered, "Go in peace" (2 Kings 5:18–19). Interpreters differ over whether this reply should be understood as permission.
• Because the Syria of the New Testament is the name of a Roman province, its extent does not correspond to that of the Aramean kingdoms of the Old Testament.

In the Korean Church

The account of Naaman washing seven times in the Jordan and being healed is frequently treated in sermons and Sunday school lessons on the themes of obedience and humility. The scene at Dothan, where Elisha, surrounded by the Aramean army, declares, "they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (2 Kings 6:16–17), is also often cited in preaching.