Mesopotamia

Biblical References

In the Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong), "Mesopotamia" appears in both the Old and New Testaments.

• Genesis 24:10: Abraham's servant goes to the city of Nahor in Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac and meets Rebekah. Genesis 25:20 and other passages call the same region "Padan-aram."
• Deuteronomy 23:4: Moab and Ammon hired Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia to curse Israel.
• Judges 3:8-10: Chushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, ruled over Israel for eight years, and Othniel delivered Israel.
• 1 Chronicles 19:6: The Ammonites paid a thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia and elsewhere to fight against David.
• Acts 2:9: On the day of Pentecost, those who heard the apostles speaking in their own languages included dwellers in Mesopotamia.
• Acts 7:2: Stephen says that God appeared to Abraham "when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran."

Name and Geography

"Mesopotamia" is Greek for "(the land) between the rivers." The corresponding term in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament is usually "Aram-naharaim," understood to mean "Aram of the two rivers." The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) rendered this term as "Mesopotamia," and Korean translations followed this tradition. Depending on the translation, the term may be transliterated as "Aram-naharaim" or rendered with the modern spelling "Mesopotamia."

In the Old Testament the term generally refers to the northern region around Haran on the upper Euphrates, where the Arameans lived. Today "Mesopotamia" designates the entire basin of the two rivers. Ancient empires such as Babylon and Assyria arose in this region, which covers most of present-day Iraq and parts of Syria and Turkey.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Mesopotamia is the ancestral homeland of Israel's patriarchs. Abraham came to Canaan by way of Ur of the Chaldees and Haran, and the wives of Isaac and Jacob likewise came from among their kin in this region. At the same time, it was the home of powers that oppressed Israel, such as Chushan-rishathaim, Assyria, and Babylon. It was also to this region that the people of Judah were carried away during the Babylonian exile. In the New Testament account of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, dwellers in Mesopotamia are among the crowd who hear the gospel. This passage is often read as marking the beginning of the gospel's spread to the distant lands where the dispersed people lived.

Interpretation and Debated Issues

• The place of the call: Genesis 12:1-4 leads into Abraham's departure from Haran, but Acts 7:2 says that God appeared to him in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran. Genesis 15:7 and Nehemiah 9:7 state that God brought Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees. Many commentators therefore harmonize the accounts by holding that the first call took place in Ur. On this view, Stephen used "Mesopotamia" in a broad sense that includes Ur.
• The location of Ur of the Chaldees: The best-known view identifies it with the site of Ur in the south. Another view places it in the north, near Haran.
• Eden and the Tower of Babel: On the basis of the Hiddekel and the Euphrates in Genesis 2:14 and the plain of Shinar in Genesis 11, the Garden of Eden and the Tower of Babel are commonly associated with Mesopotamia. However, the text does not use this place name directly, and some hold that the location of Eden cannot be known.
• Comparison with flood narratives: Views differ on the relationship between Mesopotamian flood stories (such as the Epic of Gilgamesh) and Noah's Flood. Some hold that they reflect a shared memory of an actual event, others that the Bible recounts the same event from the perspective of a different faith, and still others emphasize literary influence.