Aran
(wild goat), a Horite, son of Dishan and brother of Uz. Genesis 36:28; 1Chr 1:42
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Aran
Aran a'-ran ('aran, "wild goat"): A son of Dishan, the Horite (Ge 36:28; 1Ch 1:42). It may possibly be connected with the Yerahmelite Oren ('-ren) (1Ch 2:25; compare Curtis, Chron. at the place; Dillmann, Gen at the place; ZDMG, L, 168); Robertson Smith claims that this name is equivalent to the Samaritan ('-r-n), "wild goat" (Jour. Phil., IX, 90). J. Jacobs translates it by "ass" (Stud. Biblical Arch., 71). This is one of the many totem names in the Bible. More than one-third of the Horites, the descendants of Seir, bear animal names, and those clans of the Edomites connected with the Horites also have animal names. The very name "Self" means a "he-goat," and Dishan, "a gazelle" (Stud. Biblical Arch., 70-72). Gray, however, remarks that "the instance (Aran) is most uncertain" (HPN, 108). ⇒See a list of verses on ARAN in the Bible. Samuel Cohon ⇒See the definition of araneous in the KJV Dictionary ⇒See also the McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Aran
Son of Dishan the Horite (Gn 36*, 1 Ch 1*=), a descendant of Esau. The name denotes ' a wild goat,' and Dishan ' an antelope ' or ' gazelle ' ; while Seir the ancestor is 'the he-goat.' On the subject of Totem-clans in the Bible, see Jacobs' Biblical ArcluEology (1894), pp. 64-103, and Robertson Smith on ' Animal Worship and Animal Tribes among the Ancient Arabs and in OT ' (Joum. of Philology, No. 17, vol. ix., 1880). H. E. RVLE. ARARA"r (D-ry*, 'Ap^fi-Io).— The Biblical A. is the As.syrian Ur.ardhu (Urasdhu in the Persian period), the name given to the kingdom which hail its centre on the shores of Lake Van. The name seems to be connected with Urdhfl, which a cuneiform lexical tablet (WAI ii. 486, 13) ex- plains as ' Highlands' (7'i7/a),* and whicli appears as Urdlies in an inscription of the native king S.ar-duris n. , who describes it as in the neigh- bourhood of Lake Erivan. In Herodotus (in. 94) the word takes the form of Alarodians. The cuneiform writing of Assyria was borrowed by the inhabitants of the country in the 9tli cent. B.C., and we leam from the inscriptions composed…
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia