Lexical Definition

‎אוּר‎ ʼÛwr (oor) Ur ^N:N-M-P
the same as ‎אוּר‎

Ur.

• § Ur = "flame"
• Ur, a place in Chaldaea
• also an Israelite

1) city in southern Babylonia, city of the Chaldeans, centre of moon worship, home of Abraham's father, Terah, and departure point for the Abraham's migration to Mesopotamia and Canaan

Brown-Driver-Briggs

II. ‎אוּר‎ proper name, masculine (flame) father of one of David's heroes 1Chr 11:35 (III. ‎אוּר‎ proper name, of a location see below)

III. ‎אור‎ proper name, of a location Ur (Babylonian Uru; seat of moon-god worship; hence Eupolemos in Euseb^{Praep.Ev.ix. 17} says Καμαρίνῃ ἥν τινας λέγειν πόλιν Οὐρίην), ancient city in Southern Babylonia; OT always ‎אור כַּשְׂדִּים‎ i.e. Ur of the Kasdim (Chaldeans) see ‎כַּשְׂדִּים‎ below ‎כשׂד‎; home of Terah, Abram's father, & A.'s point of departure for Mesopotamia & Canaan Gen 11:28; Gen 15:7 (both J), & hence Neh 9:7 also Gen 11:31 (P); — modern Muqayyar, south of Euphrates, approximately 150 miles southeast of Babylon; see KG^{94 f} Dl^{Pa 226 f} COT on Gen 11:28. ‎אֲוֵרוֺת‎ see ‎אֻרְיָה‎ below I. ‎ארה‎. ‎אֲוַרְנָה‎ see ‎אֲרַוְנָה‎

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Ur • The hometown of Abraham in Mesopotamia

Ur of the Chaldeans, the hometown of Abraham in Mesopotamia, from where God called him to go to the land of Canaan (Gen. 11:28, 31; 15:7; Neh. 9:7).

• A location first mentioned at Gen.11.28;
• only referred to as Ur אוּר.
  

Ur, also known as Ur of the Chaldeans, was an ancient city located in southern Mesopotamia, near the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It is best known as the hometown of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites. According to Genesis, Abraham (then called Abram) lived in Ur with his father Terah, his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot (Gen. 11:28-31). God called Abraham to leave Ur and go to the land of Canaan, promising to make him a great nation and a blessing to all the families of the earth (Gen. 12:1-3). Abraham obeyed and set out from Ur, traveling first to Haran and then to Canaan (Gen. 11:31; 12:4-5). Later, when God confirms His covenant with Abraham, He reminds him that He brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give him the land of Canaan (Gen. 15:7). The city of Ur is also mentioned in Nehemiah 9:7, where the Levites recount God's faithfulness in bringing Abraham out of Ur and making a covenant with him. Archaeologists have identified the ancient city of Ur with modern-day Tell el-Muqayyar in southern Iraq, which was once a thriving center of Sumerian civilization. The biblical account of Abraham's origins in Ur highlights God's sovereign plan in calling and guiding His chosen people from the very beginning.

All entries for Ur: אוּר