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Genesis 11:31:

Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson... and they went forth together... but when they came to Haran, they settled there.

Is there any significance to this being the name of both a place and a person? Why is this? It seems unlikely to me that Haran was named after the place, since he evidently wasn't born there (since they had to travel to get there, and they apparently did so only after Haran himself had died). Is it possible that the place was later named after him?

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Genesis 11:29 New International Version

Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran [H2039 הָרָן], the father of both Milkah and Iskah.

Genesis 12:4

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran [H2771 חָרָן].

They are two different Hebrew words

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  • For those who don't use the Hebrew, it is likely helpful to give both the Hebrew and the transliteration/full spell. Ge. 11:29 - הָרָן HRN/Haran, and Gen. 12:4 - חָרָן ChRN/Charan. It's a mystery, to me, why "Ch (Chet)" is translated as "H (Het)" so often (as well as K to Ch, Ch to K, etc.). Not to mention 'silent letters' that were, once upon a time, apparently not silent.
    – tblue
    Commented Jun 23, 2021 at 10:27

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