Naharaim
/ˌnɑːhəˈraɪm/noun
A biblical name for a region associated with Aram and located between or around two rivers, generally identified with northern Mesopotamia.
Did you know?Naharaim is often understood as the Hebrew form behind the biblical phrase Aram-Naharaim, while the Greek translation rendered the region as Mesopotamia—literally “between rivers.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*nahr-
“River or flowing water”
2nd Millennium BCE
Akkadian
nāru
“River; a major watercourse”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
נָהָר (nāhār)
“River”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם (Aram-Năhārayim)
“Aram of the two rivers; a region associated with northern Mesopotamia”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Μεσοποταμία (Mesopotamía)
“The land between rivers”
Modern English
English
Naharaim
“A biblical and historical name for the two-river region, especially in the expression Aram-Naharaim”