Pethor

Pethor is an ancient place-name that appears in the Hebrew Bible as the homeland of Laban the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah. The reference situates parts of Abraham’s extended kin in Mesopotamia and helps connect the patriarchal narratives to the wider Near Eastern world.

The exact location of Pethor is uncertain and it is not clearly identified in extrabiblical sources. In biblical geography, the name is usually associated with Aram Naharaim, the region of Aram near the two rivers, which some scholars equate with northern Mesopotamia and the area around Paddan-Aram.

Scholarly identifications of Pethor vary. Some proposals place it in or near northern Mesopotamia along the Euphrates, with possible links to sites near Harran (modern Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey) or other locales in eastern Syria or southeastern Turkey. Other scholars caution that the identification may be speculative, reflecting broader ancient geographies rather than a single confirmed site.

In biblical narrative, the reference to Pethor contributes to the setting of kinship networks that travel between Canaan and Mesopotamia. It signals the cosmopolitan contacts of Isaac’s broader family and helps explain later interactions involving Rebekah, Laban, and the household in the Deuteronomistic history.

There is no decisive archaeological evidence confirming the precise site of Pethor. As with many ancient toponyms in the Bible, its significance rests primarily in its role within the text’s genealogical and narratival connections rather than in recovered material remains.