Where Was the Biblical Abraham Born?

According to Genesis, Abraham hailed from a Mesopotamian city called “Ur Kasdim,” a name usually rendered in English as “Ur of the Chaldeans.” Most commentators have read this passage to mean that Abraham was born in Ur, although the great 13th-century rabbinic scholar and exegete Moses Nahmanides argues that Abraham was born not in Ur but in the land of Haran, in northern Mesopotamia. Reuven Chaim Klein disposes of this claim in light of rabbinic commentaries and archaeological knowledge about the city of Ur and the Chaldean language: