Sometimes, the stories are wilder than you'd expect. Take Africa, for example. You might not think it, but some traditions trace the name all the way back to Abraham himself!
According to some accounts, one of Abraham's grandsons through Keturah, named Epher, led an army into Lybia and basically took over. And that Epher, so the story goes, is the one who gave the entire continent of Africa its name. It’s just one of those little nuggets you find in texts like Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg that makes you go, "Wow!"
But the naming game doesn't stop there. What about the land of Aram? Well, a kinsman of Abraham also plays a role in that story.
Now, this gets a little genealogical, so bear with me. Terah, Abraham's father, apparently remarried in his old age to a woman named Pelilah. From that union came a son, Zoba, who himself had three sons. The eldest of these was named Aram. This Aram was incredibly wealthy and powerful. So much so that the old family home in Haran just wasn’t big enough for him, his brothers, and all the descendants of Nahor, Abraham's brother.
So, Aram and his entire clan packed up and left Haran. They settled in a valley and built a city there, and what did they call it? Aram-Zoba, naturally – a way to remember both his father, Zoba, and himself, the firstborn. That's according to Legends of the Jews, drawing from various traditions about the origins of these places.
But hold on, there's more! There’s another Aram we need to talk about: Aram-naharaim, which means "Aram of the Two Rivers." This one was located on the Euphrates. This Aram was built by Aram, the son of Kemuel, who was actually Abraham's nephew. According to Legends of the Jews, its real name was Petor, after Aram's son, but it's far better known as Aram-naharaim.
And one last bit of ancient city-founding for you: The descendants of Kesed, another of Abraham’s nephews (a son of his brother Nahor), settled opposite Shinar. There, they founded the city of Kesed. And get this, according to Ginzberg, that’s where the Chaldeans get their name – they were known as the Kasdim.
Isn't it fascinating how these ancient stories intertwine family, migration, and the very names of places we still talk about today? It makes you wonder, doesn’t it, about the stories behind the names all around us, just waiting to be uncovered.