Abram received his calling from God in Ur of the Chaldeans (15:7; Acts 7:2–4). This was the main city of Sumer in Mesopotamia near the Persian Gulf. The family had moved there perhaps generations before this calling. Their original home ("country," Genesis 12:1) was probably near Haran, in the region of Shem's descendants (11:10–26). They settled in Haran after leaving Ur (11:31). Later, they were described as Arameans (Deuteronomy 26:5).
native land: The same Hebrew phrase appears in 12:1 ("country"), indicating that Ur, not Haran, was where Abram received his calling (see 15:7; Nehemiah 9:7; Acts 7:2).