“Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traders of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad were your traders,
These were your traders in choice wares, in wrappings of blue and embroidered work, and in chests of rich apparel (or ‘coloured carpets'), bound with cords and made of cedar, among your merchandise.
The list ends with a miscellany of places and products. It could have gone on and on. Haran was on the main route from Nineveh to Aleppo, and after the fall of Nineveh became the capital of Assyria until taken by the Babylonians. Canneh was in Mesopotamia, probably in the area of the middle Euphrates. Eden may be connected with Beth-Eden - see Amos 1:5 - and Bene-Eden, ‘sons of Eden' - 2 Kings 19:12; Isaiah 37:12, which were probably the Aramean state of Bit-Adini, south of Haran. Or it may be related to Hindanu (‘Iddan) on the middle Euphrates. Sheba was in eastern Arabia, but ‘the traders of Sheba' may hint at a well known trading station in Mesopotamia. Asshur (Assyria) was in Mesopotamia, and Chilmad unknown. They exchanged garments, carpets, and finely crafted clothing materials.