I. Name
It has been speculated that the biblical figure of Serug, a relative of the Israelite patriarchs (Gen. 11.20–23), bears the name of the city Sarug known from first millennium cuneiform sources. The city, in turn, would have been named after a deity (Lewy 1934).
II. Identity
There is no extra-biblical evidence whatsoever attesting to the cult of a god Serug (or Sarug). Lewy’s argument is based on circular reasoning. He writes: “In view of the evidence that the cities of Ḫarrān, Naḫur, and Sarūg bear …