Hamath

In Bible versions:

Hamath: NET AVS NIV NASB TEV
Lebo-Hamath: NET
Zedad: NET AVS NIV NRSV NASB TEV
Hamath-Rabbah: NET
Hamath Zobah: NET
Hammath: NET AVS NIV NRSV NASB TEV
Hamath-Zobah: AVS TEV
hamath: NRSV
Hamath-zobah: NRSV NASB

a town of Syria on the Orontes between Aleppo and Damascus (OS)
a town of unknown location
a town on the west shore of Lake Galilee
a town 50 km ESE of Kadesh & 35 km WNW of Hazar-Enan

---

anger; heat; a wall
the heat, or the wall, of an army
his side; his hunting

NETBible Maps: Map3 C3

Google Maps: Hamath (35° 8´, 36° 44´); Hammath (33° 7´, 35° 9´); Lebo-hamath (35° 8´, 36° 44´); Zedad (34° 18´, 36° 55´)

Hebrew

Strongs #02574: tmx Chamath

Hamath = "fortress"

n pr loc
1) the principle city of upper Syria in the valley of the Orontes

n pr m
2) father of the house of Rechab

2574 Chamath kham-awth'

from the same as 2346; walled; Chamath, a place in
Syria:-Hamath, Hemath.
see HEBREW for 02346

Strongs #02578: hbwu tmx Chamath Tsowbah

Hamath-Zobah = "fortress of Zobah"

1) a town site unknown; maybe same as 'Hammath'

2578 Chamath Tsowbah kham-ath' tso-baw'

from 2574 and 6678; Chamath of Tsobah; Chamath-Tsobah;
probably the same as 2574:-Hamath-Zobah.
see HEBREW for 02574
see HEBREW for 06678
see HEBREW for 02574

Strongs #02575: tmx Chammath

Hammath = "hot spring"

1) one of the fortified cities in the territory allotted to Naphtali

2575 Chammath klam-math'

a variation for the first part of 2576; hot springs;
Chammath, a place in Palestine:-Hammath.
see HEBREW for 02576

Strongs #06657: ddu Ts@dad

Zedad = "mountain side"

1) one of the landmarks on the northern border of Israel as promised
by Moses and restated by Ezekiel

6657 Tsdad tsed-awd'

from the same as 6654; a siding; Tsedad, a place near
Palestine:-Zedad.
see HEBREW for 06654

Hamath [EBD]

fortress, the capital of one of the kingdoms of Upper Syria of the same name, on the Orontes, in the valley of Lebanon, at the northern boundary of Palestine (Num. 13:21; 34:8), at the foot of Hermon (Josh. 13:5) towards Damascus (Zech. 9:2; Jer. 49:23). It is called "Hamath the great" in Amos 6:2, and "Hamath-zobah" in 2 Chr. 8:3.

Hamath, now Hamah, had an Aramaean population, but Hittite monuments discovered there show that it must have been at one time occupied by the Hittites. It was among the conquests of the Pharaoh Thothmes III. Its king, Tou or Toi, made alliance with David (2 Sam. 8:10), and in B.C. 740 Azariah formed a league with it against Assyria. It was, however, conquered by the Assyrians, and its nineteen districts placed under Assyrian governors. In B.C. 720 it revolted under a certain Yahu-bihdi, whose name, compounded with that of the God of Israel (Yahu), perhaps shows that he was of Jewish origin. But the revolt was suppressed, and the people of Hamath were transported to Samaria (2 Kings 17:24, 30), where they continued to worship their god Ashima. Hamah is beautifully situated on the Orontes, 32 miles north of Emesa, and 36 south of the ruins of Assamea.

The kingdom of Hamath comprehended the great plain lying on both banks of the Orontes from the fountain near Riblah to Assamea on the north, and from Lebanon on the west to the desert on the east. The "entrance of Hamath" (Num. 34:8), which was the north boundary of Palestine, led from the west between the north end of Lebanon and the Nusairiyeh mountains.

Hamath-zobah [EBD]

fortress of Zobah, (2 Chr. 8:3) is supposed by some to be a different place from the foregoing; but this is quite uncertain.

Hammath [EBD]

warm springs, one of the "fenced cities" of Naphtali (Josh. 19:35). It is identified with the warm baths (the heat of the water ranging from 136 degrees to 144 degrees) still found on the shore a little to the south of Tiberias under the name of Hummam Tabariyeh ("Bath of Tiberias").

Zedad [EBD]

side; sloping place, a town in the north of Palestine, near Hamath (Num. 34:8; Ezek. 47:15). It has been identified with the ruins of Sudud, between Emesa (Hums) and Baalbec, but that is uncertain.

Hamath [NAVE]

HAMATH, called also Hemath. A city of upper Syria, Num. 13:21; 34:8; Josh. 13:5; 1 Kin. 8:65; Ezek. 47:16.
Inhabited by Canaanites, Gen. 10:18.
Prosperity of, Amos 6:2.
David receives gifts of gold and silver from Toi, king of, 2 Sam. 8:9, 10; 1 Chr. 18:3, 9, 10.
Conquest of, by Jeroboam, 2 Kin. 14:25, 28; by the Chaldeans, 2 Kin. 25:20, 21.
Israelites taken captive to, Isa. 11:11.
Prophecy concerning, Jer. 49:23.
Solomon builds store cities in, 2 Chr. 8:4.

Hamath-zobah [NAVE]

HAMATH-ZOBAH, a town on the border of Palestine. Subdued by Solomon, 2 Chr. 8:3.

Hammath [NAVE]

HAMMATH, a fortified city of Naphtali, Josh. 19:35.
See: Hammon; Hammoth-dor.

Zedad [NAVE]

ZEDAD, a place near Hamath, Num. 34:8; Ezek. 47:15.

HAMATH [SMITH]

(fortress), the principal city of upper Syria, was situated in the valley of the Orontes, which it commanded from the low screen of hills which forms the water-shed between the source of the Orontes and Antioch. The Hamathites were a Hamitic race, and are included among the descendants of Canaan. (Genesis 10:18) Nothing appears of the power of Hamath until the time of David. (2 Samuel 8:9) Hamath seems clearly to have been included in the dominions of Solomon. (1 Kings 4:21-24) The "store-cities" which Solomon "built in Hamath," (2 Chronicles 8:4) were perhaps staples for trade. In the Assyrian inscriptions of the time of Ahab (B.C. 900) Hamath appears as a separate power, in alliance with the Syrians of Damascus, the Hittites and the Phoenicians. About three-quarters of a century later Jeroboam the Second "recovered Hamath." (2 Kings 14:28) Soon afterwards the Assyrians took it, (2 Kings 18:34; 19:13) etc., and from this time it ceased to be a place of much importance. Antiochus Epiphanes changed its name to Epiphaneia. The natives, however, called it Hamath even in St. Jerome?s time, and its present name, Hamah , is but slightly altered from the ancient form.

HAMMATH [SMITH]

(warm springs), one of the fortified cities in the territory allotted to Naphtali. (Joshua 19:35) It was near Tiberias, one mile distant, and had its name Chammath, "hot baths," because it contained those of Tiberias. In the list of Levitical cities given out of Naphtali, (Joshua 21:32) the name of this place seems to be given as HAMMOTH-DOR.

ZEDAD [SMITH]

(mountain side), one of the landmarks on the north border of the land of Israel, as Promised by Moses, (Numbers 34:8) and as restored by Ezekiel. (Ezekiel 47:15) A place named Sudud exists to the east of the northern extremity of the chain of Anti-Libanus, about fifty miles east-northeast of Baalbec . This may be identical with Zedad.

HAMATH [ISBE]

HAMATH - ha'-math (chamath; Hemath, Haimath; Swete also has Hemath): The word signifies a defense or citadel, and such designation was very suitable for this chief royal city of the Hittites, situated between their northern and southern capitals, Carchemish and Kadesh, on a gigantic mound beside the Orontes. In Am 6:2 it is named Great Hamath, but not necessarily to distinguish it from other places of the same name.

1. Early History:

The Hamathite is mentioned in Gen 10:18 among the sons of Canaan, but in historic times the population, as the personal names testify, seems to have been for the most part Semitic. The ideal boundary of Israel reached the territory, but not the city of Hamath (Nu 34:8; Josh 13:5; Ezek 47:13-21). David entered into friendly relations with Toi, its king (2 Sam 8:9 ff), and Solomon erected store cities in the land of Hamath (2 Ch 8:4). In the days of Ahab we meet with it on the cuneiform inscriptions, under the name mat hamatti, and its king Irhuleni was a party to the alliance of the Hittites with Ben-hadad of Damascus and Ahab of Israel against Shalmaneser II; but this was broken up by the battle of Qarqar in 854 BC, and Hamath became subject to Assyria. Jeroboam II attacked, partially destroyed, and held it for a short time (2 Ki 14:28; Am 6:2). In 730 BC, its king Eniilu paid tribute to Tiglath-pileser, but he divided its lands among his generals, and transported 1,223 of its inhabitants to Sura on the Tigris. In 720, Sargon "rooted out the land of Hamath and dyed the skin of Ilubi'idi (or Jau-bi'idi) its king, like wool" and colonized the country with 4,300 Assyrians, among whom was Deioces the Mede. A few

years later Sennacherib also claims to have taken it (2 Ki 18:34; 19:13; 1 Ch 36:19; 37:13). In Isa 11:11, mention is made of Israelites in captivity at Hamath, and Hamathites were among the colonists settled in Samaria (2 Ki 17:24) by Esarhaddon in 675 BC. Their special object of worship was Ashima, which, notwithstanding various conjectures, has not been identified.

2. Later History:

The Hamathite country is mentioned in 1 Macc 12:25 in connection with the movements of Demetrius and Jonathan. The Seleucids renamed it Epiphaneia (Josephus, Ant, I, vi, 2), and by this name it was known to the Greeks and the Romans, even appearing as Paphunya in Midrash Ber Rab chapter 37. Locally, however, the ancient name never disappeared, and since the Moslem conquest it has been known as Hama. Saladin's family ruled it for a century and a half, but after the death of Abul-fida in 1331 it sank into decay.

3. Modern Condition:

The position of Hama in a fruitful plain to the East of the Nusairiyeh Mountains, on the most frequented highway between Mesopotamia and Egypt, and on the new railway, gives it again, as in ancient times, a singular significance, and it is once more rising in importance. The modern town is built in four quarters around the ancient citadel-mound, and it has a population of at least 80,000. It is now noted for its gigantic irrigating wheels. Here, too, the Hittite inscriptions were first found and designated Hamathite.

4. Entering in of Hamath:

In connection with the northern boundary of Israel, "the entering in of Hamath" is frequently mentioned (Nu 13:21; 1 Ki 8:65, etc., the American Standard Revised Version "entrance"). It has been sought in the Orontes valley, between Antioch and Seleucia, and also at Wady Nahr el-Barid, leading down from Homs to the Mediterranean to the North of Tripoli. But from the point of view of Palestine, it must mean some part of the great valley of Coele-Syria (Biqa'a). It seems that instead of translating, we should read here a place-name--"Libo of Hamath"--and the presence of the ancient site of Libo (modern Leboue) 14 miles North-Northeast of Baalbek, at the head-waters of the Orontes, commanding the strategical point where the plain broadens out to the North and to the South, confirms us in this conjecture.

W. M. Christie

HAMATH-ZOBAH [ISBE]

HAMATH-ZOBAH - ha'-math-zo'-ba (chamath tsobhah; Baisoba) : Mentioned only in 2 Ch 8:3. Apart from Great Hamath no site answering to this name is known. It does not seem to be implied that Solomon took possession of Hamath itself, but rather that he "confirmed" his dominion over parts of the kingdom of Zobah, which on its fall may have been annexed by Hamath. The Septuagint's Codex Vaticanus suggests a reading--Bethzobah--omitting all reference to Hamath. On the other hand, the geographical distinctions between Zobah and Hamath having passed away long before Chronicles was written, the double name may have been used to indicate generally the extent of Solomon's conquests, as also to avoid confusion with the Zobah in the Hauran (2 Sam 23:36).

W. M. Christie

HAMMATH [ISBE]

HAMMATH - ham'-ath (chammath, "hot spring"):

(1) "The father of the house of Rechab" (1 Ch 2:55).

(2) One of the fenced cities of Naphtali, named with Zer, Rakkath and Chinnereth (Josh 19:35). It is doubtless identical with Emmaus mentioned by Josephus (Ant., XVIII, ii, 3; BJ, IV, i, 3) as near Tiberias, on the shore of the lake of Gennesareth. It is represented by the modern el-Chammam, nearly 2 miles South of Tiberias. It was, of course, much nearer the ancient Tiberias, which lay South of the present city. The hot baths here, "useful for healing," in the time of Josephus, have maintained their reputation. In recent years, indeed, there has been a marked increase in the number of sick persons from all parts who visit the baths. The waters are esteemed specially valuable for rheumatism and skin troubles. In the large public bath the water has a temperature of over 140 degree Fahr. Parts of the ancient fortification still cling to the mountain side above the baths; and the remains of an aqueduct which brought fresh water from sources in the Southwest may be traced along the face of the slopes. Hammath is identical with Hammon (1 Ch 6:76); and probably also with Hammoth-dor (Josh 21:32).

W. Ewing

ZEDAD [ISBE]

ZEDAD - ze'-dad (tsedhadhah, only found with He locale; Samaritan tseradhah; Septuagint Saradak, Sadadak, Saddak): A town or district named in Nu 34:8; Ezek 47:15 as on the ideal northern boundary of Israel. The uncertainty of the reading has led to two different identifications being proposed. The form "Zerad" was accepted by yon Kasteren, and his identification was Khirbet Serada in the Merj `Ayun, West of the Hasbany branch of the Jordan and North of `Abil. This identification, however, would compel us to draw the ideal boundary along the Qasmiyeh valley and thence eastward to Hermon, and that is much too far South If with Dillmann, Wetzstein, Muehlau and others we read "Zedad," then it is clearly identical with Sadad, a village on the road between Ribleh and Qaryetain. It has been objected that Sadad is too far to the East; but here, as in the tribal boundaries also, the references are rather to the district or lands possessed than to their central town or village.

W. M. Christie