Hamath
HAMATH
A celebrated city of Syria. Hamath, like Jerusalem and Damascus, is one of the few places in Syria and Palestine which have retained a certain degree of importance from the very earliest ages to the present time. The name occurs in Gen 10:18, as the seat of a Canaanitish tribe; and it is often mentioned as the northern limits of Canaan in its widest extent, Num 13:21 ; Jos 13:5 ; Jdg 3:3 . In David’s time, Toi king of Hamath was his ally, 2Sa 8:9,10 .Burckhardt describes Hamath as “situated on both sides of the Orontes; a part of it is built on the declivity of a hill, and a part in the plain. The town is of considerable extent, and must contain at least 30,000 inhabitants. There are four bridges over the Orontes in the town. The river supplies the upper town with water by means of buckets fixed to high wheels, which empty themselves into stone canals, supported by lofty arches on a level with the upper part of the town. There are about a dozen of the wheels; the largest of them is at least seventy feet in diameter. The principal trade of Hamath is with the Arabs, who buy here their tent furniture and clothes. The government of Hamath comprises about one hundred and twenty inhabited villages, and seventy or eighty which have been abandoned. The western part of its territory is the granary of the northern Syria, though the harvest never yields more than ten for one, chiefly in consequence of the immense numbers of mice, which sometimes wholly destroy the crops.” “The entering in of Hamath” is the northern part of the valley which leads up to it from Palestine, between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, Num 13:21 ; 1Ki 1:53 .
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Hamath
(Heb. Chamath’, , fortress; Sept. , , and ), a large and important city, capital of one of the smaller kingdoms of Syria, of the same name, on the Orontes, at the northern boundary of the Holy Land. Thus it is said (Num 13:21) that the spies went up and searched the land, from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. Gesenius is probably right in deriving the word from the Arabic root Chamaz, to defend; with this agrees the modern name of the city Hamnah. The city was at the foot of Hermon (Jos 13:5; Jdg 3:3), towards Damascus (Zec 9:2; Jer 49:20; Eze 47:16). The kingdom of Hamath, or, at least, the southern or central parts of it, appear to have nearly corresponded with what was afterwards denominated Caele-Syria (q.v.). It is more fully called Hamath the Great in Amo 6:2, or HAMATH-ZOBAH in 2Ch 8:3. The country or district around is called the land of Hamath (2Ki 23:33; 2Ki 25:21).
Hamath is one of the oldest cities in the world. We read in Gen 10:18 that the youngest or last son of Canaan was the Hamathite (q.v.) apparently so called because he and his family founded and colonized Hamath. It was a place of note, and the capital of a principality, when the Israelites conquered Palestine; and its name is mentioned in almost every passage in which the northern border of Canaan is defined (Num 13:22; Num 34:8; 1Ki 8:65; 2Ki 14:25, etc.). Toi was king of Hamath at the time when David conquered the Syrians of Zobah, and it appears that he had reason to rejoice in the humiliation of a dangerous neighbor, as he sent his own son Joram to congratulate the victor (2Sa 8:9-10), and (apparently) to put Hamath under his protection. Hamath was conquered by Solomon (2Ch 8:3), and its whole territory appears to have remained subject to the Israelites during his prosperous reign (2Ch 8:4-6). The store-cities which Solomon built in Hamath (2Ch 8:4) were perhaps for staples of trade, the importance of the Orontes valley as a line of traffic always being great. On the death of Solomon and the separation of the two kingdoms, Hamath seems to have regained its independence. In the Assyrian inscriptions of the time of Ahab (B.C. 900) it 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 (2Ki 14:28); he seems to have dismantled the place, whence the prophet Amos, who wrote in his reign (Amo 1:1), couples Hamath the Great with Gath, as an instance of desolation (Amo 6:2). At this period the kingdom of Hamath included the valley of the Orontes, from the source of that river to near Antioch (2Ki 23:33; 2Ki 25:21). It bordered Damascus on the south, Zobab. on the east and north, and Phoenicia on the west (1Ch 18:3; Eze 47:17; Eze 48:1; Zec 9:2). In the time of Hezekiah, the town, along with its territory, was conquered by the Assyrians (2Ki 17:24; 2Ki 18:34; 2Ki 19:13; Isa 10:9; Isa 11:11), and afterwards by the Chaldaeans (Jer 39:2; Jer 39:5). It is mentioned on the cuneiform inscriptions (q.v.). It must have been then a large and influential kingdom, for Amos speaks emphatically of Hamath the Great (6, 2); and when Rabshakeh, the Assyrian general, endeavored to terrify king Hezekiah into unconditional surrender, he said, Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? (Isa 37:12-14; 2Ki 18:34 sq.). SEE ASHIMA. The frequent use of the phrase, the entering in of Hamath, also shows that this kingdom was the most important in Northern Syria (Jdg 3:3). Hamath remained under the Assyrian rule till the time of Alexander the Great, when it fell into the hands of the Greeks. The Greeks introduced their noble language as well as their government into Syria, and they even gave Greek names to some of the old cities; among these was Hamath, which was called Epiphania (), in honor of Antiochus Epiphanes (Cyril, Comment. ad Amos).
This change of name gave rise to considerable doubts and difficulties among geographers regarding the identity of Hamath. Jerome affirms that there were two cities of that name-Great Hamath, identical with Antioch, and another Hamath called Epiphania (Comment. ad Amos , 6). The Targums in Num 13:22 render Hamath Anztukia (Reland, Palcest. p. 120). Eusebius calls it a city of Damascus, and affirms that it is not the same as Epiphania; but Jerome states, after a careful investigation, reperi AEmath urbem Coeles Syrie appellari, quae nunc Graeco sermone Epiphania dicitur (Onomast. s.v. AEmath and Emath). Theodoret says that Great Hanath was Emesa, and the other Hamath Epiphania (Comment. ad Jeremiah 4). Josephus is more accurate when he tells us that Hamath was still called in his day by the inhabitants , although the Macedonians called it Epiphania (Ant. 1, 6, 2). There is reason to believe that the ancient name Hamath was always retained and used by the Aramaic-speaking population; and, therefore, when Greek power declined, and the Greek language was-forgotten, the ancient name in its Arabic form Hamh became universal (so in Eze 47:16, first occurrence). There is no ground whatever for Reland’s theory (Palaest. p. 121) that the Hamath spoken of in connection with the northern border of Palestine was not Epiphania, but some other city much further south. The identification of Riblah and Zedad places the true site of Hamath beyond the possibility of doubt (Porter, Damascus, 2, 355, 354).
Epiphania remained a flourishing city during the Roman rule in Syria (Ptolemy, 5, 15; Pliny, Hist. Nat, 5, 19). It early became, and still continues, the seat of a bishop of the Eastern Church (Caroli a san. Paulo, Geogr. Sac. p. 288). It was taken by the Mohammedans soon after Damascus. On the death of the great Saladin, Hamath was ruled for a long period by his descendants, the Eiyubites. Abulfeda, the celebrated Arab historian and geographer of the 14th century, was a member of this family and ruler of Hamh (Bohadin, Vita Saladini; Schulten’s Index Geographicus, s.v. Hamata). He correctly states (Tab. Syriae, p. 108) that this city is mentioned in the books of the Israelites. He adds: It is reckoned one of the most pleasant towns of Syria. The Orontes flows round the greater part of the city on the east and north. It boasts a lofty and well-built citadel. Within the town are many dams aid water-machines, by means of which the water is led off by canals to irrigate the gardens and supply private houses. It is remarked of this city and of Schiazar that they abound more in water-machines than any other cities in Syria.
This description still, in a great degree, applies. Hamath is a picturesque town, of considerable circumference, and with wide and convenient streets. In Burckhardt’s time the attached district contained 120 inhabited villages, and 70 or 80 that lay waste. It is now a town of 30,000 inhabitants, of whom about 2500 are Greek Christians, a few Syrians, some Jews, and the rest Moslems. It is beautifully situated in the narrow and rich valley of the Orontes, thirty-two miles north of Emesa, and thirty-six south of the ruins of Assamea (Antonini Itinerarium, edit. Wesseling, p. 188). Four bridges span the rapid river, and a number of huge wheels turned by the current, like those at Verona, raise the water into rude aqueducts, which convey it to the houses and mosques. There are no remains of antiquity now visible. The mound on which the castle stood is in the center of the city, but every trace of the castle itself has disappeared. The houses are built of sun-dried bricks and timber. Though plain and poor externally. some of them have splendid interiors. They are built on the rising banks of the Orontes, and on both sides of it, the bottom level being planted with fruit-trees, which flourish in the utmost luxuriance. The western part of the district forms the granary of Northern Sria, though the harvest never yields more than a tenfold return, chiefly on account of the immense numbers of mice, which sometimes completely destroy the crops. The inhabitants carry on a considerable trade in silks and woolen and cotton stuffs with the Bedawin. A number of noble but decayed Moslem families reside in Hamah, attracted thither by its beauty, celebrity, and cheapness (Pococke, Travels, 2, pt. 1, p. 143 sq.; Burckhardt, Travels in Syria, p. 146 sq.; Handbook for Syria and Palestine, 2, 620; Richter, Wallfahrten, p. 231; comp. Rosenmller’s Bib. Geogr. 2, 243-246; Biblioth. Sacra, 1848, p. 680 sq.; Robinson’s Res. new ed. 3:551, 568).
The ENTRANCE OF HAMATH, or entering into Hamath ( ; Sept. , Vulg. introitum Emath), is a phrase often used in the O.T. as a geographical name. It is of considerable importance to identify it, as it is one of the chief landmarks on the northern border of the land of Israel There can be no doubt that the sacred writers apply the phrase to some well-known pass or opening into the kingdom of Hamath (Num 34:8; Jos 13:5). The kingdom of Hamath embraced the great plain lying along both banks of the Orontes, from the fountain near Riblah on the south to Apamea on the north, and from Lebanon on the west to the desert on the east. To this plain there are two remarkable entrances one from the south, through the valley of Cele-Syria, between the parallel ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon; the other from the west, between the northern end of Lebanon and the Nusairtyeh Mountains. The former is the natural entrance from Central Palestine, the latter from the seacoast. The former is on the extreme south of the kingdom of Hamath, the latter on its western border.
Until within the last few years sacred geographers have almost universally maintained that the southern opening is the entrance of Hamath. Reland supposed that the entrance described in Num 34:8; Num 34:10, did not extend further north than the parallel of Sidon. Consequently, he holds that the southern extremity of the valley of Caele-Syria, at the base of Hermon, is the entrance of Hamath (Palaestina, p. 118 sq.). Kitto set forth this view in greater detail (Pictorial Bible); and he would identify the entrance of Hamath with the expression used in Num 13:21, as men come to Hamath. Of late, however, some writers regard the latter as only intended to define the position of Beth-rehob, which was situated on the road leading from Central Palestine to Hamath- as men come to Hamath; that is, in the great valley of Caele-Syria. Van de Velde appears to locate the entrance of Hamath at the northern end of the valley of Caele-Syria (Travels, 2, 470); and Stanley adopts the same view (Sinai and Palest. p. 399). Dr. Keith would place the entrance of Hamath at that sublime gorge through which the Orontes flows from Antioch to the sea (Land of Israel, p. 112 sq.). A careful survey of the whole region, and a study of the passages of Scripture on the spot, however, leads Porter to conclude that the entrance of Hamath must be the opening towards the west, between Lebanon and the Nusairiyeh Mountains. The reasons are as follow:
1. That opening forms a distinct and natural northern boundary for the land of Israel, such as is evidently required by the following passages: 1Ki 8:65; 2Ki 14:25; 1Ch 13:5; Amo 6:14.
2. The entrance of Hamath is spoken of as being from the western border or sea-board; for Moses says, after describing the western border, This shall be your north border, from the great sea ye shall point out for you Mount Hor; from Mount Hor ye shall point out unto the entrance of Hamath (Num 34:7-8). Compare this with Eze 47:20, the west side shall be the great sea from the (southern) border, till a man come over against Hamath; and Eze 47:16, where the way of Hethlon as men go to Zedad is mentioned, and is manifestly identical with the entrance of Hamath, and can be none other than the opening here alluded to.
3. The entrance of Hamath must have been to the north of the entire ridges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon (Jos 13:5; Jdg 3:3); but the opening from Caele-Syria into the plain of Hamath is not so.
4. The territory of Hamath was included in the Promised Land, as described both by Moses and Ezekiel (Num 34:8-11; Eze 47:15-20; Eze 48:1). The entrance of Hamath is one of the marks of its northern border; but the opening from Caele-Syria is on the extreme south of the territory of Hamath, and could not, therefore, be identical with the entrance of Hamath.
5. The entrance to Hamath was on the eastern border of Palestine, but north of Riblah (Num 34:10-11), which is still extant between Hums and the northern point of Anti-Lebanon. SEE RIBLAH.
6. This position agrees with those of the other names associated on the northerly and easterly boundaries, e.g. Mount Hor, Hazar Ellan, etc. (see Porter’s Damascus, 2, 354 sq.; also Robinson, Biblical Res. 3:568). These arguments, however, will be found, on a closer inspection, to be incorrect (see Keil and Delitzsch, Comment, on Pentat. 3:255 sq.). The only real force in any of them is that derived from the supposed identity of Zedad (q.v.) and Siphron (q.v.); and this is counterbalanced by the facts (1) that this district never was actually occupied by the Israelites, and (2) that the more definite description of the boundary of Asher and Naphtali in Jos 19:24-39 does not extend so far to the north. Hence we incline to the older views on this question. SEE TRIBE.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Hamath
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.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Hamath
The chief city of upper Syria, in the valley of the Orontes, commanding the whole valley, from the low hills which form the watershed between the Orontes and the Liturgy, to the defile of Daphne below Antioch; this was “the kingdom of Hamath.” An Hamitie race (Gen 10:18). Akin to their neighbours the Hittites. “The entering in of Hamath,” indicates that it (the long valley between Lebanon and Antilebanon) was the point of entrance into the land of Israel for any invading army, as the Assyrians and Babylonians, from the N. The southern approach to Hamath from Coelosyria between Libanus and Antilibanus formed the northern limit to Israel’s inheritance (Num 13:21; Num 34:8; Jos 13:5).
It was an independent kingdom under Tou or Toi in David’s time; Toi sent presents to David who had destroyed the power of Hadarezer, Toi’s enemy (2Sa 8:9-11). Tributary to Solomon who built “store cities” in it (2Ch 8:4) as staples for the trade which passed along the Orontes valley. Mentioned as an ally of the Syrians of Damascus in the Assyrian inscriptions of Ahab’s time. Jeroboam II “recovered Hamath” (2Ki 14:25); but it was subjugated soon by Assyria (2Ki 18:34; Amo 6:2; Amo 6:14), Who calls it “Hamath the great.” Solomon’s feast congregated all Israel “from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt” (1Ki 8:65). The same point from which Solomon’s kingdom began was the point from which, according to Amos’ prophecy, began the triumph of Israel’s foes for Israel’s sin. From Antiochus Epiphanes it afterward got the name Epiphaneia.
It has resumed its old name little changed, Hamah; remarkable for its great waterwheels for raising water from the Orontes for the gardens and houses. The alah or “high land” of Syria abounds in ruins of villages, 365 according to the Arabs. Hamath stones have been found, four blocks of basalt inscribed with hieroglyphics, first noticed by Burckhardt in 1810; the characters in cameo raised from two to four lines, not incised, as other Syrian inscriptions. The names of Thothroes III and Amenophis I are read by some scholars in them. Burton thinks these inscriptions form a connecting link between picture writing and alphabetic writing. Probably they were Hittite in origin.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
HAMATH
The city of Hamath was situated in the north of Lebanon, at the end of the Lebanon ranges and on the edge of the Syrian plain. In the time of David its leaders were friendly with Israel (2Sa 8:9-10), and in the time of Solomon it was controlled by Israel (2Ch 8:3-4). After Solomons death it regained its independence, but it again came briefly under Israelite control during the reign of Jeroboam II (2Ki 14:25).
At the northern end of the Lebanon ranges was a prominent gap known as the entrance of Hamath, where Lebanon opened on to the plains of Syria. This gap, or pass, marked Israels ideal northern boundary (Jos 13:5; Amo 6:14), but only in times of unusual growth and prosperity was it the actual boundary (2Ki 14:25). (For further details see LEBANON.)
Fuente: Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
Hamath
HAMATH.A city on the Orontes, the capital of the kingdom of Hamath, to the territory of which the border of Israel extended in the reign of Solomon (1Ki 8:65), who is related to have built store-cities there (2Ch 8:4). Jeroboam ii., the son of Joash, restored the kingdom to this northern limit (2Ki 14:25; 2Ki 14:28), and it was regarded as the legitimate border of the land of Israel (Num 34:8, Jos 13:5), and was employed as a geographical term (Num 13:21, cf. Jdg 3:3). The Hamathite is mentioned last of the sons of Canaan in the table of nations (Gen 10:18, 1Ch 1:16). During the time of David, Toi was king of Hamath (2Sa 8:9); the greatness of the city is referred to by the prophet Amos (Amo 6:2), and it is classed by Zechariah with Damascus, Tyre and Zidon (Zec 9:1 f.). The city was conquered by Tiglath-pileser iii. and Sargon, and part of its inhabitants were deported and the land was largely colonized by Assyrians; its capture and subjugation are referred to in the prophetic literature (Isa 10:9, Jer 49:23; cf. also 2Ki 18:34, Isa 36:19, 2Ki 19:13). Hamath is mentioned as one of the places to which Israelites were exiled (Isa 11:11), and it was also one of the places whose inhabitants were deported to colonize Israelite territory on the capture of Samaria (2Ki 17:24; 2Ki 17:30). See Ashima.
L. W. King.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Hamath
hamath (, hamath; , 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 Amo 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 (Num 34:8; Jos 13:5; Eze 47:13-21). David entered into friendly relations with Toi, its king (2Sa 8:9), and Solomon erected store cities in the land of Hamath (2Ch 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 (2Ki 14:28; Amo 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 (2Ki 18:34; 2Ki 19:13; Isa 36:19; Isa 37:13). In Isa 11:11, mention is made of Israelites in captivity at Hamath, and Hamathites were among the colonists settled in Samaria (2Ki 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 (Num 13:21; 1Ki 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.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Hamath
Hamath, one of the smaller kingdoms of Syria, having Zobah on the east and Rehob on the south. This last kingdom, lying within the greater Mount Hermon, is expressly said to have been taken possession of by the Israelites, and, like Dan or Laish, which is represented to have been in the valley of Bethrehob (Jdg 18:28), is used to denote the northern boundary of the Holy Land. The approach to it from the south is by an opening or mountain-pass, called ‘the entrance of Hamath,’ and ‘the entering in of Hamath,’ which, being the passage from the northern extremity of the land of Israel into Syria, is sometimes used to describe the boundary of the former in this direction, as ‘from the entering in of Hamath to the river of Egypt’ (1Ki 8:65).
The kingdom of Hamath, or, at least, the southern or central parts of it, appear to have nearly corresponded with what was afterwards denominated Cle-Syria; but northwards, it stretched as far as the city Hamath on the Orontes, which seems to have been the capital of the whole country. Toi was king of Hamath at the time when David conquered the Syrians of Zobah; and it appears that he had reason to rejoice in the humiliation of a dangerous neighbor, as he sent his own son Joram to congratulate the victor (2Sa 8:9-10). In the time of Hezekiah the town along with its territory was conquered by the Assyrians (2Ki 17:24; 2Ki 18:34; 2Ki 19:13; Isa 10:9; Isa 11:11); and afterwards by the Chaldeans (Jer 39:2; Jer 39:5). Hamath is still a picturesque town, of considerable circumference, and with wide and convenient streets. In Burckhardt’s time the attached district contained 120 inhabited villages, and 70 or 80 that lay waste. The western part of this district forms the granary of Northern Syria, though the harvest never yields more than a tenfold return, chiefly on account of the immense numbers of mice, which sometimes completely destroy the crops.
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Hamath
H2574
Called also Hemath.
A city of upper Syria
Num 13:21; Num 34:8; Jos 13:5; 1Ki 8:65; Eze 47:16
Inhabited by Canaanites
Gen 10:18
Prosperity of
Amo 6:2
David receives gifts of gold and silver from Toi, king of Hamath
2Sa 8:9-10; 1Ch 18:3; 1Ch 18:9-10
Conquest of, by Jeroboam
2Ki 14:25; 2Ki 14:28
Conquest of, by the Chaldeans
2Ki 25:20-21
Israelites taken captive to
Isa 11:11
Prophecy concerning
Jer 49:23
Solomon builds store cities in
2Ch 8:4
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Hamath
Hamath (h’math), fortress, citadel. A city of Syria. It was founded by a son of Canaan, Gen 10:18; Num 34:8, and was situated in the valley of the Orontes. It was 165 miles in a straight line north of Jerusalem; was visited by the spies, Num 13:21, and it is frequently noticed as the northern boundary of Palestine. Num 34:8; Jos 13:5. Its king, Toi, blessed David for his victory over Zobah, 2Sa 8:9-12; Solomon extended his kingdom to Hamath, 1Ki 8:65; 2Ch 8:4, and built store-cities in that region; afterward the city and country became independent, but were again subdued by Jeroboam II. 2Ki 14:25. 28. It was taken by the Assyrians, 2Ki 18:34; Isa 10:9; Amos calls it “Hamath the great,” and speaks of its desolation. Amo 6:2. Its modern name is Hamah, and it is now a place of 30,000 inhabitants.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Hamath
Ha’math. (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. Gen 10:18.
Nothing appears of the power of Hamath, until the time of David. 2Sa 8:9. Hamath seems clearly to have been included in the dominions of Solomon. 1Ki 4:21-24. The “store-cities” which Solomon “built in Hamath,” 2Ch 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.” 2Ki 14:28. Soon afterwards, the Assyrians took it, 2Ki 18:34; 2Ki 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.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
HAMATH
a city and kingdom north of Damascus
Num 13:21; Num 34:8; 2Ki 17:24; 2Ki 18:34; 2Ki 23:33; 1Ch 18:3; 2Ch 8:4; Isa 10:9
Fuente: Thompson Chain-Reference Bible
Hamath
a city of Syria, capital of a province of the same name, lying upon the Orontes, Jos 13:5; Jdg 3:3; 2Ki 14:25; 2Ch 7:8. The king of Hamath cultivated a good understanding with David, 2Sa 8:9. This city was taken by the kings of Judah, and afterward retaken by the Syrians, and recovered from them by Jeroboam the Second, 2Ki 14:28.