place · also Lebo-hamath
Hamath
חֲמָת
Hamath, also known as Hamath Rabbah or Lebo-hamath, was a significant city and kingdom in Syria, frequently mentioned in the Bible as a reference point for the northern border of Israel and in the context of political and military events (Num.13:21; Judges 3:3; 2Ki.14.25, 28; Jeremiah 39:5; 49:23; 52:9, 27).
- verses
- 34
- first named
- Numbers 13:21
- last named
- Zechariah 9:2
- feature
- region
- coordinates
- 35.14°N · 36.75°E
Hama (OpenBible)
Scholarship offers 4 identifications for this place. The leading one is shown; the others are recorded in the gazetteer.
Description
Hamath in the text
Hamath, also referred to as Hamath Rabbah or Lebo-hamath, was a prominent city and kingdom located in Syria, north of Israel. It is mentioned numerous times throughout the Old Testament, often serving as a reference point for the northern extent of Israel's territory (Numbers 13:21; 34:8; Joshua 13:5; Judges 3:3; 1Ki.8.65; 2Ch.7.8; Ezk.47.15-17, 20; 48:1; Amo.6.14).
Hamath had its own kings, such as Toi, who sent his son Joram to congratulate David on his victories over Hadadezer (2Sa.8.9-10; 1Ch.18.9-10). The city was known for its military strength and strategic importance, as evidenced by its mentions in the context of conflicts and conquests (2Ki.14.28; 17:24, 30; 18:34; 19:13; Isaiah 10:9; 36:19; 37:13; Jeremiah 39:5; 49:23; 52:9, 27).
During the reigns of various Israelite kings, Hamath served as a marker of the extent of their dominion. Jeroboam II, king of Israel, is said to have restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath to the Sea of the Arabah (2Ki.14.25). Solomon, known for his expansive kingdom, is described as having ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt, including Tiphsah and Gaza (1Ki.4.21, 24).
The Assyrians conquered Hamath in the 8th century BC and deported some of its inhabitants to Samaria (2Ki.17.24, 30). The fall of Hamath is mentioned in the prophetic oracles of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos, often in the context of judgment against the city for its pride and wickedness (Isaiah 10:9; Jeremiah 49:23; Amo.6.2).
In the prophetic visions of Ezekiel, Hamath is mentioned as one of the boundaries of the restored land of Israel (Ezk.47.15-17, 20; 48:1), indicating its continued significance as a geographical marker.
The exact location of Hamath is believed to be near the modern-day city of Hama in western Syria, situated along the Orontes River. Its strategic location along trade routes and its proximity to Israel made it a city of great importance in the ancient Near East.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
The pattern
Where Hamath is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
34 verses across 13 of 66 books; 53 write the name nowhere. Named in Numbers (2), Joshua (1), Judges (1), 2 Samuel (1), 1 Kings (1), 2 Kings (8), 1 Chronicles (2), 2 Chronicles (2), Isaiah (4), Jeremiah (4), Ezekiel (5), Amos (2) and Zechariah (1).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 34, across 13 books. The name is written 35 times in them.
Onward
Where this page goes
Nothing in the graph stands one hop from this entity yet. These are the best-connected entities of the same type, so the page still ends somewhere. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
What happened here
Atlas's reading of each chapter this place appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
- 1 Chronicles 13Lebo-hamath marks the northern reach of the assembly gathered by David.
- 2 Chronicles 7Lebo-hamath formed the other end of the great assembly gathered for the feast.
- Isaiah 10Hamath is compared with Arpad as Assyria measures one conquest against another.
- Ezekiel 47Hamath lies to the north of the boundary described for the land.
- Amos 6Hamath is named as a great kingdom to be crossed and compared with Israel.
- Zechariah 9Hamath borders the threatened cities.
Sources