Hamath

Hamath (meaning fortress or citadel) was the capital of an important Aramaean kingdom in the upper Orontes valley of what is now central Syria, situated approximately 200 kilometers north of Damascus. It appears in the Bible as the ideal northern boundary of the promised land: from the wilderness of Zin unto where one entereth Hamath and the entrance of Hamath define Israel's northern limit in the promises of Numbers 34:8, Joshua 13:5, and the ideal extent of the Davidic-Solomonic empire (1 Kings 8:65).

Hamath had a complex relationship with Israel: its king Tou sent his son with tribute after David's defeat of Hadadezer of Zobah, acknowledging Israelite supremacy (2 Sam. 8:9–10). Solomon built store cities in Hamath-zobah (2 Chr. 8:3–4). The Assyrian deportation of Israel's population to Hamath (2 Kings 17:24) and the city's fall to Assyria (Isa. 10:9; Jer. 49:23; Amos 6:2) signal the expansion of Mesopotamian power that engulfed both Syria and Israel. Modern Hama preserves the ancient name.