I cheapness (Pococke, Travels, ii, pt. i, p. 143 sq.; Burck. hardt, Travels in Syria, p. 146 sq. ; Handbook for Syria and Palesilne,u,6-2Q; Richter, 11' «///*«/( /-^ew, p. 231; corap.
: Rosenm tiller's Bib. Geogr. ii, 243-246; Biblioth. Saa-a,
I 1848, p. 680 sq.; Kobinson's Res, new ed. iii, 551, 568). " The ENTKANCE OF Ha>iath," or " entering into Ila-
t moYA" (n^n Nia ; Sept. tl(nroptvo[iivwv tiQ Al/xci^, Vidg. introiium Emath), is a phrase often used in the O. T. as a geographical name. It is of considerable im- portance to identify it, as it is one of the chief land-
\ marks on the northern border of the land of Israel. There can be no doubt that the sacred writers apply the
j phrase to some well-known " pass" or " opening" into the kingdom of Hamath (Numb, xxxiv, 8 ; Josh, xiii, .")). The kingdom of Hamath embraced the great plain lying along both banks of the Orontes, from the foun- tain near Kiblah on the south to Apamea on the north,
I 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 Coele-Sj'ria, betx\een the parallel ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Leba- non ; the other from the west, between the northern end of Lebanon and the Nusairiyeh Mountains. The former is the natural "entrance" from Central Palestine, the latter from the sea-coast. The former is on the extreme south of the kingdom of Hamath, the latter on its west- ern border.
Until v.'ithin the last few years sacred geographers have almost imiversally maintained that the southern opening is the " entrance of Hamath." Reland supposed that the entrance described in Numb, xxxiy, 8, 10, did not extend further north than the parallel of Sidom ( 'onsecpiently, he holds that the southern extremitj' of the valley of Ccele-Syria, at the base of Ilermon, is the
j "entrance" of Hamath {Pal(estina,\>. 118 sq.). Kitto set forth this view in greater detail {Pictorial Bible) ; and he would identify the "entrance of Hamath" ^vith the expression used in Numb, xiii, 21, " as men come to
j Hamath." Of late, however, some writers regard the latter as onlj- intended to define the position of Beth-re- hob, which was situated on the road leading from Cen- tral Palestine to Hamath — " as men come to Hamath ;" that is, in the great valley of Ccele-Syria. Van de Vekte appears to locate the "entrance of Hamath" at the north- ern end of the valley of Coele-Syria {Travels, ii,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, \t. 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 ojiening towards the west, between Lebanon .ind the Nusairiyeh IMountains. The reasons are as follow : 1. That opening forms a distinct and natural northern boundary for the land of Israel, such as is evidently re- quired by the following passages : 1 Kings viii, 65 ; 2 Kings xiy,25; 1 Chron. xiii, 5; Amos vi, 14. 2. The "entrance of Hamath" is spoken of as being from the western border or sea-board; for ^Moses says, after de- scribing 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 oat unto the entrance of Hamath" (Numb, xxxiv, 7, 8). Com- pare this with Ezek. xlvii, 20, " the west side shall be the great sea from the (southern) border, till a man come over against Hamath;" and yer. 16, where the "way of Hethlon as men go to Zedad" is mentioned, and is man- ifestly identical with the " entrance of Hamath," and
I can be none other than the opening here alluded to. 3.
[ Tlie "entrance of Hamath" must have been to the north
I of the entire ridges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon (.Josh, -xiii, 5; Judg. iii, 3); but the openmg from Ccele-Syria into the plain of Hamath is not so. 4. The territory of Hamath was included in the " Promised Land," as
: described both by jMoses and Ezekiel (Numb, xxxiv, 8-
I 11; Ezek. xlvii, 15-20; xlviii, 1). The "entrance of
(
HAMATHITE
47
HAMILTON
Hamath" is one of the marks of its northern border; but tlic opening from C«le-Syria is on the extreme south of the territory of Hamath, and could not, therefore, be identical with the " entrance of Hamath." 5. The " en- trance to Hamath" was on the eastern border of Pales- tine, but north of Riblah (Numb, xxxiv, 10, 11), which is still extant between Hums and the northern point of Anti-Lebanon. See Kiblah. G. This position agrees with those of the other names associated on the north- erly and easterly boundaries, e. g. jMount Hor, Hazar- Enan, etc. (see Porter's Damascus, ii, 354 sq. ; also Eob inson, Biblical Ees. iii, 5G8). — Kitto, s. v. These argu- ments, however, will be found, on a closer inspection, to be incorrect (see Keil and Delitzsch, Comment, on Pen- tat, iii, 255 sq.). The only real force in any of them is that derived from the sujiposed identity of Zedad (q. V.) and Siphron (q. v.) ; and this is counterbalanced by the facts (I) that this district never was actually occu- pied by tiie Israelites, and (2) that the more definite description of the boundary of Asher and NaphtaU in Josh, xix, 24-39 does not extend so far to the north, Hence we incline to the older views on this question. See Tribe,