What is…
Hamath

also known as: Hama, Hamah, Hamath the great, Hemath and Hamath-zobah

Hebrew: חֲמָת —transliteration: Chamath —transliteration: fortress

This is the capital of one of the kingdoms of Upper Syria of the same name, on the Orontes river, in the valley of Lebanon, at the northern boundary of Israel (Numbers 13:21; 34:8), at the foot of Mount Hermon (Joshua 13:5) towards Damascus (Zechariah 9:2; Jeremiah 49:23).

Its people are called Hamathites or Hamites, as they are descendants of the patriarch Canaan, son of HAM (son of Noah) (Genesis 10:18; 1 Chronicles 1:16). Thus, they are also Hamites.

Hamath was the capital of a Canaanite kingdom (Genesis 10:18; 2 Kings 23:33; 25:21), whose king congratulated King David on his defeat of Hadadezer, king of Zobah (2 Samuel 8:9–11; 1 Chronicles 18:9–11).

The city is called “Hamath the great” in Amos 6:2, and “Hamath-zobah” in 2 Chronicles 8:3.

Go over to Calneh and look,
And go from there to Hamath the great,
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. …—Amos 6:2 excerpt

Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and overpowered it. —2 Chronicles 8:3

Hamath, now Hama, 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.

Modern Hama, Syria sits on the banks of the Orontes River, 132 miles (213 km) north of Damascus.

An ancient king of Hamath named Tou or Toi, made an alliance with King David (2 Samuel 8:10), and in 740 BC Azariah formed a league with it against Assyria. It was, however, conquered by the Assyrians, and its 19 districts placed under Assyrian governors.

Ancient Assyrian engraving (reproduction) of Hamath’s Governor Yahu-bihdi being flayed alive due to rebellion

In 720 BC it revolted under Hamath’s goveror Yahu-bihdi (aka Ilu-Bihdi), whose name, compounded with that of an abbrevation 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 false god Ashima (2 Kings 17:30 — Canaanite goddess of fate). The governor is depicted in an Assyrian as being cruelly flayed alive as punishment.

• About idolatry and false gods in the Bible
• About idols in the Bible
• About Ancient Syria in the Bible

Kingdom of Hamath

The Kingdom of Hamath included the great plain lying on both banks of the Orontes River from the spring near Riblah and to the north, and from Lebanon on the west to the desert on the east. The “entrance of Hamath” (Numbers 34:8), which was the north boundary of Israel, led from the west between the north end of Lebanon and the Nusairiyeh mountains.

Location

Hama (Hamah) is beautifully situated on the Orontes River, 132 miles (213 km) north of Damascus and 29 miles (46 km) north of Homs, Syria. It is one of modern Syria’s four largest cities. In ancient times it fell under the rule of many invading kingdoms, including the Amorites, Hittites, Assyrians, Persians, Romans, Muslims, and Ottoman empire.