What is the…
Sharon Plain
also known as: Saron, Lasharon and HaSharon (Latin)
Hebrew: הַשָּׁרוֹן
This is a level tract extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the hill country to the west of Jerusalem, about 30 miles long and from 8 to 15 miles broad, celebrated for its beauty and fertility (1 Chronicles 27:29; Isaiah 33:9; 35:2; 65:10). It stretches from Nahal Taninim, a stream marking the southern end of Mount Carmel in the north, to the Yarkon River (aka Nahal HaYarkon) in the south (in the Tel Aviv/Jaffa area), over a total of about 56 miles (90 km).
There were small port along this coastline at Dor, Strato’s Tower (Caesarea Maritima), and Apollonia (in Israel—not to be confused with Apollonia in Macedonia).
Historically the plain contained a thick Tabor Oak forest known as the Forest of Sharon, which was eventually deforested.
This level area along the Mediterranean was part of the important Via Maris (or Way of Horus—the Egyptian name), an ancient trade route, dating from the early Bronze Age, linking Egypt with the northern empires of Syria, Mesopotamia and Anatolia. In Latin, Via Maris means “way of the sea,” a translation of the Greek ὁδὸν θαλάσσης found in Isaiah 9:1 of the Septuagint, which is a Greek translation of the Hebrew דֶּ֤רֶךְ הַיָּם֙.
This very important historic road runs in part along the Israeli Mediterranean coast and was the most important route from Egypt to Syria (the Fertile Crescent) which followed the coastal plain before crossing over into the plain of Jezreel and the Jordan valley. Another name is “Way of the Philistines”. Other sites on the Via Maris include: Antipatris (Tel Aphek) and Shimron (Tel Shimron).
The “rose of Sharon” is celebrated (Song of Songs 2:1).
In Joshua 12:18 it is called Lasharon (the article “la” being here a part of the word).
The Plain of Sharon is also mentioned in 1 Chronicles 5:16, 27:29; Isaiah 33:9, 35:2, 65:10.
The Sharon planin is mentioned on an ancient Egyptian stele of Amenhotep II, and as the Sharon field containing both Jaffa and Dor on the Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II (5th century BC). Ancient Joppa (now Jaffa) is today in the Tel Aviv metro area.
The cult of worship of the false god Eshmun gained prominence under rulers like King Eshmunazar II, whose sarcophagus inscriptions invoke Eshmun’s protection.