Places in the Bible Today:

Hamath-zobah

Data

Translated NamesHamath, Hamath-Zobah, Hamath-zobah, Hamath Zobah, Zobah, Zobah-Hamath
Typesregion or settlement
Geo Data KML (for Google Earth)
GeoJSON (for GIS applications)

4 Possible Identifications

  1. another name for Hamath 1 (ancient): 50% confidence
    1. ruins at HamaHama

  2. in Zobah (ancient): 25% confidence
    1. panorama of the Beqaa Valley in Zobahin Zobah

  3. Baalbek (modern): 15% confidence
    1. building at BaalbekBaalbek

  4. another name for Zobah (ancient): less than 10% confidence
    1. panorama of the Beqaa Valley in ZobahZobah

Verses (2)

  1. 1Chr 18:3
  2. 2Chr 8:3

Linked Data Identifiers

SourceIdentifier
Biblemapper.com487
Logos FactbookHamath-Zobah
OpenBible.info (2007)Hamath-zobah, Zobah-Hamath
OpenBible.infoab6a417 (Hamath-zobah)
TIPNRHamath@Num.13.21, Zobah-Hamath@1Ch.18.3
UBS Names Databaseot ID_1084, ot ID_2490
WikidataQ5644151

Sources

  1. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (1992): Hamath-zobah (place)
  2. Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2013): Hamath Zobah
  3. Grollenberg, Atlas of the Bible (1957): Hamath-zobah
  4. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979): Hamath-Zobah
  5. IVP Old Testament Bible Background Commentary (2000): 2Chr 8:3
  6. New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (1988): Hamath-zobah
  7. Tyndale Bible Dictionary (2001): Hamath-zobah
  8. Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible (1956): Hamath-zobah
  9. Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (1975): Hamath-zobah
  10. Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (2010)
  11. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (2009): 1Chr 18:1

Confidence Trends over Time

This chart indicates how confidence in the identifications is changing over time. Each dot (connected by a dotted line) reflects the confidence of an identification over the preceding ten years (e.g., the 2009 dot reflects scholarship from 2000 to 2009), and the corresponding solid line reflects a best-fit line for the identification. Confidences that cluster near or below 0% indicate low confidence. Because of the small dataset, it's best to use this chart for general trends; if one identification is trending much higher than the others, for example, then you can probably have higher confidence in the identification. This chart only reflects the sources I consulted (listed above), not an exhaustive review of the literature.

Places with Similar Names

Thumbnail Image Credits

TheRealHuldra, Sami Bado, Saadedine AL SAIDI

About

This page attempts to identify all the possible locations where this biblical place could be. The confidence levels add up to less than 100%, indicating that the modern location is uncertain. It's best to think about the confidences in relative rather than absolute terms. Often they reflect different schools of thought, each confident in their identifications.

The isobands you see on the map (gray areas with dark borders) attempt to give you confidence where a region is. Because many ancient regions aren't precisely defined, I consulted atlases to determine where the biblical region is located and used that data to build the isobands. The smaller isobands reflect more confidence that the given isoband is in the region, while the larger isobands reflect less confidence. Isobands are a kind of contour line that here indicate confidence levels.