Damascus

From: Concise Bible Dictionary: D By: George A. Morrish

• 4 min. read • grade level: 11

One of the oldest cities in the world, being mentioned as a known city in the days of Abraham (Gen. 14:15¹⁵And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. (Genesis 14:15); Gen. 15:2²And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? (Genesis 15:2)). Josephus says it was founded by Uz, grandson of Shem. It is not again mentioned in scripture until the time of David. It was the capital of Syria (Isa. 7:8⁸For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. (Isaiah 7:8)). The Syrians of Damascus sided with Hadadezer, king of Zobah, against Israel, but David slew 22,000 of the Syrians (2 Sam. 8:5⁵And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succor Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. (2 Samuel 8:5)). David put garrisons in Syria, and they brought him gifts (1 Chron. 18:3-6³And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah unto Hamath, as he went to stablish his dominion by the river Euphrates. ⁴And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them an hundred chariots. ⁵And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. ⁶Then David put garrisons in Syria-damascus; and the Syrians became David's servants, and brought gifts. Thus the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went. (1 Chronicles 18:3‑6)). Rezon escaped and established himself at Damascus as king of Syria and was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon (1 Kings 11:23-25²³And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: ²⁴And he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus. ²⁵And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. (1 Kings 11:23‑25)).

A few years later Ben-hadad was induced by Judah to attack Baasha king of Israel, when all the land of Naphtali was smitten (1 Kings 15:16-20¹⁶And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ¹⁷And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, ¹⁹There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. ²⁰So Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. (1 Kings 15:16‑20)). About 30 years after this Ben-hadad II besieged Samaria; but God wrought for their deliverance, and Ben-hadad was taken prisoner; but Ahab called him “brother” and released him, for which he was rebuked by a prophet (1 Kings 20). About B.C. 890 Hazael murdered Ben-hadad and became king of Syria; and we read that Jehovah began to cut Israel short and He used Hazael as His instrument. He smote all the coasts of Israel, from Jordan eastward, in Gilead and the lands of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh (2 Kings 10:32-33³²In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel; ³³From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. (2 Kings 10:32‑33)). He took also Gath, and was only diverted from Jerusalem by Jehoash giving up the royal and temple treasures (2 Kings 12:17-18¹⁷Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. ¹⁸And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. (2 Kings 12:17‑18)). Ben-hadad III, his son, continued to exercise dominion over Israel, (2 Kings 13:3-7,22³And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael, all their days. ⁴And Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. ⁵(And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. ⁶Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.) ⁷Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing. (2 Kings 13:3‑7)
²²But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. (2 Kings 13:22)); but Jehovah had compassion on Israel, and Joash, according to the dying prophecy of Elisha, overcame the king of Syria three times and recovered the cities of Israel (2 Kings 13:14-19,23-25¹⁴Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. ¹⁵And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. ¹⁶And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. ¹⁷And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. ¹⁸And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. ¹⁹And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. (2 Kings 13:14‑19)
²³And the Lord was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. ²⁴So Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his son reigned in his stead. ²⁵And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel. (2 Kings 13:23‑25)). Jeroboam also “restored” the coast of Israel, and recovered Damascus and Hamath, according to the prophecy of Jonah (2 Kings 14:23-28²³In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years. ²⁴And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. ²⁵He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath-hepher. ²⁶For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel. ²⁷And the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. ²⁸Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? (2 Kings 14:23‑28)).

About a century later, Rezin king of Syria and Pekah king of Israel attacked Ahaz and besieged Jerusalem. Ahaz sent the royal and temple treasures to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria to induce him to resist Rezin. He attacked Damascus, and took it, and carried away the inhabitants to Kir, and slew Rezin, about B.C. 740 (2 Kings 16:5-9⁵Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. ⁶At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day. ⁷So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. ⁸And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. ⁹And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin. (2 Kings 16:5‑9); Isa. 7:1-9¹And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. ²And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. ³Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; ⁴And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. ⁵Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, ⁶Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: ⁷Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. ⁸For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. ⁹And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. (Isaiah 7:1‑9)).

Isaiah prophesied that Damascus should be a ruinous heap, because of its confederacy with Ephraim against God’s city Jerusalem (Isa. 17:1¹The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. (Isaiah 17:1); compare also Amos 1:3-5³Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron: ⁴But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. ⁵I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the Lord. (Amos 1:3‑5); Jer. 49:23-27²³Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet. ²⁴Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail. ²⁵How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy! ²⁶Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord of hosts. ²⁷And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-hadad. (Jeremiah 49:23‑27); Zech. 9:1¹The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord. (Zechariah 9:1)). God had used the kings of Syria to punish Israel; but, as in other cases, He afterward for their arrogance and cruelty brought them to nothing.

In the time of the Medo-Persian kingdom, Damascus was again rebuilt and was the most famous city of Syria; it afterward belonged to the Greeks, and later to the Romans, and eventually to the Arabs, Saracens, and Turks.

In the New Testament Damascus is of note as the city near to which Paul was converted, and where he received his sight, and began to preach. He escaped from his enemies by being let down by the wall in a basket (Acts 9:2-27²And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. ³And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: ⁴And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? ⁵And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. ⁶And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. ⁷And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. ⁸And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. ⁹And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. ¹⁰And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. ¹¹And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, ¹²And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. ¹³Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: ¹⁴And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. ¹⁵But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: ¹⁶For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. ¹⁷And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. ¹⁸And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. ¹⁹And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. ²⁰And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. ²¹But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? ²²But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. ²³And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: ²⁴But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. ²⁵Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket. ²⁶And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. ²⁷But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. (Acts 9:2‑27); Acts 22:5-11⁵As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. ⁶And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. ⁷And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? ⁸And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. ⁹And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. ¹⁰And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. ¹¹And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. (Acts 22:5‑11)). In 2 Corinthians 11:32³²In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me: (2 Corinthians 11:32) its inhabitants are called DAMASCENES. Damascus was the first Gentile city in which Jesus was preached as “the Son of God”; and though it is now in possession of Mahometans, yet in their great mosque a stone has been preserved that formed part of a church erected on the spot, bearing this inscription in Greek: “Thy kingdom, O Christ, is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.” The city is also lamentably memorable on account of the outburst of Muslim hatred in 1860; when on the 9th, 10th and 11Th of July not less than 2,500 adult Christians were murdered by them in cold blood, and many besides lost their lives in their flight.

The city is beautifully situated at the foot of the south-east range of Antilibanus on a large plain, watered by the two rivers Barada and Awaj (the Abana and Pharpar of 2 Kings 5:12¹²Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. (2 Kings 5:12)), the former of which runs through the city, and may be said to be the life of the place. The plain abounds in corn-fields, olive-groves, and meadows, with vines, figs, apricots, citrons, plums, pomegranates, and other fruits. The city itself is ill-formed and dirty, though some of the houses, in strong contrast with the outside, are well furnished, cool, and clean inside. There is a long street of more than a mile in length that may well have been called “Straight,” but is now a street of Bazaars. This was divided into rows by Corinthian columns, the remains of which can still be traced.

Damascus is now called Dimeshic esh Sham, 33° 30' N, 36° 18' E. Its inhabitants in 1892 were estimated to be 210,000; of whom perhaps 20,000 were Christians, 10,000 Jews, and the rest Mahometans. The Christians and Jews are mostly poor, the greater part of the commerce being in the hands of Muslims. Its trade is extensive, the city having four great roads for its outflow: one on the S.W. to Egypt through Galilee; on the south to Mecca; on the east to Baghdad; and on the west to the Mediterranean. Besides which a railway direct from Beyrout to Damascus and another from Accho and Haifa to Damascus are in progress of construction.

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