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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
The
Hebrew
Aram
So indefinitely bounded at different
times
as to have been associated with
Assyria
(whence its name) and
Babylon
. More definitely the country to the
north
of
Canaan
, extending from the Tigris to the Mediterranean, and northward to the Taurus
ranges
.
Damascus
was the capital, and center of wealth, learning, and
power
.
Joshua
subdued its petty kings (
Josh. 11:2-18
2
And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west,
3
And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
4
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
5
And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
6
And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.
7
So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.
8
And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.
9
And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.
10
And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms.
11
And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire.
12
And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded.
13
But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn.
14
And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.
15
As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.
16
So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;
17
Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them.
18
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. (Joshua 11:2‑18)
);
David
reduced it to submission (2 Sam. 8; 10). During
Solomon
’s reign it became independent (
1 Kings 11:23-25
23
And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah:
24
And 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.
25
And 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)
). The earliest recorded settlers in
Syria
were
Hittites
and other Hamitic races. The Shemitic element entered it from the southeast under
Abraham
and
Chedorlaomer
. After Syria became independent it was a persistent enemy of the Jews (
1 Kings 15:18-20; 20; 22
18
Then 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,
19
There 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.
20
So 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 15:18‑20)
;
2 Kings 6:8-33; 7; 9:14-15; 10:32-33; 13:3,14-25
8
Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
9
And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.
10
And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
11
Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?
12
And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
13
And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
14
Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
15
And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16
And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17
And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
18
And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19
And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.
20
And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
21
And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
22
And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
23
And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
24
And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
25
And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.
26
And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
27
And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?
28
And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
29
So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.
30
And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
31
Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
32
But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?
33
And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any longer? (2 Kings 6:8‑33)
14
So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.
15
But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel. (2 Kings 9:14‑15)
32
In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;
33
From 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)
3
And 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. (2 Kings 13:3)
14
Now 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.
15
And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.
16
And 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.
17
And 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.
18
And 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.
19
And 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.
20
And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
21
And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.
22
But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
23
And 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.
24
So Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his son reigned in his stead.
25
And 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 13:14‑25)
). The attempt of the
Syrian
king to ally
Israel
with him for the overthrow of
Judah
led
Ahaz
to call in the help of Assyria, and Syria was soon merged into the great
Assyrian
empire. It was conquered by
Alexander
the Great, B. C. 333, and finally fell to the
lot
of Seleucus Nicator, who made it the central province of his empire, with the capital at Antioch. The
Syriac
language was closely allied to the Hebrew.
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
In
scripture
this name mostly signifies the district lying
north
and north-
east
of
Palestine
, the inhabitants of which were Syrians. If from
Dan
to Beersheba be taken as the boundaries of Palestine, it leaves for Syria a district quite as large on its north, besides extending also to the
Euphrates
on the east. For the sub-divisions of Syria mentioned in scripture see
ARAM
.
There are but few references to the Syrians in the early part of scripture. In connection with
Rebekah
the wife of
Isaac
,
Laban
(grandson of Nahor,
Abraham
’s
brother
) “the Syrian” is introduced (
Gen. 25:20
20
And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. (Genesis 25:20)
;
Gen. 28:5
5
And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. (Genesis 28:5)
;
Gen. 31:20,24
20
And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. (Genesis 31:20)
24
And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. (Genesis 31:24)
); and an Israelite, in presenting his
basket
of
first-fruits
, was instructed to confess before the
Lord
, “A Syrian ready to perish was my
father
,” followed by a rehearsal of what
God
had done for the descendants of
Jacob
, and how He had brought them into the promised land (
Deut. 26:5
5
And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: (Deuteronomy 26:5)
). The only reference to the name in the
New
Testament
is in
Luke 4:27
27
And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. (Luke 4:27)
, where it is stated that there were many lepers in
Israel
in the days of
Elisha
, but none were cured but
Naaman
the Syrian.
Damascus
was the capital of the part of Syria which was often in conflict with Israel. It was conquered in
David
’s reign and was subject to
Solomon
; but after the division of the
kingdom
it revolted and was again hostile to Israel. It became merged into the
Assyrian
and Babylonian empires. After that it passed to the
Persians
, and then submitted to
Alexander
the Great. On his
death
it came under the
power
of Seleucus Nicator, who built Antioch and made it his capital. For many years his successors contended with the Ptolemies for the possession of Palestine. See
ANTIOCHUS
. In B.C. 63 Syria was conquered by Pompey, and Palestine became subject to
Rome
. After the decline of Rome, Syria and Palestine had many different masters, and eventually fell into the hands of the Turks, who are still their owners.
The only
governor
of Syria mentioned in the New Testament is Cyreniu (
Luke 2:2
2
(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) (Luke 2:2)
). Palestine was divided into sub-provinces after the death of Herod. The Lord in His journeys visited some of the borders of Syria, and His fame went throughout all Syria (
Matt. 4:24
24
And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. (Matthew 4:24)
). After Antioch had become a sort of central station from whence
the gospel
went out to the
Gentiles
,
Paul
traveled throughout Syria and
Cilicia
confirming the churches (
Acts 15:23,41
23
And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: (Acts 15:23)
41
And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. (Acts 15:41)
).
It will be seen that the physical features of Western Syria and Palestine are very similar—their
natural
contour indeed being the same.
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Jackson’s
Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names
:
exalted
Related Books and Articles:
Ancient Syria
From:
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“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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