HAMATH-ZOBAH

(Haʹmath-zoʹbah).

A place apparently conquered by King Solomon and thus figuring in his only military engagement alluded to in Scripture. (2 Chron. 8:3) The exact identity of Hamath-zobah is uncertain. Hamath and Zobah may have been adjoining kingdoms (compare 1 Chronicles 18:9; 2 Chronicles 8:4), whence the compound name “Hamath-zobah.” That two neighboring geographical locations may be joined in this way is illustrated by 1 Chronicles 6:78. The literal Hebrew of this text reads “the Jordan Jericho” or “the Jordan of Jericho,” and is usually rendered “the Jordan at [by] Jericho.”—NW, RS, AV.