Lexical Summary
Chamath: Hamath
Original Word:חֲמָת
Part of Speech:proper name, of a location
Transliteration:Chamath
Pronunciation:khaw-MATH
Phonetic Spelling:(kham-awth')
KJV: Hamath, Hemath
NASB:Hamath
Word Origin:[from the same asH2346 (חוֹמָה - wall)]
1. walled
2. Chamath, a place in Syria
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Hamath, Hemath
From the same aschowmah; walled; Chamath, a place in Syria -- Hamath, Hemath.
see HEBREWchowmah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom the same as
chemethDefinitiona place N. of Damascus
NASB TranslationHamath (30).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
, (√ dubious; Thes MV and others derive from , =
fortress, or (see RS
Semitic i, 140),
sacred enclosure,
temenos,
µim¹, compare Hal
JAS 7 ème Sér. x, 392, Lag
BN 82, 156; but no certainty that name is Shemitic; Arabic
, Assyrian
Amattu, Dl
PA 275 ff.Prov 174); — modern
„amaâ, on
el-±A±ƒi (Orontes), 38 hours (approximately 115 miles) north of Damascus, see Bd
Pal 398 f. It had a king, , in David's time
2 Samuel 8:9 =
1 Chronicles 18:9, and in 8th cent. B.C.
2 Kings 19:13 =
Isaiah 37:13; gods of its own
2 Kings 17:30;
2 Kings 18:34 =
Isaiah 36:19; gave its name to land (limits unknown)
2 Kings 23:33;
2 Kings 25:21;
Jeremiah 39:5;
Jeremiah 52:9,27, compare 2Chronicles 8:4; contained Israel exiles
Isaiah 11:11; furnished colonists for Samaria
2 Kings 17:24 (compare
2 Kings 17:30 above) after being conquered by Sargon, (COT
2 Kings 17:24;
2 Kings 18:34 compare
Isaiah 10:9). It is called
great Hamath by
Amos 6:2 (, only here). is mentioned with , , in prophecy against land Hadrach ()
Zechariah 9:2, compare
Jeremiah 49:23. Often in phrase =
the entrance to H., i.e.
the approach to H., as territorial limit
Judges 3:3; usually as denoting (ideal) northern limit of Israel territory
Joshua 13:5;
Numbers 13:21;
Numbers 34:8;
Amos 6:14;
1 Kings 8:65 2Chronicles 7:8;
2 Kings 14:25;
1 Chronicles 13:5;
1 Chronicles 18:3; 2Chronicles 8:3, and
2 Kings 14:28; so also
Ezekiel 47:48:
Ezekiel 47:17, compare V:16 b + V:16 a (strike out Co);
Ezekiel 48:1, compare
Ezekiel 47:20;
Ezekiel 48:1.
Topical Lexicon
Overviewחֲמָת (Hamath) designates both an ancient city on the Orontes River (modern Hama, Syria) and, by extension, the adjoining valley and kingdom that lay at the northern approach to the land promised to Israel. The name appears in narrative, legal boundary descriptions, royal annals, and prophetic oracles—roughly thirty-six times—always as a strategic northern point of reference.
Geographic Identity
Situated about 110 miles (180 km) north of Damascus, Hamath controlled the main inland route between Mesopotamia and the Levant. Fertile plains, abundant springs, and formidable fortifications made it a natural “gateway” city. Because access to or from Hamath effectively opened the entire Levant, Scripture repeatedly marks “Lebo-Hamath” (“the entrance of Hamath”) as the northernmost limit of Israel’s God-allotted inheritance.
Ethnographic Origin
Genesis 10 lists “the Hamathite” among the sons of Canaan, rooting the city in the original Canaanite dispersion. This ancestry explains why Hamath surfaces side-by-side with Sidon, Arvad, and the Hivites (Judges 3:3); it belonged to the same wider cultural family that Israel was called to displace or bring under covenantal blessing.
Hamath and the Northern Boundary of the Promised Land
•Numbers 13:21 traces the spies’ mission “from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath.”
•Numbers 34:7-8 fixes the inheritance line “from the Great Sea … to Mount Hor, then … to Lebo Hamath, then extend to Zedad.”
•Joshua 13:5 repeats the same northern limit.
By tying the covenant borders to Hamath, the Torah affirms that Israel’s inheritance was neither random nor indefinite; its edges were known to God before Israel set foot in the land.
Hamath in the United Monarchy
David’s victories reverberated as far as Hamath. “When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and bless him” (2 Samuel 8:9-10). Instead of resisting, Hamath’s king sought alliance, acknowledging the Davidic ascendancy. Later, Solomon’s dominion stretched “from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates” (1 Kings 4:24), encompassing Hamath and fulfilling the ideal boundaries set out in the Torah.
Hamath in the Divided Kingdom and the Assyrian Era
Northern kings tried—briefly—to regain Davidic reach: “Jeroboam restored the border of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah” (2 Kings 14:25). Yet Hamath’s regional gods soon stood as object lessons of impotence:
• “Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?” (2 Kings 18:34; 19:13;Isaiah 37:13).
• The Assyrians transplanted conquered peoples to Samaria and deported others to Hamath (2 Kings 17:24, 30), introducing the syncretistic worship of Ashima.
Hamath thus became a witness to the covenant curses: when Israel aped the nations’ idolatry, she shared their exile.
Hamath in the Prophets
Prophets used Hamath both to warn Israel and to preview universal redemption.
• Amos mocked Israel’s complacency: “Go to Calneh … go from there to great Hamath … Are they better than your kingdoms?” (Amos 6:2). Judgment would spread “from Lebo Hamath to the Brook of the Arabah” (Amos 6:14).
•Jeremiah 49:23 pictures Hamath trembling as divine wrath approaches Damascus.
• Zechariah names Hamath in the restoration oracle: “And on Hamath also, which borders on it, for it too is wise” (Zechariah 9:2). The surrounding verses promise a coming King who will “proclaim peace to the nations” (Zechariah 9:10), implying that even Hamath will one day rest under Messiah’s reign.
Post-exilic Echoes
Although Hamath never again served as a political ally or foe after the exile, its name lingered as a fixed point in Israel’s collective memory of both boundary and bondage. By Ezekiel’s visionary temple-land allocations (Ezekiel 47:15-17; 48:1), the future restored Israel still reaches “to the entrance of Hamath,” underscoring the unchanging plan of God.
Theological Themes
1. Covenant Certainty: Hamath forms a God-set landmark. Though Israel’s obedience fluctuates, the Lord’s original promise remains traceable on any map.
2. Sovereign Dominion: Kings and empires rise or fall around Hamath’s gates, but Yahweh alone decides who holds the strategic corridor.
3. Idolatry versus Living God: Hamath’s powerless idols stand in sharp relief to the Lord who “stretches out the heavens” (Isaiah 40:22).
4. Eschatological Hope: References in Zechariah and Ezekiel envision Hamath included in future peace, foreshadowing the gospel’s reach “to the ends of the earth.”
Ministry Application
• Boundaries Matter: Just as God fixed territorial limits, He defines moral and doctrinal borders for His people today. True freedom lies within the scope of His revelation.
• Faith over Fortresses: Hamath’s formidable walls could not secure it against divine judgment; only trust in the Lord provides lasting safety (Psalm 20:7).
• Missions Perspective: The prophetic expectation that northern Syria would one day share in messianic peace encourages contemporary believers to carry the gospel to every “Hamath” still waiting at the fringe.
Hamath’s story—silent ruins beside a living river—still speaks: the Word of God stands firm, the kingdoms of this world pass, and the gracious King is coming whose dominion will extend far beyond the entrance of Hamath.
Forms and Transliterations
בַּחֲמָֽת׃ בחמת׃ וּמֵ֣חֲמָ֔ת וּמֵֽחֲמָת֙ ומחמת חֲמַ֣ת חֲמָ֑ת חֲמָ֑תָה חֲמָ֔ת חֲמָ֖ת חֲמָ֛ת חֲמָ֜ת חֲמָ֡ת חֲמָ֣ת ׀ חֲמָ֤ת ׀ חֲמָֽת׃ חֲמָת֙ חמת חמת׃ חמתה ba·ḥă·māṯ bachaMat baḥămāṯ chaMat chaMatah ḥă·mā·ṯāh ḥă·maṯ ḥă·māṯ ḥămaṯ ḥămāṯ ḥămāṯāh ū·mê·ḥă·māṯ umechaMat ūmêḥămāṯ
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