ha'-math-zo'-ba (chamath tsobhah; Baisoba) : Mentioned only in 2 Chronicles 8:3. Apart from Great Hamath no site answering to this name is known. It does not seem to be implied that Solomon took possession of Hamath itself, but rather that he "confirmed" his dominion over parts of the kingdom of Zobah, which on its fall may have been annexed by Hamath. The Septuagint's Codex Vaticanus suggests a reading--Bethzobah--omitting all reference to Hamath. On the other hand, the geographical distinctions between Zobah and Hamath having passed away long before Chronicles was written, the double name may have been used to indicate generally the extent of Solomon's conquests, as also to avoid confusion with the Zobah in the Hauran (2 Samuel 23:36).

W. M. Christie

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

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