Ezekiel 47:15

The northern border. The two ends of the line of delimitation on the N. are the great sea on the west and Hazar Enon on the east. The line passes from west to east, bending, towards its termination at least, towards S.E. In its way it skirts the territory of Hamath and that of Damascus.

asmen go to Zedad In Ezekiel 47:20 and Ezekiel 48:1 the reading is "as one goeth to Hamath," a frequent phrase, sometimes rendered "the entering into Hamath" (Joshua 13:5), or "the entering in of Hamath" (Judges 3:3; 1 Kings 8:65), or "the entrance of Hamath" (Numbers 34:8). In 1 Kings 8:65 the phrase seems to mean the southern boundary of Hamath. Unfortunately the point on the western sea from which the line starts is not specified, as the situation of Hethlon is unknown. The entrance to Hamath must be either the mouth of the Bukâ", the great plain between the Libanus on the W. and the Anti-libanus on the E., by which one goes N. to Hamath, or it must be the plain between the North end of the Libanus and the Nusairîyeh mountains, opening from the sea and running east. This would throw the boundary-line north of Tripoli, and south of Arvad. In Joshua 13:5, the land of the Giblites, i.e. Gebal (Byblus) to the N. of Beirut, is regarded as part of Israel's possession. In Numbers 34:8, where the northern boundary is described, the reading is the "entrance of Hamath," Zedad being mentioned afterwards. Except in 1 Chronicles 5:9 the phrase is only used of Hamath. Following Ezekiel 48:1, and Numbers 34:8, the place of Zedad and Hamath may be changed, as LXX. also seems to have read Hamath before Zedad. 15 "And this shall be the boundary of the land: on the N. side, from the great sea by the way of Hethlon, where the way goeth unto Hamath, by Zedad, 16 Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, even unto Hazar-hattikon, which is by the border of Hauran." If we could suppose the entry to Hamath not the southern one by the plain of Cœle Syria, but the western one from the sea to the N. of Tripoli, Hethlon might be the modern Heitela (Robinson's Map, 1852). Zedad has been supposed to be Sadad, S. of Emesa (Homs) and not far from Riblah. With Berotha, cf. Berothai, 2 Samuel 8:8. In Numbers 34:9 Ziphran seems to occupy the place of Sibraim here. In Numb, the line appears to run E. as far as Zedad, and then to change its direction to the S. till it ends at Hazar Enan.