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Easton's Bible Dictionary
white, "The white mountain of Syria," is the loftiest
and most celebrated mountain range in Syria. It is a branch running southward
from the Caucasus, and at its lower end forking into two parallel ranges, the
eastern or Anti-Lebanon, and the western or Lebanon proper. They enclose a long
valley ( Joshua 11:17 ) of from 5 to 8 miles in width, called by Roman writers
Coele-Syria, now called el-Buka'a, "the valley," a prolongation of the valley
of the Jordan.
Lebanon proper, Jebel es-Sharki, commences at its southern extremity in the gorge
of the Leontes, the ancient Litany, and extends north-east, parallel to the Mediterranean
coast, as far as the river Eleutherus, at the plain of Emesa, "the entering of
Hamath" ( Numbers 34:8 ; 1 Kings 8:65 ), in all about 90 geographical miles in
extent. The average height of this range is from 6,000 to 8,000 feet; the peak
of Jebel Mukhmel is about 10,200 feet, and the Sannin about 9,000. The highest
peaks are covered with perpetual snow and ice. In the recesses of the range wild
beasts as of old still abound ( 2 Kings 14:9 ; Canticles 4:8 ). The scenes of
the Lebanon are remarkable for their grandeur and beauty, and supplied the sacred
writers with many expressive similes ( Psalms 29:5 , 29:6 ; 72:16 ; 104:16 - 18
; Canticles 4:15 ; Isaiah 2:13 ; 35:2 ; 60:13 ; Hosea 14:5 ). It is famous for
its cedars (Canticles 5:15 ), its wines ( Hosea 14:7 ), and its cool waters (
Jeremiah 18:14 ). The ancient inhabitants were Giblites and Hivites ( Joshua 13:5
; Judges 3:3 ). It was part of the Phoenician kingdom ( 1 Kings 5:2 - 6 ).
The eastern range, or Anti-Lebanon, or "Lebanon towards the sunrising," runs nearly
parallel with the western from the plain of Emesa till it connects with the hills
of Galilee in the south. The height of this range is about 5,000 feet. Its highest
peak is Hermon (q.v.), from which a number of lesser ranges radiate.
Lebanon is first mentioned in the description of the boundary of Palestine ( Deuteronomy
1:7 ; 11:24 ). It was assigned to Israel, but was never conquered ( Joshua 13:2
- 6 ; Judges 3:1 - 3 ).
The Lebanon range is now inhabited by a population of about 300,000 Christians,
Maronites, and Druses, and is ruled by a Christian governor. The Anti-Lebanon
is inhabited by Mohammedans, and is under a Turkish ruler.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
white
Smith's Bible Dictionary
A mountain range in the north of Palestine. The name
Lebanon signifies white, and was applied either on account of snow which, during
a great part of the year, cover its whole summit, or on account of the white color
of its limestone cliffs and peaks. It is the "white mountain" --the Mont Blane
of Palestine. Lebanon is represented in Scripture as lying upon the northern border
of the land of Israel. ( Deuteronomy 1:7 ; 11:24 ; Joshua 1:4 ) Two distinct ranges
bear this name. They run in parallel lines from southwest to northeast for about
90 geographical miles, enclosing between them a long, fertile valley from five
to eight miles wide, anciently called Coele-Syria . The western range is the "Libanus"
of the old geographers and the Lebanon of Scripture. The eastern range was called
"Anti-Libanus" by geographers, and "Lebanon toward the sunrising" by the sacred
writers. ( Joshua 13:5 )
Lebanon --
The western range-- commences on the south of the deep ravine of the Litany ,
the ancient river Leontes, which drains the valley of Cole-Syria, and falls into
the Mediterranean five miles north of Tyre. It runs northeast in a straight line
parallel to the coast, to the opening from the Mediterranean into the plain of
Emesa, called in Scripture the "entrance of Hamath." ( Numbers 34:8 ) Here Nehr
el-Kebir --the ancient river Eleutherus-- sweeps round its northern end, as the
Leontes does round its southern. The average elevation of the range is from 6000
to 8000 feet; but two peaks rise considerably higher. On the summits of both these
peaks the snow remains in patches during the whole summer. The line of cultivation
runs along at the height of about 6000 feet; and below this the features of the
western slopes are entirely different. The rugged limestone banks are scantily
clothed with the evergreen oak, and the sandstone with pines; while every available
spot is carefully cultivated. The cultivation is wonderful, and shows what all
Syria might be if under a good government. Fig trees cling to the naked rock;
vines are trained along narrow ledges; long ranges of mulberries, on terraces
like steps of stairs, cover the more gentle declivities; and dense groves of olives
fill up the bottoms of the glens. Hundreds of villages are seen-- here built among
labyrinths of rocks, there clinging like among labyrinths of rocks, there clinging
like swallows nests to the sides of cliffs; while convents, no less numerous,
are perched on the top of every peak. The vine is still largely cultivated in
every part of the mountain. Lebanon also abounds in olives, figs and mulberries;
while some remnants exist of the forests of pine, oak and cedar which formerly
covered it. ( 1 Kings 5:6 ; Ezra 3:7 ; Psalms 29:5 ; Isaiah 14:8 ) Considerable
numbers of wild beasts still inhabit its retired glens and higher peaks; the writer
has seen jackals, hyaenas, wolves, bears and panthers. ( 2 Kings 14:9 ; Solomon
4:8 ); Habb 2:17 Along the base of Lebanon runs the irregular plain of Phoenicia
--nowhere more than two miles wide, and often interrupted by bold rocky spurs
that dip into the sea. The main ridge of Lebanon is composed of Jura limestone,
and abounds in fossils. Long belts of more recent sandstone run along the western
slopes, which are in places largely impregnated with iron. Lebanon was originally
inhabited by the Hivites and Giblites. ( Joshua 13:5 , 13:6 ; Judges 3:3 ) The
whole mountain range was assigned to the Israelites, but was never conquered by
them. ( Joshua 13:2 - 6 ; Judges 3:1 - 3 ) During the Jewish monarchy it appears
to have been subject of the Phoenicians. ( 1 Kings 5:2 - 6 ; Ezra 3:7 ) From the
Greek conquest until modern times Lebanon had no separate history.
Anti-Libanus. --
The main chain of Anti-Libanus commences in the plateau of Bashan, near the parallel
of Caesarea Philippi, runs north to Hermon, and then northeast in a straight line
till it stinks down into the great plain of Emesa, not far from the site of Riblah.
Hermon is the loftiest peak; the next highest is a few miles north of the site
of Abila, beside the village of Bludan , and has an elevation of about 7000 feet.
The rest of the ridge averages about 5000 feet; it is in general bleak and barren,
with shelving gray declivities, gray cliffs and gray rounded summits. Here and
there we meet with thin forests of dwarf oak and juniper. The western slopes descend
abruptly into the Bukaa ; but the features of the eastern are entirely different.
Three side ridges here radiate from Hermon, like the ribs of an open fan, and
form the supporting walls of three great terraces. Anti-Libanus is only once distinctly
mentioned in Scripture, where it is accurately described as "Lebanon toward the
sunrising." ( Joshua 13:5 )
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
leb'-a-non (lebanon; Septuagint Libanos; Vulgate (Jerome's
Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) Libanus):
1. Name:
Derived from the root labhen, "to be white," probably from the snow which covers
its summits the greater part of the year. "White mountains" are found in almost
every country. The light color of the upper limestone may, however, form a sufficient
reason for the name. In prose the article is usually connected with the name.
In poetry it is more often without the article. In the Septuagint, however, the
article is generally present both in prose and poetry.
2. General Description:
The Lebanon range proper borders the east coast of the Mediterranean, for a distance
of 100 miles, running North-Northeast and South-Southwest from the mouth of the
Litany river, the classic Leontes (which enters the sea a little North of Tyre),
to the mouth of the Eleuthurus (Nahr el-Kebir), a few miles North of Tripolis.
This river comes through a depression between Lebanon and the Nuseiriyeh mountains,
known as "the entrance to Hamath," and connects with a caravan route to the Euphrates
through Palmyra. For a considerable distance North of the Litany, the mountain
summits average from 4,000 to 6,000 ft. in height, and the range is more or less
dissected by short streams which enter the Mediterranean. Most prominent of these
is the Nahr ez-Zaherany, which, after running 25 or 30 miles in a southerly direction
through the center of the range, like the Litany, turns abruptly West opposite
Mt. Hermon, reaching the sea between Tyre and Sidon. In roughly parallel courses
Nahr el-'Awleh and Nahr Damur descend to the sea between Sidon and Beyrout, and
Nahr Beyrout just North of the city. Throughout this district the mountain recesses
are more or less wooded. Opposite Beyrout the range rises in Jebel Sannin to an
elevation of 8,560 ft. Thirty miles farther Northeast the summit is reached in
Jebel Mukhmal, at an elevation of 10,225 ft., with several others of nearly the
same height. An amphitheater here opens to the West, in which is sheltered the
most frequented cedar grove, and from which emerges the Nahr Qadisha ("sacred
stream") which enters the Mediterranean at Tripolis. Snow is found upon these
summits throughout the year (Jeremiah 18:14), while formerly the level area between
them furnished the snow fields from which a glacier descended several miles into
the headwaters of the Qadisha, reaching a level of about 5,000 ft. The glacier
deposited in this amphitheater a terminal moraine covering several square miles,
which at its front, near Bsherreh, is 1,000 ft. in thickness. It is on this that
the grove of cedars referred to is growing.
The view from this summit reveals the geographical features of the region in a
most satisfactory manner. Toward the East lies Coele-Syria (the modern Buka),
7,000 ft. below the summit, bordered on the eastern side by the mountain wall
of Anti-Lebanon, corresponding to the cliffs of Moab East of the Jordan valley,
opposite Judea. This depression in fact is but a continuation of the great geological
fault so conspicuous in the Jordan valley (see ARABAH).
As one looks down into this valley, Ba'albek appears at the base of Anti-Lebanon,
only 20 miles away. The valley is here about 10 miles wide, and forms the watershed
between the Orontes and the Litany. To the Northeast the valley of the Orontes
is soon obscured by intervening peaks, but to the Southwest the valley of the
Litany closes up only where the glistering peak of Mt. Hermon pierces the sky,
as the river turns abruptly toward the sea 40 miles distant. Toward the West,
the blue waters of the Mediterranean, only 25 miles distant as the crow flies,
show themselves at intervals through the gorges cut by the rapid streams which
have furrowed the western flanks of the mountain (Song of Solomon 4:15); 3,500
ft. beneath is the amphitheater many square miles in area, filled with the terminal
moraine from which the Qadisha river emerges, and on which the grove of cedars
(compare 1 Kings 4:33 ; Psalms 92:12 ; Hosea 14:5) appears as a green spot in
the center. Onward to the West the river gorge winds its way amid numerous picturesque
village sites and terraced fields, every foot of which is cultivated by a frugal
and industrious people. To the traveler who has made the diagonal journey from
Beirut to the cedars, memory fills in innumerable details which are concealed
from vision at any one time. He has crossed Nahr el-Kelb ("Dog River"), near its
mouth, where he has seen Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions dating from the time
of Sennacherib's invasion. Ascending this river, after passing numerous villages
surrounded by mulberry and olive groves, vineyards, and fields of wheat, and pausing
to study the ruins of a temple dating from Roman times, and having crossed a natural
bridge at Jisr el-Hagar with a span of 120 ft., rising 75 ft. above the stream,
he arrives, at the end of the second day, at the ruins of the famous temple of
Venus destroyed by the order of Constantine on account of the impurity of the
rites celebrated in it. Here, too, is a famous spring, typical of many others
which gush forth on either side of the Lebanon range from beneath the thick deposits
of limestone which everywhere crown its summit. The flow of water is enormous,
and at certain seasons of the year is colored red with a mineral matter which
the ancients regarded with mysterious reverence (see LB, III, 244). The lower
part of the amphitheater is covered with verdure and a scanty growth of pine and
walnut trees, but the upper part merges in the barren cliffs which lie above the
snow line. Onward, alternately through upturned limestone strata, left by erosion
in fantastic forms, and through barren areas of red sandstone, where the cedars
of Lebanon would flourish if protected from the depredations of man and his domestic
animals, he crosses by turns at higher and higher levels the headwaters of the
Ibrahim, Fedar, Jozeh, Byblus and the Botrys rivers, and at length reaches, on
the fourth day, the Qadisha, 5 miles below the cedars of Lebanon. Viewed from
the Mediterranean the Lebanon range presents a continuous undulating outline of
light-colored limestone peaks, the whole rising so abruptly from the sea that
through most of the distance there is barely room for a road along the shore,
while in places even that is prevented by rocky promontories projecting boldly
into the sea. The only harbors of importance are at Beyrout and Tripolis, and
these are only partially protected, being open to the Northwest. The eastern face
of the range falling down into Coele-Syria is very abrupt, with no foothills and
but one or two important valleys.
3. Geology:
Geologically considered, the Lebanon consists of three conformable strata of rock
thrown up in an anticline with its steepest face to the East. The lowest of these
are several thousand ft. thick, consisting of hard limestone containing few fossils,
the most characteristic of which is Cidaris glandaria, from which the formation
has been named Glandarian limestone. In its foldings this has been elevated in
places to a height of 5,000 ft. Through erosion it is exposed in numerous places,
where it presents picturesque castellated columns, whose bluish-gray sides are
beautifully fluted by atmospheric agencies. The second formation consists of several
hundred feet of red-colored sandstone alternating with soft limestone and clay
deposits, occasionally containing a poor quality of bituminous coal, with pyrites
and efflorescent salts. It is this that occasionally colors the water of the spring
at Adonis. The characteristic fossil is Trigonia syriaca. Altogether this formation
attains a thickness of 1,000 ft., and it is on its exposed surfaces that the most
of the Lebanon pines are found. It contains also many signs of volcanic action.
The third formation consists of hippurite limestone, a cretaceous formation, in
some places almost wholly composed of fragments of the fossils from which it derives
its name. This formation appears on all the highest summits, where in most cases
it is nearly horizontal, and in places attains a thickness of 5,000 ft. Between
the summits of the range and the foothills this formation has been almost wholly
carried away by erosion, thus exposing the underlying formations. Cretaceous strata
of still later age are found at low levels near the sea, which in places are covered
by small deposits of Tertiary limestone, and by a porous sandstone of the Pleistocene
age.
4. Scenery:
The scenery of the western slopes of Lebanon is most varied, magnificent, and
beautiful, and well calculated, as indeed it did to impress the imagination of
the Hebrew poets. Originally it was heavily covered with forests of pine, oak
and cedar; but these have for the most part long since disappeared, except in
the valley of Nahr Ibrahim, which is still thickly wooded with pine, oak and plane
trees. Of the cedars there remain, besides the grove at the head of the Qadisha,
only two or three, and they are of less importance. Every available spot on the
western flanks of the Lebanon is cultivated, being sown with wheat or planted
with the vine, the olive, the mulberry and the walnut. Irrigation is extensively
practiced. When we let the eye range from the snowy summits of the mountain over
all that lies between them and the orange groves of Sidon on the seashore, we
understand why the Arabs say that "Lebanon bears winter on its head, spring on
its shoulders, autumn in its lap, while summer lies at its feet." In the more
desolate places jackals, hyenas, wolves, and panthers are still found (compare
2 Kings 14:9).
5. History:
The original inhabitants of Lebanon were Hivites and Gebalites (Judges 3:3 ; Joshua
13:5 , 6). The whole mountain range was assigned to the Israelites, but was never
conquered by them. It seemed generally to have been subject to the Phoenicians.
At present it is occupied by various sects of Christians and Mohammedans, of whom
the Maronites, Druzes and Orthodox Greeks are most active and prominent. Since
1860 the region has been under the protection of European powers with a Christian
governor. No exact figures are available, but the population at present numbers
probably about 275,000.
Ruins of ancient temples are numerous throughout Lebanon. Bacon estimates that
within a radius of 20 miles of Ba'albek there are 15 ruined sun-temples, the grandeur
and beauty of which would have made them famous but for the surpassing splendor
of Ba'albek.
6. Anti-Lebanon:
Anti-Libanus (Judith 1:7 ; Joshua 13:5 ; Song of Solomon 7:4) is an extension
northward of the great mountain system facing on the East the great geological
fault most conspicuous in the valley of the Jordan (see JORDAN,
VALLEY OF), extending from the Gulf of Akabah to Antioch on the Orontes River.
The system begins at the Barada River just North of Mt. Hermon, and, running parallel
to Mt. Lebanon for 65 miles, terminates at Chums, the "entering in of Hamath."
The highest points of the range reach an elevation of over 8,000 ft. Eastward
the range merges into the plateau of the great Syrian desert. South of Ba'albek
the Yahfufah, a stream of considerable importance, empties into the Litany, while
the Barada (the "Abana" of Scripture), rising in the same plateau, flows eastward
to Damascus, its volume being greatly increased by fountains coming in from the
base of the dissected plateau.
LITERATURE.
The geographical and geological descriptions are largely obtained by the writer
from an extended excursion through the region in the company of Professor Day
of the Protestant College at Beirut, whose knowledge of the region is most intimate
and comprehensive. For more detailed information see Robinson, BRP2, II, 435,
493; G. A. Smith, HGHL, 45; Burton and Drake, Unexplored Syria; Benjamin W. Bacon,
and G.F. Wright in Records of the Past, 1906, V, 67-83, 195-204; Baedeker-Socin,
Palestine.
George Frederick Wright
Tags:
bible commentary, bible reference, bible study, define, history of, lebanon, mountain range, syria, white
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