Jeremiah 49:23

Damascus. One of the most ancient of continuously inhabited places of importance in the Near East (see Gen. 14:15). The town was situated on a wide plateau east of the Anti-Lebanon range, in a fertile oasis formed by the Pharpar and Abana rivers. It was conquered by David (see 2 Sam. 8:5, 6) and again by Jeroboam II (see 2 Kings 14:28). However, during most of the period of the divided kingdom, Damascus was capital of one of the chief Aramaean states. It finally lost its independence to Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria in 733/732 B.C. For a considerable period thereafter it seems to have been comparatively insignificant politically. Aside from Jeremiah’s statement in Jer. 49:23-27, there is no other Biblical mention of Damascus during the period of the Exile, except the entirely incidental references in Eze. 27:18; 47:16-18; 48:1. Yet Damascus remained a highly important commercial center. It was situated at the junction of two leading trade routes, (1) the Way of the Sea, which ran north from Egypt along the Mediterranean coast, and thence across northern Palestine by way of Megiddo and the Sea of Galilee, and (2) the King’s Highway, which carried the desert trade from Arabia and Edom north through Transjordan. These roads met at Damascus and thence ran across the desert into Mesopotamia. Thus the Aramaeans became the great inland commercial nation of the Near East, as the Phoenicians became the sea traders.

Hamath. A city on the Orontes River 118 mi. (188.8 km.) north by east from Damascus; the modern Hama. The name appears in the Assyrian inscriptions as Amattu and Hammatu.

Arpad. The modern Tell Erfad, a city about 95 mi. (152 km.) north of Hamath and 19 mi. (30.4 km.) north by west from Aleppo. The name appears in Assyrian texts as Arpadda. Hamath and Arpad are frequently mentioned together (see 2 Kings 18:34; 19:13; Isa. 10:9; 36:19).