Lebanon

white, incense

Lebanon

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. (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)

1. 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 13:5,6; 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.
2. 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)

Lebanon

White, a long chain of mountains on the north of Palestine, so named from the whitish limestone of which they are composed and in part perhaps from their snowy whiteness in winter. It consists of two main ridges running northeast and southwest, nearly parallel with each other and with the coast of the Mediterranean. See view in SIDON. The western ridge was called Libanus by the Greeks, and the eastern AntiLibanus. Between them lies a long valley called Coele-Syria, that is, Hollow Syria, and the "valley of Lebanon," Joshua 11:17, at present Bukkah. It opens towards the north, but is exceedingly narrow towards the south, where the river Litany, anciently Orontes, issues form the valley and flows west to the sea, north of Tyre. The western ridge is generally higher than the eastern, and several of its peaks are thought to be towards, 10,000 feet high. One summit, however, in the eastern range, namely, Mount Hermon, now called Jebel-esh-Sheikh, is higher still, and rises nearly into the region of perpetual ice. See HERMON. An Arab poet says of the highest peak of Lebanon, "The Sannin bears winter on his head, spring upon his shoulders, and autumn in his bosom, while summer lies sleeping at his feet."

The Hebrew writers often allude to this sublime mountain range, Isaiah 10:34 35:2, rising like a vast barrier on their north, Isaiah 37:24. They speak of its sea of foliage agitated by the gales, Psalm 72:16; of its noble cedars and other trees, Isaiah 60:13 Jeremiah 22:23; of its innumerable herds, the whole of which, however, could not atone for one sin, Isaiah 40:16; its snow-cold streams, Jeremiah 18:14, and its balsamic perfume, Hosea 14:5. Moses longed to enter the Holy Land, that he might "see that goodly mountain and Lebanon," De 3:24,25; and Solomon says of the Beloved, the type of Christ, "his countenance is as Lebanon," So 5:15. "The tower of Lebanon which looketh towards Damascus," So 7:4, is brought to recollection by the accounts given by modern travelers of the ruins of ancient temples, built of stones of vast size. Many such ruinous temples have been discovered in different parts of Lebanon, several of them on conspicuous points, high up in the mountains, where the labor of erecting them must have been stupendous.

At present, Lebanon is inhabited by a hardy and turbulent race of mountaineers. Its vast wilderness of mountains forms almost a world by itself. Its western slopes particularly, rising by a succession of terraces from the plain of the coast, are covered with vines, olives, mulberries, and figs; and occupied, as well as the valleys among the mountains, by numberless villages. Anti-Lebanon are Drues and Maronites; the former Mohammedan mystics, and the latter bigoted Romanists. Among them are interspersed many Greeks and Armenians.

For "cedar of Lebanon," see CEDAR.

LEBANON

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 (Songs 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 Psalm 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 Songs 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

TOWER OF LEBANON

(mighdal ha-lebhanon): (Songs 7:4)): The designation "which looketh toward Damascus" compels us to identify it with some portion of, or something in, the eastern range of "Lebanon, toward the sun-rising" (Joshua 13:5). It would then of necessity correspond to the chief summit of Hermon, on which there has been from ancient times also a tower-like temple, and from which the view is almost of boundless extent, Damascus with its gardens and groves being surprisingly near and appearing like a beautiful island in a wide extended sea.

See LEBANON.

W. M. Christie

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; Cant. 4:8). The scenes of the Lebanon are remarkable for their grandeur and beauty, and supplied the sacred writers with many expressive similes (Psalm 29:5, 6; 72:16; 104:16-18; Cant. 4:15; Isaiah 2:13; 35:2; 60:13; Hosea 14:5). It is famous for its cedars (Cant. 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.

3844. Lebanon -- a wooded mountain range on the N. border of Isr.
... << 3843, 3844. Lebanon. 3845 >>. a wooded ... Isr. Transliteration: Lebanon Phonetic
Spelling: (leb-aw-nohn') Short Definition: Lebanon. Word ...
/hebrew/3844.htm - 6k

4632. Mearah -- a cave region in Lebanon
... << 4631, 4632. Mearah. 4633 >>. a cave region in Lebanon. Transliteration: Mearah
Phonetic Spelling: (meh-aw-raw') Short Definition: Mearah. ...
/hebrew/4632.htm - 6k

4706. Mitsar -- a mountain near Hermon
... Mizar. The same as mits'ar; Mitsar, a peak of Lebanon -- Mizar. see HEBREW
mits'ar. << 4705, 4706. Mitsar. 4707 >>. Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/4706.htm - 6k

8149. Shenir -- Amorite name for Mount Hermon
... Senir, Shenir. Or Sniyr {sen-eer'}; from an unused root meaning to be pointed; peak;
Shenir or Senir, a summit of Lebanon -- Senir, Shenir. << 8148, 8149. ...
/hebrew/8149.htm - 6k

8303. Siryon -- a Sidonian name for Mount Hermon
... Sirion. And Siryon {sir-yone'}; the same as Srayah (ie Sheeted with snow); Shirjon
or Sirjon, a peak of the Lebanon -- Sirion. see HEBREW Srayah. << 8302, 8303. ...
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