from Mount Hor
Mount Hor is a significant landmark in the biblical narrative, marking the boundary of the land allotted to the Israelites. In Hebrew, "Hor" (הֹר) can mean "mountain" or "hill." This mountain is traditionally identified with the modern Jebel Harun in Jordan, believed to be the burial place of Aaron, Moses' brother. The mention of Mount Hor serves as a reminder of the journey and trials of the Israelites in the wilderness, symbolizing both a physical and spiritual boundary. It represents a point of transition from wandering to the promise of settlement, echoing the faithfulness of God in leading His people.

to Lebo-hamath
Lebo-hamath, often translated as "entrance to Hamath," refers to a northern boundary of the Promised Land. The Hebrew root "Lebo" (לְבוֹא) means "to enter" or "entrance," and "Hamath" (חֲמָת) was a significant city-state in ancient Syria. This phrase indicates the extent of the land God promised to the Israelites, stretching to the northern territories. Historically, Hamath was a center of commerce and culture, and its inclusion in the boundary signifies the vastness and richness of the land God was giving to His people. It underscores the fulfillment of God's covenant promises, extending the borders of Israel to encompass a land of abundance and strategic importance.

then the border shall proceed to Zedad
Zedad is a location mentioned as part of the northern boundary of the land. The Hebrew root "Zedad" (צְדָד) is less clear, but it is thought to be a place of significance in defining the territorial limits. The progression of the border to Zedad illustrates the precision and care with which God delineates the inheritance of His people. It reflects the divine order and structure in the allocation of the land, ensuring that each tribe receives its rightful portion. This meticulous detailing of boundaries serves as a metaphor for God's attention to detail in His plans for His people, emphasizing His sovereignty and the importance of obedience to His commands.

(8) From Mount Hor . . . --From Mount Hor the boundary line was to pass the unknown Ziphron to the village of Enan, or Hazar-enan, which is likewise unknown. (Comp. Ezekiel 47:16-18.) This line probably crossed the northern portion of the Lebanon.

Verse 8. - From Mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath. Literally, "from Mount Hor point out (תְּתָאוּ, as in the previous verse) to come to Hamath," which seems to mean, "from Mount Hor strike a line for the entrance to Hamath." The real difficulty lies in the expression לְבאֹ חַמָת, which the Septuagint renders εἰσπορευομέν ον εἰς Ἐμάθ, "as men enter into Hamath." The same expression occurs in Numbers 13:21, and is similarly rendered by the Septuagint. A comparison with Judges 3:3 and other passages will show that "Ibo Chamath" had a definite geographical meaning as the accepted name of a locality in the extreme north of Canaan. When we come to inquire where "the entrance to Hamath" was, we have nothing to guide us except the natural features of the country. Hamath itself, afterwards Epiphancia on the Orontes, lay far beyond the extremest range of Jewish settlement; nor does it appear that it was ever conquered by the greatest of the Jewish kings. The Hamath in which Solomon built store cities (2 Chronicles 8:4), and the Hamath which Jeroboam II. "recovered" for Israel (2 Kings 14:28), was not the city, but the kingdom (or part of the kingdom), of that name. We do not know how far south the territory of Hamath may have extended, but it is quite likely that it included at times the whole upper valley of the Leontes (now the Litany). The "entrance to Hamath" then must be looked for at some point, distinctly marked by the natural features of the country, where the traveler from Palestine would enter the territory of Hamath. This point has been usually fixed at the pass through which the Orontes breaks out of its upper valley between Lebanon and anti-Lebanon into the open plain of Hamath. This point, however, is more than sixty miles north of Damascus (which confessedly never belonged to Israel), and nearly a hundred miles north-north-west from Dan. It would require some amount of positive evidence to make it even probable that the whole of the long and narrow valley between Lebanon and anti-Lebanon, widening towards the north, and separated by mountainous and difficult country from the actual settlements of the Jews, was yet Divinely designated as part of their inheritance. No such positive evidence exists, and therefore we are perfectly free to look for "the entrance to Hamath" much further to the south. It is evident that the ordinary road from the land of Canaan or from the cities of Phoenicia to Hamath must have struck the valley of the Leontes, have ascended that river to its sources, and crossed the watershed to the upper stream of Orontes. The whole of this road, until it reached the pass already spoken of leading down to the Emesa of after days, and so to Hamath, lay through a narrow valley of which the narrowest part is at the southern end of the modern district of el Bekaa, almost in a straight line between Sidon and Mount Hermon. Here the two ranges approach most nearly to the bed of the Litany (Leontes), forming a natural gate by which the traveler to Hamath must needs have entered from the south. Here then, very nearly in lat. 88° 80', we may reasonably place the "entrance to Hamath" so often spoken of, and so escape the necessity of imagining an artificial and impracticable frontier for the northern boundary of the promised land. Zedad. Identified by some with the present village of Sadad or Sudad, to the south-east of Emesa (Hums); but this identification, which is at best very problematic, is wholly out of the question if the argument of the preceding note be accepted.

Parallel Commentaries ...


and from Mount
הָהָ֔ר (hā·hār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country

Hor
מֵהֹ֣ר (mê·hōr)
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 2023: Hor -- two mountains in Palestine

to Lebo-hamath,
חֲמָ֑ת (ḥă·māṯ)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 2574: Hamath -- a place North of Damascus

[then]
הַגְּבֻ֖ל (hag·gə·ḇul)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1366: A cord, a boundary, the territory inclosed

extending
וְהָי֛וּ (wə·hā·yū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

to Zedad,
צְדָֽדָה׃ (ṣə·ḏā·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 6657: Zedad -- a place on the northern border of Canaan


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OT Law: Numbers 34:8 From Mount Hor you shall mark out (Nu Num.)