Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 3:8-9
Context3:8 So at that time we took the land of the two Amorite kings in the Transjordan from Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon 1 3:9 (the Sidonians 2 call Hermon Sirion 3 and the Amorites call it Senir), 4
Joshua 13:11
Context13:11 Their territory also included 5 Gilead, Geshurite and Maacathite territory, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah –
Psalms 133:3
Context133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, 6
which flows down upon the hills of Zion. 7
Indeed 8 that is where the Lord has decreed
a blessing will be available – eternal life. 9
The Song of Songs 4:8
Context4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,
from the lions’ dens
and the mountain haunts of the leopards.
[3:8] 1 sn Mount Hermon. This is the famous peak at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range known today as Jebel es-Sheik.
[3:9] 2 sn Sidonians were Phoenician inhabitants of the city of Sidon (now in Lebanon), about 47 mi (75 km) north of Mount Carmel.
[3:9] 3 sn Sirion. This name is attested in the Ugaritic texts as sryn. See UT 495.
[3:9] 4 sn Senir. Probably this was actually one of the peaks of Hermon and not the main mountain (Song of Songs 4:8; 1 Chr 5:23). It is mentioned in a royal inscription of Shalmaneser III of Assyria (saniru; see ANET 280).
[13:11] 5 tn The words “their territory also included” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[133:3] 6 sn Hermon refers to Mount Hermon, located north of Israel.
[133:3] 7 sn The hills of Zion are those surrounding Zion (see Pss 87:1; 125:2). The psalmist does not intend to suggest that the dew from Mt. Hermon in the distant north actually flows down upon Zion. His point is that the same kind of heavy dew that replenishes Hermon may also be seen on Zion’s hills. See A. Cohen, Psalms (SoBB), 439. “Dew” here symbolizes divine blessing, as the next line suggests.
[133:3] 9 tn Heb “there the
