Syria

Syria, an ancient region north of Israel, often engaged in conflicts with Israel and Judah.

PlaceOld & New Testaments15 books119 verses

Summary

A location first mentioned at Judges 10:6; referred to as Syria or Syrian or Aram (אֲרָם), Syrian (אֲרַמִּי, רַמִּי), Syria (Συρία), Syrian (Σύρος), or Syrophoenician (Συροφοίνισσα).

Location

Identified as: Aram
Certainty: Widely agreed (100% of scholarship)
Coordinates: 33.511° N, 36.306° E

See it on the map of biblical places

Events

Dates are approximate

Glossary entries

Syria, Syrians Arameans Aram (Place)

Connections

Founded by: Aram

Alternative names

Mentions

Includes 3 verses that refer to Syria without naming it.

Judges 10:6אֲרָם · Syria
And again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.
2 Samuel 8:5אֲרָם · Syria
When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of their men.
2 Samuel 8:6אֲרָם · Syria
Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to David and brought him tribute. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
2 Samuel 10:6אֲרָם · Syria
When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.
2 Samuel 10:8אֲרָם · Syria
The Ammonites marched out and arrayed themselves for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.
2 Samuel 10:9אֲרָם · Syria
When Joab saw the battle lines before him and behind him, he selected some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Arameans.
2 Samuel 10:11אֲרָם · Syria
“If the Arameans are too strong for me,” said Joab, “then you will come to my rescue. And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to your rescue.
2 Samuel 10:13אֲרָם · Syria
So Joab and his troops advanced to fight the Arameans, who fled before him.
2 Samuel 10:14אֲרָם · Syria
When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai, and they entered the city. So Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 10:15אֲרָם · Syria
When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped.
2 Samuel 10:16אֲרָם · Syria
Hadadezer sent messengers to bring more Arameans from beyond the Euphrates, and they came to Helam with Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.
2 Samuel 10:17אֲרָם · Syria
When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. Then the Arameans arrayed themselves against David and fought against him.
2 Samuel 10:18אֲרָם · Syria
But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach the commander of their army, who died there.
2 Samuel 10:19אֲרָם · Syria
When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.
2 Samuel 15:8אֲרָם · Syria
For your servant made a vow while dwelling in Geshur of Aram, saying: ‘If indeed the LORD brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.’”
1 Kings 10:29אֲרָם · Syria
A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.
1 Kings 11:25אֲרָם · Syria
Rezon was Israel’s enemy throughout the days of Solomon, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled over Aram with hostility toward Israel.
1 Kings 15:18אֲרָם · Syria
So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus:
1 Kings 19:15אֲרָם · Syria
Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram.
1 Kings 20:1אֲרָם · Syria
Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it.
1 Kings 20:20אֲרָם · Syria
…and each one struck down his opponent. So the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with the cavalry.
1 Kings 20:21אֲרָם · Syria
Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans.
1 Kings 20:22אֲרָם · Syria
Afterward, the prophet approached the king of Israel and said, “Go and strengthen your position, and take note what you must do, for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you.”
1 Kings 20:23אֲרָם · Syria
Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail.
1 Kings 20:25Referred to, not named
And you must raise an army like the one you have lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot—so we can fight the Israelites on the plain, where we will surely prevail.” And the king approved their plan and acted accordingly.
1 Kings 20:26אֲרָם · Syria
In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
1 Kings 20:27אֲרָם · Syria
The Israelites also mobilized, gathered supplies, and marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped before them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.
1 Kings 20:28אֲרָם · Syria
Then the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans have said that the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the valleys, I will deliver all this great army into your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
1 Kings 20:29אֲרָם · Syria
For seven days the armies camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle ensued, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans—a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.
1 Kings 22:1אֲרָם · Syria
Then three years passed without war between Aram and Israel.
1 Kings 22:3אֲרָם · Syria
…who said to his servants, “Do you not know that Ramoth-gilead is ours, but we have failed to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?”
1 Kings 22:11אֲרָם · Syria
Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”
1 Kings 22:31אֲרָם · Syria
Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
1 Kings 22:35אֲרָם · Syria
The battle raged throughout that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. And the blood from his wound ran out onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died.
2 Kings 5:1אֲרָם · Syria
Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. And he was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
2 Kings 5:2אֲרָם · Syria
At this time the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken a young girl from the land of Israel, and she was serving Naaman’s wife.
2 Kings 5:5אֲרָם · Syria
“Go now,” said the king of Aram, “and I will send you with a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman departed, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing.
2 Kings 5:20אֲרַמִּי · Syria
Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman, by not accepting what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
2 Kings 6:8אֲרָם · Syria
Now the king of Aram was at war against Israel. After consulting with his servants, he said, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
2 Kings 6:9אֲרָם · Syria
Then the man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Be careful not to pass by this place, for the Arameans are going down there.”
2 Kings 6:11אֲרָם · Syria
For this reason the king of Aram became enraged and called his servants to demand of them, “Tell me, which one of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”
2 Kings 6:23אֲרָם · Syria
So the king prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. And the Aramean raiders did not come into the land of Israel again.
2 Kings 6:24אֲרָם · Syria
Some time later, Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army and marched up to besiege Samaria.
2 Kings 7:4אֲרָם · Syria
If we say, ‘Let us go into the city,’ we will die there from the famine in the city; but if we sit here, we will also die. So come now, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die.”
2 Kings 7:5אֲרָם · Syria
So they arose at twilight and went to the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the outskirts of the camp, there was not a man to be found.
2 Kings 7:6אֲרָם · Syria
For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
2 Kings 7:10אֲרָם · Syria
So they went and called out to the gatekeepers of the city, saying, “We went to the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a trace—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents were intact.”
2 Kings 7:12אֲרָם · Syria
So the king got up in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and enter the city.’”
2 Kings 7:14אֲרָם · Syria
Then the scouts took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, “Go and see.”
2 Kings 7:15אֲרָם · Syria
And they tracked them as far as the Jordan, and indeed, the whole way was littered with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in haste. So the scouts returned and told the king.
2 Kings 7:16אֲרָם · Syria
Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. It was then that a seah of fine flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
2 Kings 8:7אֲרָם · Syria
Then Elisha came to Damascus while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.”
2 Kings 8:8Referred to, not named
So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand, go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
2 Kings 8:9אֲרָם · Syria
So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camel loads of every good thing from Damascus. And he went in and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
2 Kings 8:13אֲרָם · Syria
“But how could your servant, a mere dog, do such a monstrous thing?” said Hazael. And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”
2 Kings 8:28אֲרָם · Syria; אֲרַמִּי · Syria
Then Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to fight against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram.
2 Kings 8:29אֲרָם · Syria; אֲרַמִּי · Syria
So King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded.
2 Kings 9:14אֲרָם · Syria
Thus Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram,
2 Kings 9:15אֲרָם · Syria; אֲרַמִּי · Syria
…but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had suffered at the hands of the Arameans in the battle against Hazael their king.) So Jehu said, “If you commanders wish to make me king, then do not let anyone escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.”
2 Kings 12:17אֲרָם · Syria
At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.
2 Kings 12:18אֲרָם · Syria
So King Joash of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. So Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.
2 Kings 13:3אֲרָם · Syria
So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them continually into the hands of Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-hadad.
2 Kings 13:4אֲרָם · Syria
Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him because He saw the oppression that the king of Aram had inflicted on Israel.
2 Kings 13:5אֲרָם · Syria
So the LORD gave Israel a deliverer, and they escaped the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel lived in their own homes as they had before.
2 Kings 13:7אֲרָם · Syria
Jehoahaz had no army left, except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.
2 Kings 13:17אֲרָם · Syria
“Open the east window,” said Elisha. So he opened it and Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot. And Elisha declared: “This is the LORD’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram, for you shall strike the Arameans in Aphek until you have put an end to them.”
2 Kings 13:19אֲרָם · Syria
But the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to it. But now you will strike down Aram only three times.”
2 Kings 13:22אֲרָם · Syria
And Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz.
2 Kings 13:24אֲרָם · Syria
When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-hadad reigned in his place.
2 Kings 15:37אֲרָם · Syria
(In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.)
2 Kings 16:5אֲרָם · Syria
Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him.
2 Kings 16:6אֲרָם · Syria
At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, drove out the men of Judah, and sent the Edomites into Elath, where they live to this day.
2 Kings 16:7אֲרָם · Syria
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”
2 Kings 24:2אֲרָם · Syria
And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.
1 Chronicles 18:5אֲרָם · Syria
When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of their men.
1 Chronicles 18:6אֲרָם · Syria
Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to David and brought him tribute. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
1 Chronicles 19:10אֲרָם · Syria
When Joab saw the battle lines before him and behind him, he selected some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Arameans.
1 Chronicles 19:12אֲרָם · Syria
“If the Arameans are too strong for me,” said Joab, “then you will come to my rescue. And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to your rescue.
1 Chronicles 19:14אֲרָם · Syria
So Joab and his troops advanced to fight the Arameans, who fled before him.
1 Chronicles 19:15אֲרָם · Syria
When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Joab’s brother Abishai, and they entered the city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.
1 Chronicles 19:16אֲרָם · Syria
When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to bring more Arameans from beyond the Euphrates, with Shophach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.
1 Chronicles 19:17אֲרָם · Syria
When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, advanced toward the Arameans, and arrayed for battle against them. When David lined up to engage them in battle, they fought against him.
1 Chronicles 19:18אֲרָם · Syria
But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach the commander of their army.
1 Chronicles 19:19אֲרָם · Syria
When Hadadezer’s subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him. So the Arameans were unwilling to help the Ammonites anymore.
2 Chronicles 1:17אֲרָם · Syria
A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.
2 Chronicles 16:2אֲרָם · Syria
So Asa withdrew the silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent it with this message to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus:
2 Chronicles 16:7אֲרָם · Syria
At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and told him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.
2 Chronicles 18:10אֲרָם · Syria
Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”
2 Chronicles 18:30אֲרָם · Syria
Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
2 Chronicles 18:34אֲרָם · Syria
The battle raged throughout that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. And at sunset he died.
2 Chronicles 22:5אֲרָם · Syria; רַמִּי · Syria
Ahaziah also followed their counsel and went with Joram son of Ahab king of Israel to fight against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. But the Arameans wounded Joram.
2 Chronicles 22:6אֲרָם · Syria
So he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded.
2 Chronicles 24:23אֲרָם · Syria
In the spring, the army of Aram went to war against Joash. They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people, and they sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus.
2 Chronicles 24:24אֲרָם · Syria
Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the LORD delivered into their hand a very great army. Because Judah had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash.
2 Chronicles 28:5אֲרָם · Syria
So the LORD his God delivered Ahaz into the hand of the king of Aram, who attacked him and took many captives to Damascus. Ahaz was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force.
2 Chronicles 28:23אֲרָם · Syria
He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him, and he said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But these gods were the downfall of Ahaz and of all Israel.
Isaiah 7:1אֲרָם · Syria
Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.
Isaiah 7:2אֲרָם · Syria
When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.
Isaiah 7:4אֲרָם · Syria
…and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.
Isaiah 7:5אֲרָם · Syria
For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying:
Isaiah 7:6Referred to, not named
‘Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.’
Isaiah 7:8אֲרָם · Syria
For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people.
Isaiah 9:12אֲרָם · Syria
Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have devoured Israel with open mouths. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
Isaiah 17:3אֲרָם · Syria
The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the sovereignty from Damascus. The remnant of Aram will be like the splendor of the Israelites,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
Jeremiah 35:11אֲרָם · Syria
So when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land, we said: ‘Come, let us go into Jerusalem to escape the armies of the Chaldeans and the Arameans.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”
Ezekiel 16:57אֲרָם · Syria
…before your wickedness was uncovered? Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you.
Ezekiel 27:16אֲרָם · Syria
Aram was your customer because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.
Amos 1:5אֲרָם · Syria
I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” says the LORD.
Amos 9:7אֲרָם · Syria
“Are you not like the Cushites to Me, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD. “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir?
Matthew 4:24Συρία · Syria
News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.
Mark 7:26Συροφοίνισσα · Syrophoenician
Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
Luke 2:2Συρία · Syria
This was the first census to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
Luke 4:27Σύρος · Syria
And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
Acts 15:23Συρία · Syria
…and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.
Acts 15:41Συρία · Syria
And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Acts 18:18Συρία · Syria
Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.
Acts 20:3Συρία · Syria
…where he stayed three months. And when the Jews formed a plot against him as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.
Acts 21:3Συρία · Syria
After sighting Cyprus and passing south of it, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, where the ship was to unload its cargo.
Galatians 1:21Συρία · Syria
Later I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.