Mount Amana Explained

Mount Amana (Hebrew: אֲמָנָה, a-mā'na, a-mä'na, uh-may'nuh) is an ancient name for the southern Anti-Lebanon Mountains.

Geography

Mount Amana is at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, near the source of the river Abana. Paul Haupt identifies this mountain as Jabal az-Zabadany, northwest of Damascus.

Mount Amana is often confused with Mount Amanus, also known as Mount Hor, at the north end of the Syrian plain.

Notable mentions

Mount Amana is mentioned in Song of Songs (4:8) along with Lebanon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. Senir, Mount Hermon, and Amana are all prominent mountains on the northern end of Israel in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. In this era, Lebanon referred to both the Lebanese Mountains and the Anti-Lebanese mountains without referring to any particular peak. A targum on this verse reads "They that dwell on the river Amana shall offer thee a gift."

The "mountains of Sanir and Amana" are also mentioned in the Book of Jubilees as lying within the inheritance of Shem (8:21), or more specifically, Arpachshad (9:4).

Winckler was the first scholar to suggest that the Mount Ammananu referred to in the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III should be understood as identical with Amanah, a claim which has been confirmed by more recent scholarship.

Tacitus records that a triumphal arch was erected on Mount Amana (possibly Mount Amanus) in honor of Germanicus after his death.

Amana River

In the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, the name "Amana" is given in the margin to 5:12 as an alternate reading of Abana, and contemporary scholars prefer the reading Amana, following the targum. This river flows through Damascus and is currently known as the Barada.

Meanings

The name Amana means "constant", "firm", "faith", "truth", "credulity", or "a nurse". It was translated in the Septuagint as Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: πιστεως, meaning "trust", "fidelity", or "faithfulness"^[1]

Sources

• Book: Bloch . A. . Bloch . C. . The Song of Songs: A New Translation with an Introduction and Commentary . University of California Press . 1995 . 978-0-520-22675-3 . 26 July 2017.
• Cogan . M. . 1984 . '... From the Peak of Amanah' . Israel Exploration Journal . 34 . 4 . 255–259 . 27925953 .
• Encyclopedia: Douglas . J.D. . Tenney . M.C. . Silva . M. . Amana . Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary . Zondervan . 2011 . 978-0-310-49235-1 . 26 July 2017.
• Amana .
• Book: Haparchi, I. . Ishtori Haparchi . Edelmann . Ẓ.H. . Hirsch Edelmann . ספר כפתור ופרח . 1852 . 1322 . Berlin . Yulius Zittenfeld . he . 21 .
• Encyclopedia: Freedman . D.N. . Myers . A.C. . Amana . Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible . Amsterdam University Press . 2000 . 978-90-5356-503-2 . 49 . 26 July 2017.
• Book: Gill, J. . John Gill (theologian) . 1748–63 . Exposition of the Old Testament . 4 Kings 5.12 . 27 July 2017 . .
• Book: Haupt, P. . Biblical Love-ditties: A Critical Interpretation and Translation, of the Song of Solomon . Chicago, IL . Open Court . 1902 . 8 . 26 July 2017.
• Ikeda . Y. . Hermon, Sirion and Senir . Annual of the Japanese Biblical Institute . 4 . 1978 . 32–44 .
• Book: Kraeling, E.G.H. . Aram and Israel: The Aramaeans in Syria and Mesopotamia . Wipf & Stock Publishers . 2008 . 978-1-60608-394-9 . 28 July 2017.
• Encyclopedia: Orr . J. . Amana . The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia . Howard-Severance Company . 1 . 1915 . https://books.google.com/books?id=p34PAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA113 . 113 . 26 July 2017.
• Book: Porter, J.L. . [{{GBurl|bMDbaflNe34C}} Five Years in Damascus ]. I . London . John Murray . 1855 . 255–278 .
• Encyclopedia: Rand . W.W. . Amana . The Bible Dictionary . Harrington, Delaware . Delmarva . 2015 . 26 July 2017.
• Encyclopedia: Robinson . E. . Amana . 51 . A.A. . Calmet . Antoine Augustin Calmet . Calmet's Dictionary of the Holy Bible . Crocker and Brewster . 1835 . 1728 . 28 July 2017.
• Book: Schwarz, Joseph. A Descriptive Geography and Brief Historical Sketch of Palestine. 1850. A. Hart. Philadelphia, PA -->,New York. Isaac . Leeser . en .
  • Book: Walton . J.H. . Matthews . V.H. . Chavalas . M.W. . The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament . InterVarsity Press . 2012 . 978-0-8308-6608-3 . 26 July 2017.
• Encyclopedia: Wells . E. . Calmet . A.A. . Antoine Augustin Calmet . Sacred Geography; or, A Companion to the Holy Bible . Revised . Charlestown . Samuel Etheridge, Jr. . Calmet's Dictionary of the Holy Bible . 1817 . 26 July 2017.
• Book: Winckler, H. . Alttestamentliche Untersuchungen . Leipzig . 1892. E. Pfeiffer .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Strong's Greek: 4102. πίστις (Pistis) -- faith, faithfulness.