Mount Amana

View to Horbat Omrit, to Tel Azzaziat and to the Anti-Lebanon mountains from top of Givat HaEm, Upper Galilee, Israel

Mount Amana (, 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 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 , meaning "trust", "fidelity", or "faithfulness"

Sources

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