Siegfried Kreuzer
Aram (Place name)
Aram denotes the territories, where Arameans lived.
They comprise the area from the Habur-triangle in the
East, to the middle-Euphrates region, through most of
Syria, and to the South, the Beqaa valley, Damascus and
to the Golan heights. In some occurances Aram refers to
this area in general or at least to large parts of it; most
clearly in 1 Kgs 10:29 = 2 Chr 1:17, Solomon trading
with the kings of Aram. In Judg 10:6, „the Gods of
Aram“, Aram rather refers to the closer Aramean neighborhood of Israel, and in
Amos 9:7, Aram in a general way refers to the people of Aram.
The usage of the term Aram corresponds to the fact, that Aram did not grow into a
large united state, but consisted of different entities. Only in the late 9th cent.,
under the leadership of king Hazael, Aram-Damascus dominated most of Aram
and even rivaled Assyria. The regional division of Aram is reflected in the
different compound names designating the area, the main city or the local dynasty:
Paddan-Aram: Region along the road (Akk. paddanu) through the Habur-triangle
and to Haran on the Balikh river, and on to the Euphrates.
Aram-Naharaim: Western part of Paddan-Aram (cf. Gen 24:10) and areas along
the great bend of the Euphrates (cf. Deut 23:5; Judg 3:8). In Num 23:7; Judg 3:10;
Hos 12:13 the general term Aram designates this area.
Most states of these two regions were named by the name of its dynasty or by the
capital, e.g. Bit Bachiani = Gozan (= Akk. guzanu; 2 Kgs 17:6; 19:12), Haran (cf.
Gen 11:31; 29:4), Pethor (= Pitru; cf. Num 22:5; Deut 23:5); Bit-Adini (cf. 2 Kgs
19:12; Amos 1:5).
Aram-Zoba, also called Aram-Bet-Rekhob (according to the dynasty that had
founded it): Comprising the Beqaa valley of modern Lebanon, partly expanding
along the Orontes, down to Hamat, which stayed independent, and into the
Antilebanon mountains, possibly also to(wards) the Euphrates, cf. 2 Sam 8:3,9. In
the 10th cent. Aram-Zoba became part of Aram-Damascus, but the name Zoba is
still found in Assyrian lists from ca. 700 B.C.E. as the name of an Assyrian
province in the Beqaa.
Siegfried Kreuzer, Art. Aram, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, 2000, 83f. © 2000/2002
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Aram-Damascus: According to 1 Kgs 11:23f. some time after the defeat of Aram-
Zoba by David, Rezon, a former military leader from Aram-Zoba, seized power at
Damascus. By this act, Damascus became Aramaic in a way, similar to that as
Jerusalem had become Israelite through David. Aram-Damascus became the most
powerful state in southern Syria. In the 9th and the 8th cent. Aram-Damascus
initiated and led coalitions against Assyria. In the last third of the 9th cent. and
still in the beginning of the 8th cent., Aram-Damascus fought against Israel and
captured parts of it, especially the Golan heights (cf. 2 Kgs 10:32f. and now also
the „Tell-Dan-inscription). Under the reign of Hazael (ca. 842 - 800 B.C.E.)
Aram-Damascus became an empire that dominated large parts of Syria and
Palestine. According to two (designation-)inscriptions (see Na’aman) he even
crossed the Euphrates to attack Assyria. After some more quiet decades Assyria
expanded again, and Damascus was captured in 732 B.C.E.. For the Old
Testament Aram-Damascus is the Aramean power and many times it is simply
called Aram.
Aram-Maacah and Geshur: Small territories resp. states in Transjordan, between
Mt. Hermon and the Yarmouk river. They are mentioned in the Old Testament
only. According to 2 Sam 10:6,8, Aram-Maacah took side with Aram-Zoba against
David. Geshur evidently was south of Aram-Maacah. Its king Thalmai’s daughter
Maacah became a wife of David and the mother of Abshalom, who later fled to
Thalmai (2 Sam 3:3; 13:37f.). The aramean character of Aram-Maacah and Geshur
is disputed, but in 2 Sam 15:8 Geshur is explicitly called a part of Aram.
The aramean state of Sam’al / Ja’udi, modern Zendjirli in SE-Turkey, ca. 100 km
west of the bend of the Euprates, provided important aramaic inscriptions, but is
not mentioned in the Old Testament.
Literature:
Helène Sader, Les Etats Araméens de Syrie depuis leur fondation jusqu’à leur transfor-
mation en provinces assyriennes, Beiruter Texte und Studien 36, 1987.
Scott C. Layton, Literary Sources for the History of Palestine and Syria, BA 51 (1988),
172-189.
Paul E. Dion, Syro-Palestinian Resistance to Shalmaneser III in the Light of New Docu-
ments, ZAW 107 (1995), 482-489.
Nadav Na’aman, Hazael of ‘Amqi and Hadadezer of Beth-rehob, UF 27 (1995), 381-394.
Siegfried Kreuzer, Art. Aram, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, 2000, 83f. © 2000/2002
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Siegfried Kreuzer, Die Religion der Aramäer auf dem Hintergrund der frühen aramäi-
schen Staaten, in: Peter Haider - Manfred Hutter - Siegfried Kreuzer, Religionsge-
schichte Syriens, Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1996, 101-115, 374f., 432-435.
(Addition 2002): Paul-E. Dion, Les araméens à l’age dur fer: Histoire politique et
structures sociales, Études Bibliques 34, Paris: Gabalda 1997.
Edward Lipinski, The Aramaeans. Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion, OLA 100,
Leuven: Peters 2000.
Siegfried Kreuzer
Siegfried Kreuzer, Art. Aram, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, 2000, 83f. © 2000/2002
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