The Aramaic Inscription
of Zakar, King of Hamath
This important
monument, published by the discoverer H. Pognon
in 1907, makes a significant reference in lines
four and five to Benhadad II. Under the Aramaic
form of the name, "Barhadad, son of Hazael,
king of Aram" is presented as heading
a coalition of twelve to eighteen kings against "Zakir,
king of Hamath and Lu'ash". The operations
of the confederacy, in which only seven of
the kings take part, as Zakir expressly mentions,
are directed against Hazrek (biblical Hadrach
of Zechariah 9:1), the capital city of Lu'ash,
a north Syrian principality southwest of Aleppo,
and north of Hamath on the Orontes.
The Translation of the Inscription
- Line 17
01. ...... Hazrak ....
02. ...... for chariotry and cavalry ...
03. ...... its king within it I ....
04. ...... Hazrak, and I added ....
05. ...... all the circuit ....
06. ...... and I set him as king ....
07. ...... ...... ...... ......
08. ...... these enemies in all its midst
09. I built gods' houses in all
10. ...... and I built
11. .......................
12. ...... house ....
13. ...... I set before [El-
14. Ur] this stele and in[sribed
15. i]t with the writing of my hands.
16. [And] whosoever will remove the wri[ting
17. of the hands of Zakar
king of Hamath and
La-
18. ash from this stele, and whosoever
19. will remove this stele from [be-
20. fore] El-Ur, and disturb it [from
21. its] place, or whosoever will lay upon
[it
22. his hand] .... [shall curse him?]
23. [the Lor]d of Heaven and El-
24. [Ur] ..... and Sun and Moon
25. ...... and the gods of heaven
26. [and the gods of] earth, and Baal of Laa-
Shalmaneser's Monolith
Another famous artifact
known as the Kirk Monolith, from
Shalmaneser, contains
the name and title "Iruleni King of Hamath."
Scriptures
Isaiah 37:13 Where is the king
of Hamath,
and the king of Arphad, and the king of
the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?
1 Chronicles 18:3 And
David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah unto Hamath,
as he went to stablish
his
dominion by the river Euphrates.
2 Samuel 8:9 When Toi king
of Hamath heard
that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer
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