Baal-hamon
Baal-hamon is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Jerusalem. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Baal-hamon appears once in the Hebrew Bible, in the Song of Solomon 8:11, where the beloved refers to Solomon's possession of a vineyard there: "Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard to keepers; each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver." The verse contrasts Solomon's vast vineyard holdings with the speaker's own vineyard, which she tends herself and which is "for myself." The location of Baal-hamon has been debated extensively by scholars. The name means "lord of a multitude" or "lord of abundance," which may indicate a fertile agricultural region. Some have proposed identifications in the hill country of Ephraim or even in the vicinity of Jerusalem, while others see the name as symbolic rather than topographical within the poetic context of the Song. The passage as a whole reflects the Song's themes of love, fidelity, and the intimate relationship between the two lovers, with the vineyard serving as a rich metaphor for the beloved herself throughout the book. Whether or not Baal-hamon was a historical royal estate, its mention anchors the Song's poetry in the landscape of an actual agrarian world.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The location of Baal-hamon is unknown and cannot be confirmed archaeologically with any certainty. The single biblical reference in the Song of Solomon (8:11) provides insufficient geographical detail to enable a precise identification. Some scholars have tentatively associated the name with sites in the vicinity of Jerusalem or the Samarian highlands, where royal estates and vineyards were historically maintained. The association with modern Jerusalem in some reference works reflects a general scholarly placeholder rather than a confirmed identification. No inscription, excavation report, or surface survey has produced evidence that definitively links any known site with the Baal-hamon of the Song of Solomon.
Verse Appearances (1)
Song
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]