Hazar-enan
Hazar-enan is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Syria in modern-day Syria. Known today as Al Qaryatayn. It appears across 4 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Hazar-enan, meaning "village of springs" or "enclosure of fountains", appears in the Old Testament in the context of both the Mosaic land allotment and Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a restored Israel. In Numbers 34:9–10, Hazar-enan marks the northeastern corner of the land of Canaan as promised to Israel, serving as the terminal point on the northern boundary before the line turns southward. This same boundary is echoed in Ezekiel 47:17 and 48:1, where Hazar-enan again defines the northeastern limit of the idealized territory of restored Israel in the prophet's eschatological vision. The fact that both the Mosaic boundary text and Ezekiel's later vision use Hazar-enan as the northeastern boundary marker indicates that this site retained its geographical significance as a recognized landmark across many centuries of biblical tradition. Its location in the Syrian interior, northeast of Damascus and near the sources of water that give it its name, placed it at the extreme edge of the land of promise, marking the boundary between Canaan and the territories of Syria and Mesopotamia. The inclusion of such a remote northeastern point in the ideal boundary reflects the comprehensive scope of the divine promise made to Israel.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Hazar-enan is identified by many scholars with Al Qaryatayn, a settlement in the Syrian interior east of Homs, though the identification is debated. The site's location near reliable water sources in an otherwise arid region is consistent with the meaning of the name. Alternative proposals associate Hazar-enan with Banias (Caesarea Philippi) at the foot of Mount Hermon or with sites further north and east. The Syrian interior has seen limited systematic archaeological excavation relative to the coastal and Levantine regions, making confident identification difficult. The area around Al Qaryatayn preserves ancient remains and sits along ancient trade and military routes connecting Damascus with Mesopotamia, consistent with its role as a boundary marker in biblical geography.
Verse Appearances (4)
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]