Nuhashe
Nuhashe is a region mentioned in the Bible, located in the region of Syria in modern-day Syria. Known today as Abu al Duhur.
Biblical History
Nuhashe (also spelled Nuhashshi or Nuhasse) is not directly mentioned in the canonical biblical text but belongs to the broader geopolitical world referenced in Scripture. This ancient Syrian kingdom occupied the territory between the Orontes River and the Euphrates, in the region that biblical texts often designate broadly as Aram or Syria. Nuhashe appears prominently in the Amarna Letters (14th century BCE), where its rulers correspond with the Egyptian pharaoh regarding political alliances and threats from the Hittites. The region falls within the area that the Table of Nations (Genesis 10) assigns to the descendants of Shem, and it bordered territories that figure significantly in biblical narratives about Aramean-Israelite relations. The great powers that contended over Nuhashe, including Egypt, the Hittites, and later Assyria, are the same empires that shaped Israel's history. While Nuhashe itself may not appear by name in Scripture, its geographical and political context provides important background for understanding the international dynamics that influenced biblical events from the patriarchal period through the monarchy.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Nuhashe has been identified with the region around modern Abu al-Duhur in the Idlib Governorate of northwestern Syria, situated in the fertile plain between Aleppo and Hama. The kingdom is well attested in cuneiform sources, particularly the Amarna Letters (EA 51, 53) and Hittite treaty documents from Hattusa (modern Bogazkoy, Turkey). Archaeological surveys in the region have identified numerous Bronze Age tells, though systematic excavation has been limited. The broader area includes significant sites such as Ebla (Tell Mardikh), which yielded thousands of cuneiform tablets illuminating Syrian civilization during the third millennium BCE. The region has been heavily affected by the Syrian civil war since 2011, with archaeological sites suffering damage from military operations and illicit digging.
Verse Appearances (0)
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]