Biblical History
Rehob in the Beqaa Valley of modern Lebanon represents the northernmost extent of the Israelite spies' reconnaissance mission. When Moses sent twelve men to survey the land of Canaan, they traveled as far as Rehob near Lebo-hamath (Numbers 13:21), indicating that this city marked the northern boundary of the territory God had promised to Israel. The reference to Lebo-hamath, the entrance to Hamath, places this Rehob in the broad valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, a natural corridor connecting the Levantine coast with the Syrian interior. This geographic marker appears again when Scripture defines the ideal boundaries of the Promised Land (Numbers 34:8; Joshua 13:5). The city's mention establishes God's expansive vision for Israel's inheritance, a territory stretching from the wilderness of the Negev to the approaches of the great Syrian kingdom of Hamath. That Israel never fully occupied territory this far north underscores the tension between divine promise and human faithfulness that runs throughout the historical books.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The Beqaa Valley of modern Lebanon, where this Rehob is located, is one of the most fertile and strategically important valleys in the ancient Near East. Situated between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, the valley served as a major corridor for trade and military movement. Archaeological work in the Beqaa has uncovered extensive remains from multiple periods, including the famous temples at Baalbek (ancient Heliopolis) several kilometers to the south. The precise identification of this Rehob within the valley remains uncertain, as no site has been conclusively linked to the biblical name. The region has seen intermittent archaeological survey work, complicated by modern agricultural use and political instability in Lebanon.
Verse Appearances (2)
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]