Zalmon (Hastings' Dictionary)

i. The place mentioned in Ps 68" is considered by some com- mentators to be the same as Mount Zalmon (.Ig 9'''') — the hill, near Shechem, on which Abinie- lech and his jieople cut down boughs to set ' the hold ' of the house of El-berith on lire. There is, however, nothing in Ps 68 to lend to the belief that the Psalmist intended to refer to an undcr- feature of Mount Gerizira, which is mentioned in the OT only in connexion with an incident th.

at had no influence on the history of the Israelites. The central idea of the psalm is the selection of Zion as the abode of God, in preference to Sinai ■whence the Law was given, and to ' the mountain of Bashan' which had looked down upon the memor- able overthrow of Og anil his army.

The earlier verses contain a retrospective glance at the journey of the Israelites from Sinai onwards, through the desert, under the immediate leading and K^idauce of God, and their triumphant occupation of Canaan after vanquishing all their enemies.

In this vic- torious progress, one of the most striking incidents was the complete overthrow of Og, near Edrei, on the plains of Bashan, — a victory which long lingered in the national memory (Ps 135" 136-"), — and Zalmon should probably be looked for in that region. Some suppose that Zalmon means 'darkness,' and connect it with the ' darkly ' wooded hill near Shechem, but this meaning would be equally applicable to the basalts and volcanic hills of Bashan.

Zalmon may have been a jiortion of Bashan, or one of tiie summits of Jebel Jfaiiran,oi Mount Hermon. (In Jg 9'"* the LXX reads 5pos "Ep/iwt/ for Mount Zalmon). The allusion to the snow is supposed by some to refer to ground white with the bones of Canaanites slain in battle ; but this is rather straining the meaning. Possibly the words refer to an actui fall of snow in Zalmon during the battle with Og. 2. One of David's heroes, 2 S 2328. See Ilai. C. W. Wilson.