Sibraim
Sibraim is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Syria in modern-day Lebanon. Known today as between Damascus and Hamath. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Sibraim is mentioned only once in the Old Testament, appearing in Ezekiel 47:16 as a boundary marker in Ezekiel's visionary description of the ideal restored land of Israel. In the great eschatological vision beginning in Ezekiel 40, the prophet describes a renewed temple and a redistributed promised land. The northern boundary of this restored territory is delineated in Ezekiel 47:15-17, running from the Mediterranean through a series of towns including Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, and Hazar-hatticon. The inclusion of Sibraim between Damascus and Hamath places it in the region of the Bekaa Valley or the anti-Lebanon mountains, at the northernmost extent of the idealized Israelite territory — territory that historically corresponded roughly to the extent of the Davidic-Solomonic empire at its height. Though Sibraim itself appears nowhere else in Scripture, its role as a northern boundary marker in Ezekiel's vision reflects the prophetic hope for a fully restored and ideally bounded Israel under God's sovereign governance.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The exact location of Sibraim remains unidentified with certainty. It is placed in the general region between Damascus and Hamath — a zone that corresponds to the modern Bekaa Valley of Lebanon and the Homs region of Syria. Some scholars have proposed identification with Ziphron mentioned in Numbers 34:9 as part of the northern boundary description, suggesting these may be variant names for the same location. The region between the Orontes and the anti-Lebanon range has seen limited systematic archaeological survey, partly due to modern political conditions. Occasional excavations at sites such as Qatna and in the Homs gap have illuminated Bronze Age and Iron Age occupation but have not resolved the question of Sibraim's precise location.
Verse Appearances (1)
Ezek
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →