Zobah

Biblical Text

Zobah was one of the kingdoms established by the Arameans. It is also called Aram-zobah.

• The time of Saul: 1 Samuel 14:47 lists "the kings of Zobah" among the enemies on every side against whom Saul fought.
• David's war with Hadadezer: According to 2 Samuel 8:3-12, David struck and defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who was going toward the river Euphrates. David also defeated the Arameans of Damascus who came to help Hadadezer, and he took a great quantity of brass from Hadadezer's cities. Toi king of Hamath, who had been at war with Hadadezer, then sent his son to David to congratulate him. The same account appears in 1 Chronicles 18:3-11.
• The Ammonite war: According to 2 Samuel 10:6-19, the children of Ammon hired the foot soldiers of the Arameans of Zobah to fight against David, but they were defeated by Joab. Hadadezer later fought again, with his commander Shobach at the head of his army, but he was defeated, and the kings who served Hadadezer made peace with Israel (see also 1 Chronicles 19).
• Rezon: 1 Kings 11:23-25 introduces Rezon, who fled from Hadadezer king of Zobah. Rezon gathered a band of men, became king in Damascus, and became an adversary of Solomon.
• Other passages: 2 Chronicles 8:3 records that Solomon went to "Hamath-zobah" and prevailed against it. The superscription (heading) of Psalm 60 sets the psalm in the time when David strove with "Aram-zobah." Second Samuel 23:36 names "Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah" among David's mighty men.

Background

Zobah appears to have been located in the region of Syria north of Damascus and south of Hamath. Scholars differ on its exact location and extent. Because Hadadezer led other kings and was able to mobilize Arameans from beyond the Euphrates, the texts suggest that in David's time Zobah was a powerful state at the head of various Aramean powers. After Zobah's power was broken, the kingdom that Rezon established at Damascus emerged as the leading Aramean power.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In the Old Testament, the conflict with Zobah illustrates the northward expansion of David's kingdom. Some interpreters connect it with the boundaries of the land promised in the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 15:18). The name Zobah does not appear in the New Testament.

Interpretive Issues

• Differences in numbers: The number of soldiers David captured differs between 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. Second Samuel 8:4 gives 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers, while 1 Chronicles 18:4 gives 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. Some explain the difference as a scribal error that arose in transmission, while others seek to harmonize the two accounts. The Septuagint text of 2 Samuel is reported to contain figures similar to those in 1 Chronicles.
• Who sought to recover his power: In 2 Samuel 8:3, it is grammatically unclear whether the one who went to recover his power at the river Euphrates was David or Hadadezer. Interpretations differ on this point.
• Hamath-zobah: Opinions are also divided on whether "Hamath-zobah" in 2 Chronicles 8:3 is the name of a single place or a term referring jointly to the region of Hamath and Zobah.