Lebanon

The Lebanon Mountains rise sharply east of the Mediterranean coastal plain and contain some of the highest elevations of the Levant. Their winter snowfall probably contributed to the ancient name, which is commonly associated with whiteness.

In antiquity the mountains supported extensive forests of cedar, juniper, pine, and other trees. Cedar wood was highly valued because of its size, durability, fragrance, and usefulness in monumental construction and shipbuilding.

Egyptian and Mesopotamian rulers sought timber from Lebanon long before the biblical monarchy. Phoenician coastal cities became important intermediaries in this timber trade.

Centuries of logging and environmental change greatly reduced the ancient forests, although surviving cedar groves preserve an important remnant of the landscape celebrated by biblical writers.

The biblical Lebanon range corresponds to Mount Lebanon and related mountainous territory within and around the modern nation of Lebanon.

The ancient geographical term did not represent the borders of a modern nation-state. Biblical passages may refer specifically to the mountain range, its forests, or more broadly to northern territory associated with the range.

AVWJ should therefore distinguish biblical Lebanon as a geographical region from the modern Republic of Lebanon while recognizing their substantial geographical overlap.