Jewish Bubba: Lebanon; Center of Hezbollah Also Mentioned in Biblical Prophecy

Nadene Goldfoot

Philistines: Yes, the Philistines are mentioned in the Bible more than 250 times, and are one of the most prominent ancient peoples in the Bible.

The Bible mentions Lebanon 71 times in the Old Testament, but only in reference to its natural features. Lebanon is a sacred land that was part of the Promised Land. The name Lebanon comes from the Hebrew word laban, which means "white" and refers to the snow-capped mountains. The Bible mentions Lebanon's cedar trees, which were a valuable source of lumber for the Israelites. The Bible also mentions Lebanon in relation to the Theophany of the Lord.

The expanded into neighbouring areas and soon came into conflict with the Israelites, a struggle represented by the Samson saga (Judges 13–16) in the Hebrew Bible. Possessing superior arms and military organization, the Philistines were able (c. 1050 BCE) to occupy part of the Judaean hill country.

A mysterious prophecy found in Psalm 83 describes a confederacy formed to fight against Israel. “They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee” (verses 4-5). Psalms is said to have been written by King David (1010 BCE-970 BCE)

Which nations are to be part of this alliance? Verses 6-8 answer: “The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Even Assyria joined with them: they became the strong arm of Lot's sons, Selah (pause and listen). ” The modern Middle Eastern nations included in this alliance are Turkey, the Gulf states, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Psalm 83 is the historical enmity of the nations against Israel and is an outgrowth of hatred for that which Israel stands for: the complete subordination of all human striving to G-d's will. It was written after saying in 82 that a prerequisite for the continued existence of the world was the maintenance of equity and justice.

But we also know, based on another prophecy, in Daniel 11:40-43, that Lebanon will no longer be allied with Iran. This passage describes an epic clash between two great end-time powers: “And at the time of the End shall the king of the south will clash with him: and the king of the north will storm against him with chariot, horsemen and many ships; he will invade countries, flood them and pass through. Then he will invade the coveted land. many will stumble, but these will be saved from his hand: Edom, Moab and the choice parts of the Children of Ammon. He will stretch forth his hand against land, and the land of Egypt will not be a survivor. Etc.

The book of Daniel seems to be referring to the 4 persecuting kingdoms of Babylonia, Media, Persia (Iran today) and Greece. The historical events may be about Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria who was a wicked ruler. This was the beginning of the Maccabean revolt c.165 BCE. Daniel's chaps 2:4-7:28 are in Aramaic and exercised a profound influence on the following mysticism.

The only major nations missing from this list of Israel's persistent enemies are Egypt and Babylon. There may be several reasons for their omission. First, the context speaks of a particular historical "confederacy" against Israel, and Egypt and Babylon may not have been part of it. Second, as major powers in the region, Egypt and Babylon were generally unconcerned about Israel, or at least did not posses the visceral hatred of God's people that these other nations did. Third, the peoples that are mentioned were either ethnically related to Israel or lived in close proximity to her, while Egypt and Babylon are not related to Israel and inhabited distant realms.

Beirut is the capital of Lebanon. A Jewish settlement is thought to be ancient, because the town received benefactions from Herod. By the 12th century only 50 Jewish families lived there. Exiles from Spain then entered after 1492. 6,000 Jews lived here by 1940. After 1948's birth of Israel, Jews fled from Syria and settled in Beirut first. Then they left before the 1967 War. and in 1975 there were 1,000 left. They then left during the Civil War. by 1990 only about 100 Jews remained.

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Saturday. (Bilal Hussein/AP)

A year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Israel has opened a new front in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has traded fire with Israel since the war in Gaza began. The Iran-backed Shiite militia was considered the most powerful non-state group in the Middle East, but an Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah in 2024 has considerably weakened it.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A new round of airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs late Sunday as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon in a widening war with Iran-allied militant groups across the region. Palestinian officials said a strike on a mosque killed at least 19 people. Beirut’s skyline lit up again late Sunday with new airstrikes, a day after Israel’s heaviest bombardment of the southern suburbs known as the Dahiyeh since it escalated its air campaign on Sept. 23. It was not immediately clear if there were casualties.

Hezbollah terrorists attack Israel from Lebanon and are financed by Iran. Israel’s military has stepped up strikes on southern Beirut in recent days. On Saturday, Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, as Israel’s military issued evacuation notices to residents and said the strikes targeted Hezbollah’s “terrorist infrastructure.”

Israel’s military said it had intercepted four drones and 20 projectiles that had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory early Saturday, setting off sirens in the Western Galilee border area.