I. Name

Mount Hermon is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible (e.g. Deut. 3.8; Josh. 11.3, Josh. 17). The prominent mountain at the west-end of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon rises to a height of 2.814 m above sea-level. Its modern name is Jebel eš-Šeḫ “Mountain of the Hoar” or Jebel et-talǧ “Mountain of Snow”, both designations pointing to the long-lasting snow-cap on its summit. The etymology of Hermon (Heb. ḥermōn) is disputed: a) The root ḥrm I Niph. means “to be split”, cf. Ar. ḥarama “perfora…