Difference between revisions of "Tadmor"

<p> <strong> [[Tadmor]] </strong> (Palmyra). In &nbsp; 2 Chronicles 8:4 we read that [[Solomon]] built ‘Tadmor in the [Syrian] desert.’ It has long been recognized that <em> Tadmor </em> is here a mistake for ‘ <strong> [[Tamar]] </strong> in the [Judæan] desert’ of the corresponding passage in 1Kings (&nbsp; 1 Kings 9:18 ). The Chronicler, or one of his predecessors, no doubt thought it necessary to emend in this fashion a name that was scarcely known to him. (That it is really the city of Tadmor so famous in after times that is meant, is confirmed by the equally unhistorical details given in &nbsp; 2 Chronicles 8:3-4 regarding the [[Syrian]] cities of [[Hamath]] and Zobah.) Hence arose the necessity for the [[Jewish]] schools to change the <em> Tamar </em> of &nbsp; 1 Kings 9:18 in turn into <em> Tadmor </em> [the Qerç in that passage], so as to agree with the text of the Chronicler. The LXX [Note: Septuagint.] translator of &nbsp; 1 Kings 9:13 appears to have already had this correction before him. Nevertheless it is quite certain that <em> Tamar </em> is the original reading. But the correction supplies a very important evidence that at the time when Chronicles was composed ( <em> c </em> <em> [Note: circa, about.] </em> . b.c. 200), Tadmor was already a place of note, around the founding of which a fabulous splendour had gathered, so that it appeared fitting to attribute it to Solomon. This fiction maintained itself, and received further embellishments. The pre-Islamic poet Nâbigha (&nbsp; 1 Kings 9:22 ff., ed. Ahlwardt, <em> c </em> <em> [Note: circa, about.] </em> <em> . </em> a.d. 600) relates that, by [[Divine]] command, the demons built Solomon’s Tadmor by forced labour. This piece of information he may have picked up locally; what he had in view would he, of course, the remains, which must have been still very majestic, of the city whose climax of splendour was reached in the 2nd and 3rd cent. a.d. </p> <p> Tadmor, of whose origin and earlier history we know nothing, lay upon a great natural road through the desert, not far from the Euphrates, and not very far from Damascus. It was thus between Syria, Babylonia, and [[Mesopotamia]] proper. Since water, although not in great abundance, was also found on the spot, Tadmor supplied a peaceable and intelligent population with all the conditions necessary for a metropolis of the caravan trade. Such we find in the case of <strong> Palmyra </strong> , whose identity with Tadmor was all along maintained, and has recently been assured by numerous inscriptions. The first really historical mention of the place (b.c. 37 or 36) tells how the wealth of this centre of trade incited M. Antony to a pillaging campaign (Appian, <em> Bell. Civ. </em> v. 9). </p> <p> The endings of the two names <em> Tadmor </em> and <em> Palmyra </em> are the same, but not the first syllable. It is not clear why the Westerns made such an alteration in the form. The name <em> Palmyra </em> can hardly have anything to do with <em> palms </em> . It would, indeed, be something very remarkable if in this Eastern district the Lat. <em> palma </em> was used at so early a date in the formation of names. The Oriental form <em> Tadmor </em> is to be kept quite apart from <em> tâmâr </em> , ‘palm.’ Finally, it is unlikely that the palm was ever extensively cultivated on the spot. </p> <p> Neither in the OT nor in the NT is there any other mention of Tadmor (Palmyra), and [[Josephus]] names it only when he reproduces the above passage of Chronicles ( <em> Ant. </em> VIII. vi. 1). The place exercised, indeed, no considerable influence on the history either of ancient [[Israel]] or of early Christianity. There is therefore no occasion to go further into the history, once so glorious and finally so tragic, of the great city, or to deal with the fortunes of the later somewhat inconsiderable place, which now, in spite of its imposing ruins, is desolate in the extreme, but which still bears the ancient name Tadmor ( <em> Tedmur, Tudmur </em> ). </p> <p> Th. Nöldeke. </p>

<p> &nbsp;2 Chronicles 8:4. [[Built]] by Solomon in the wilderness. Τamar , [[Hebrew]] (&nbsp;1 Kings 9:18), meaning "the city of palms," corresponding to Palmyra from palma "a palm." Solomon fixed on the site, an oasis in the desert which lies between [[Palestine]] and Babylonia, as the commercial entrepot between [[Jerusalem]] and Babylon. Subsequently, it linked Rome and [[Parthia]] by the mutual advantages of trade. In Trajan's time it fell under Rome. Called by Hadrian, who rebuilt it, Hadrianopolis. Under the emperor Gallienus the Roman senate made Odenathus, a senator of Palmyra, its king for having defeated Sapor of Persia. On Odenathus' assassination his widow [[Zenobia]] assumed the title [[Queen]] of the East, but was conquered and made captive (A.D. 273) by the emperor Aurelian. </p> <p> Merchants from the English factory at Aleppo, at the close of the 17th century, visited it, and reported their discoveries (Philos. Transact., A.D. 1695, vol. 19, 83). Aglibelus and Melachbelus, i.e. the summer and the winter sun, are named in one inscription (Bochart, Geogr. Sacr., 2:8, section 811). Long lines of Corinthian columns still remain, producing a striking effect; probably of the second and third centuries A.D. A fragment of a building bears Diocletian's name. There are remains of walls of Justinian's time. [[Robert]] Wood's "The Ruins of Palmyra," a folio with splendid engravings (A.D 1753), is the best work on Tadmor; see also chap. 11 of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." </p>

<p> [[Tadmor]] (''Tăd'M'' ''Ôr'' ). Heb. ''Tamar, Palms.'' A city in the wilderness, built by Solomon. &nbsp;1 Kings 9:18, R. V., "Tamar;" &nbsp;2 Chronicles 8:4. There is no other [[Scripture]] mention of this city. It has usually been identified with the famous city of Palmyra. Palmyra occupied the most favorable position on the great caravan route between the rich cities of the East and the ports of the Mediterranean. Palmyra was mentioned by Pliny, Josephus, Jerome, and other early writers. The ruins extend over a plain about three or four miles in circuit. </p>

<p> ''''' tad´mor ''''' , ''''' tad´mōr ''''' ( תּדמר , <i> ''''' tadhmōr ''''' </i> ): A city built by Solomon in the wilderness (&nbsp; 2 Chronicles 8:4 ), the Roman Palmyra. Tadmor is the native name and is found on inscriptions. It occurs also in the <i> '''''Ḳerē''''' </i> of &nbsp;1 Kings 9:18 , where the <i> '''''Kethı̄bh''''' </i> or consonants read "Tamar" (compare &nbsp;Ezekiel 47:19; &nbsp;Ezekiel 48:28 ). It is famous in [[Arabian]] as well as in Hebrew literature, and enters Roman history in connection with Zenobia and Longinus. The inscriptions, which belong for the most part to the latter period (266-73 AD), have been published by Dawkins and Wood and also by M. Waddington and the Duc de Luynes. [[Popular]] works on the subject are <i> An Account of Palmyra and Zenobia </i> by W. Wright, and <i> The Last Days and Fall of Palmyra </i> by W. Ware. See [[Tamar]] . </p>