Hemath
חַמַּת / חֵימָת/HEE-math/
“Heat or warmth”
Summary
Hemath was a Kenite ancestor of the Rechabites; the name also appears as an alternate form of Hamath in some translations.
☩Ancestor of Rechabites
Hemath (same as Hammath) is listed as the father of the house of Rechab, from whom the Rechabites descended. The Kenites were a people connected to Moses' father-in-law, and this branch became the Rechabites who were later commended by Jeremiah for their faithfulness to their ancestor's commands regarding abstinence from wine.
Key verses:1 Chronicles 2:55
☩Confusion with Hamath
In Amos 6:14, "Hemath" in some translations is simply an alternate English rendering of Hamath, the famous Syrian city. The Hebrew is the same word for the city Hamath mentioned throughout Scripture as marking the northern boundary of Israel's ideal territory.
Key verses:Amos 6:14
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Hemath," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Hemath," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Hemath," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).