Geographical Context:
Phoenicia, also known as Phoenice, was an ancient region located along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, primarily in what is now modern-day Lebanon, with parts extending into Syria and northern Israel. The region was characterized by its narrow coastal strip, bordered by the Lebanon Mountains to the east and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. The major cities of Phoenicia included Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos, which were significant centers of trade and culture in the ancient world.

Historical Significance:
Phoenicia is renowned for its maritime prowess and as the birthplace of the Phoenician alphabet, which greatly influenced the development of writing systems in the ancient world. The Phoenicians were skilled sailors and traders, establishing colonies and trade networks across the Mediterranean, including the famous city of Carthage in North Africa.

Biblical References:
Phoenicia is mentioned in several passages of the Bible, often in the context of trade and interaction with the Israelites. The cities of Tyre and Sidon are frequently noted for their wealth and influence. In the Old Testament, King Hiram of Tyre is known for his alliance with King Solomon, providing materials and craftsmen for the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 5:1-12).

In the New Testament, Phoenicia is mentioned in the context of the early Christian church. Acts 11:19 notes that after the persecution following Stephen's martyrdom, some believers traveled as far as Phoenicia, spreading the message of the Gospel. Additionally, Acts 21:2-3 describes Paul's journey to Jerusalem, where he sailed past the coast of Phoenicia.

Cultural and Religious Influence:
The Phoenicians were known for their polytheistic religion, worshiping a pantheon of gods and goddesses, with Baal and Astarte being among the most prominent. Their religious practices and deities occasionally influenced neighboring cultures, including the Israelites, leading to periods of syncretism and idolatry, which were condemned by the Hebrew prophets.

Prophetic Warnings:
The prophets of the Old Testament often spoke against the cities of Phoenicia, particularly Tyre and Sidon, for their pride and idolatry. Ezekiel 26-28 contains a series of prophecies against Tyre, foretelling its downfall due to its arrogance and opposition to God's people. Similarly, Isaiah 23 prophesies the destruction of Tyre, emphasizing the transient nature of human wealth and power.

Legacy:
Despite the eventual decline of Phoenician power, their contributions to language, trade, and culture left a lasting impact on the ancient world. The spread of the Phoenician alphabet laid the groundwork for the development of Greek and Latin scripts, which are the ancestors of many modern alphabets. The biblical narrative reflects both the complex interactions between the Israelites and the Phoenicians and the overarching theme of God's sovereignty over all nations.Phoenicia Phoenice

(land of palm trees) a tract of country, of which Tyre and Sidon were the principal cities, to the north of Palestine, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea bounded by that sea on the west, and by the mountain range of Lebanon on the east. The name was not the one by which its native inhabitants called it, but was given to it by the Greeks, from the Greek word for the palm tree. The native name of Phoenicia was Kenaan (Canaan) or Kna , signifying lowland, so named in contrast to the ad joining Aram, i.e. highland, the Hebrew name of Syria. The length of coast to which the name of Phoenicia was applied varied at different times.

1. What may be termed Phoenicia proper was a narrow undulating plain, extending from the pass of Ras el-Beyad or Abyad , the Promontorium Album of the ancients, about six miles south of Tyre, to the Nahr el-Auly , the ancient Bostrenus, two miles north of Sidon. The plain is only 28 miles in length. Its average breadth is about a mile; but near Sidon the mountains retreat to a distance of two miles, and near Tyre to a distance of five miles.
2. A longer district, which afterward became entitled to the name of Phoenicia, extended up the coast to a point marked by the island of Aradus, and by Antaradus toward the north; the southern boundary remaining the same as in Phoenicia proper. Phoenicia, thus defined is estimated to have been about 120 miles in length; while its breadth, between Lebanon and the sea, never exceeded 20 miles, and was generally much less. The whole of Phoenicia proper is well watered by various streams from the adjoining hills. The havens of Tyre and Sidon afforded water of sufficient depth for all the requirements of ancient navigation, and the neighboring range of the Lebanon, in its extensive forests, furnished what then seemed a nearly inexhaustible supply of timber for ship-building. Language and race . --The Phoenicians spoke a branch of the Semitic language so closely allied to Hebrew that Phoenician and Hebrew, though different dialects, may practically be regarded as the same language. Concerning the original race to which the Phoenicians belonged, nothing can be known with certainty, because they are found already established along the Mediterranean Sea at the earliest dawn of authentic history, and for centuries afterward there is no record of their origin. According to Herodotus, vii. 89, they said of themselves in his time that they came in days of old from the shores of the Red Sea and in this there would be nothing in the slightest degree improbable as they spoke a language cognate to that of the Arabians, who inhabited the east coast of that sea. Still neither the truth nor the falsehood of the tradition can now be proved. But there is one point respecting their race which can be proved to be in the highest degree probable, and which has peculiar interest as bearing on the Jews, viz., that the Phoenicians were of the same race as the Canaanites. Commerce, etc . --In regard to Phoenician trade, connected with the Israelites, it must be recollected that up to the time of David not one of the twelve tribes seems to have possessed a single harbor on the seacoast; it was impossible there fore that they could become a commercial people. But from the time that David had conquered Edom, an opening for trade was afforded to the Israelites. Solomon continued this trade with its king, obtained timber from its territory and employed its sailors and workmen. (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5:9,17,18) The religion of the Phoenicians, opposed to Monotheism, was a pantheistical personification of the forces of nature and in its most philosophical shadowing forth of the supreme powers it may be said to have represented the male and female principles of production. In its popular form it was especially a worship of the sun, moon and five planets, or, as it might have been expressed according to ancient notions, of the seven planets --the most beautiful and perhaps the most natural form of idolatry ever presented to the human imagination. Their worship was a constant temptation for the Hebrews to Polytheism and idolatry --
3. Because undoubtedly the Phoenicians, as a great commercial people, were more generally intelligent, and as we should now say civilized, than the inland agricultural population of Palestine. When the simple-minded Jews, therefore, came in contact with a people more versatile and apparently more enlightened than themselves, but who nevertheless, either in a philosophical or in a popular form admitted a system of Polytheism an influence would be exerted on Jewish minds tending to make them regard their exclusive devotion to their own one God Jehovah, however transcendent his attributes, as unsocial and morose.
4. The Phoenician religion had in other respects an injurious effect on the people of Palestine, being in some points essentially demoralizing, For example, it mentioned the dreadful superstition of burning children as sacrifices to a Phoenician god. Again, parts of the Phoenician religion, especially the worship of Astarte, fended to encourage dissoluteness in the relations of the sexes, and even to sanctify impurities of the most abominable description. The only other fact respecting the Phoenicians that need be mentioned here is that the invention of letters was universally asserted by the Greeks and Romans to have been communicated by the Phoenicians to the Greeks. For further details respecting the Phoenicians see TYRE and ZIDON, OR SIDON. Phoenicia is now a land of ruins.

5403. Phoinike -- Phoenicia, a region North of Galilee
... Phoenicia. From phoinix; palm-country; Phoenice (or Phoenicia), a region of Palestine --
Phenice, Phenicia. see GREEK phoinix. (phoiniken) -- 2 Occurrences. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5403.htm - 6k

A Description of the Sea-Coast, Out of Pliny and Strabo.
... makes Joppa the border of Palestine, and the beginning of Phoenice, there are ... Pliny,
is properly signified the end of it, touching upon Phoenicia properly so ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 10 a description of.htm

The West Coast of Galilee-Carmel.
... as of Phoenicia: for in Ptolemais itself, or Acon, was the separation and parting
of the land of Israel from Phoenicia. Hence Josephus, "Phoenice and Syria do ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 63 the west coast.htm

The Forged Acts.
... Hadrian (according to Spruner-Menke), or of Severus (according to Mommsen), was
the capital of the newly formed province of Syria-Phoenice, or Syro-Phoenicia. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/pamphilius/church history/chapter v the forged acts.htm

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