Mentioned in the Bible by name

Aram

And it came to pass (Hebr. vajehi) that Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah, daughter of the Aramean Bethuel from Paddan-Aram and sister of the Aramean Laban, as his wife.[This was the area around Haran in Upper Mesopotamia. Isaac lives to be 180 years old (Gen. 35:28), which means that he still has 140 years left of his earthly life when he marries. In Jewish culture, men are around 18-20 and women are often 14-15 at the time of marriage, but life expectancy is 70-80 years.]

Arise, go to Paddan-aram [in the north; upper Mesopotamia, present-day southeastern Turkey] to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take a wife from there, from the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. [Laban and Rebekah were siblings, and their father's name was Bethuel, see Gen. 22:23.]

And Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-Aram, to Laban the Aramean, the son of Bethuel and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-Aram to take a wife from there, and that he had blessed him and commanded him, saying, "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,"

and that Jacob had listened to his father and mother and had gone to Paddan-Aram,

and took all his livestock and all the property he had acquired, the livestock he had acquired and acquired in Paddan-Aram, and went to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

And Jacob slipped away from the Aramean Laban without telling him that he was going to flee.

But God came to the Aramean Laban in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, good or bad."

And Jacob [continued westward, across the Jordan, and] arrived safely (in peace) at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan when he came from Paddan-Aram [Gen. 25:20] and camped in front of the city.
[Shechem (meaning: shoulder) is present-day Nablus. The city is located in the central mountainous region about 70 kilometers north of Jerusalem near Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Jacob pitched his tents in front of the city, i.e., east of it in the fertile fields.]

And God (Elohim) appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-Aram and blessed him.

Leah's [two] sons by the servant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-Aram. [General statement for the majority of the children. Benjamin was born in Canaan, see verses 16-17.]

These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-Aram; [she also bore] his daughter Dinah.
All his sons and his daughters—33 persons in all (lives, souls). [Half of all, see verse 26—the highest number in this genealogy.]

And he [Balaam] took up his parable (he began to speak in images and proverbs, often with many meanings; sometimes even prophetically – Hebr. mashal) and said:
"From Aram [present-day central and southern Syria; meaning: exalted]
Balak brought me,
king of Moab
from the mountains of the east:
Come, curse (Hebr. arar) Jacob
and come curse (Hebr. zaam) Israel.

Then you must speak and say before the Lord (Yahweh) your God (Elohim):
"A wandering Aramean [from Aram, se Gen 31:41–42] was my father [Jacob was the progenitor; he lived in Syria for a long time, see Gen. 29–32; Hos. 12:12] and he went down to Egypt. He stayed there with a small band, and there he became a great and powerful and numerous people.

And the Spirit of the Lord (Yahweh) came upon him, and he judged Israel, and he went out to battle, and the Lord (Yahweh) delivered the king of Aram, Koshan-Rishataim, into his hand, and his hand prevailed against Koshan-Rishataim.

And the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord (Yahweh) and served [now seven idols are listed:]
the Baals
and the Ashtaroth (stars) and
the gods of Aram [which were Chehadad, Mot, Anat, and Rimmon]
and the gods of Sidon
and the gods of Moab [Chemosh, see Num. 21:29]
and the gods of the sons of Ammon [Moloch, see 1 Kings 11:7]
and the gods of the Philistines [Dagon, see Judg. 16:23]
and they forsook the Lord (Yahweh) and did not serve him.

And when the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of the Arameans.

Then David placed garrisons in Damascus. Aram and the Arameans became servants (slaves) to David and brought gifts. And the Lord (Yahweh) gave David victory wherever he went.

from Aram, from Moab, from the sons of Ammon, from the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

And David made a name for himself when he returned from defeating the Arameans in the Valley of Salt, 18,000 men.

And when the sons of Ammon saw that they had become detestable to David [they understood that they had humiliated David], they sent for
20,000 foot soldiers from Beit-Rachov and Tsova's Arameans,
1,000 men from the king of Maacah, and
12,000 men from Tob.
[An army totaling 33,000 men.]

And the sons of Ammon came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate, and the Arameans of Zobah and Beth-Rechov, and the men of Tov and Maacah were with them in the field.

Now when Joab saw that the enemy was arrayed against him both in front and behind [when he realized that it would be a two-front war], he chose some of Israel's best men [select warriors] and arrayed them against the Arameans,

And he said, "If the Arameans become too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the sons of Ammon become too strong for you, then I will help you.

So Joab and the people [the army] who were with him drew near to fight against the Arameans, and they fled before him.

And when the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they likewise fled before Avishai and entered the city [the Ammonite capital of Rabbah, present-day Amman]. Then Joab returned from the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.

And when the Arameans saw that things were going badly for Israel, they gathered themselves together.

And Hadadezer [king of Zobah in northern Syria, see 2 Sam. 8:3] sent and brought the Arameans who were beyond the River [Euphrates], and they came to Helam, with Shobach, commander of the army of Hadadezer, at their head.[Chejlam means "stronghold"; a place east of the Jordan River, but west of the Euphrates River. It is mentioned only here and in the next verse (and perhaps in Ezek. 47:16). Chejlam is also mentioned in an Egyptian execution text (to curse their enemies) that is almost a thousand years older; future archaeological finds may help to identify the exact location of the site.]

And it was told David, and he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to Chejlam. And the Arameans lined up in battle formation against David and fought him.

And the Arameans fled before Israel, and David slew of the Arameans seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shovach, the captain of their army, that he died there.

When all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer [other cities in the northern region of Syria and on the other side of the Euphrates River] saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them [they became subject to Israel]. And the Arameans never again dared to rescue (help) the sons of Ammon.

For your servant made a vow while I was living in Geshor in Aram, saying, 'If the Lord (Yahweh) truly brings me back to Jerusalem, I will serve the Lord (Yahweh).'"

And a chariot came up and went out from Egypt for 600 shekels [the price of 6.9 kg] of silver, and a horse for 150 [shekels of silver – equivalent to 1.7 kg]. And likewise to the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram, they brought them out for a fixed price.

And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the troubles that Hadad caused, and he hated Israel and reigned over Aram.

And Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasury of the house of the Lord (Yahweh) and the treasures of the king's house, and gave them into the hands of his servants, and King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who dwelt in Damascus, saying

The Lord said to him, "Go back the way you came [through Israel east of the Dead Sea and Jordan] and continue to the desert around Damascus. When you arrive, anoint Hazael king over Aram (Syria).

And Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, gathered his entire army, and there were 32 kings with him, with horses and chariots, and he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it.

And they each struck their man, and the Arameans fled, and Israel pursued them, and Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, fled on a horse with horsemen.

And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and the chariots and slaughtered the Arameans with a great blow.

And the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, "Go and strengthen yourself (make yourself firm, secure, brave) and know and see what you have done, for when the year returns (the same time next year), the king of Aram will come up against you."

And the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their God is a god of the mountains, therefore they were stronger (more secure, braver) than us. But let us fight against them in the field, then we will surely be stronger (more secure, braver) than them.

And it came to pass, when the year was come round again (a year had passed), that Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.

And the sons of Israel were mustered and provisioned and went against them, and the sons of Israel camped before them like two small flocks of lambs, but the Arameans filled the land.

And a man of God came near to the king of Israel and said, "Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Because the Arameans have said, 'The Lord (Yahweh) is a god of the mountains but he is not a god of the valleys,' therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord (Yahweh)."

And they camped opposite each other for seven days. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the battle began, and the sons of Israel slew of the Arameans 100,000 footmen in one day.

[Chapter 21 was an interruption, the chiastic center, and now comes a passage that is thematically related to 1 Kings 20 and the war with Aram.]
And there was no war between Aram and Israel for three years.

And the king of Israel said to his servants, "Do you know that Ramoth-Gilead is ours, and we are passive and do not take it from the hand of the king of Aram?"

And Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), the son of Kenaan, made himself horns of iron and said, "Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are consumed."

And the king of Aram had commanded the 32 leaders of his chariots, saying, "Do not fight (duel) with anyone small or great except the king of Israel."

And the battle grew fierce that day, and the king stood in his chariot against the Arameans and died in the evening, and the blood flowed from his wound into the bottom of the chariot.

Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. [The king of Aram is Ben-Hadad II, who reigned from 860 to 841 BC in the area around Damascus in Syria.] Naaman had great influence with his master, for through him the Lord (Yahweh) had given the Arameans military victories. But this great warrior suffered from a severe skin disease (Hebr. tsara).
[The Hebr. word is a general term for various types of skin diseases that spread. It is a type of mold. Most Bible scholars believe that it is not the leprosy that exists today, also known as Hansen's disease, see also Lev. 13–14.]

Smaller military units of the Arameans had gone out on raids, and among the captives they took in Israel was a young girl (teenager – Hebr. naarah) who became a slave to Naaman's wife.

The king of Aram replied, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So he went, taking with him 10 talents [equivalent to 340 kg] of silver, 6,000 shekels [equivalent to 70 kg] of gold, and 10 changes of clothing.

But Gehazi, the servant (Hebr. naar) of Elisha, the man of God, said, "Look, my master has refused to accept anything from the hand of Naaman, the Aramean. As the Lord (Yahweh) lives, I will run after him and take something from him."

Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. When he consulted with his servants and said, "In such and such a place I will encamp [with my army]." [When he gave the positions in order to attack.]

Then the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, "Beware (protect, preserve) yourself, lest you pass by such a place, for the Arameans are coming down there."

And the heart of the king of Aram was greatly troubled because of this, and he called his servants and said to them, "Can you not tell me which of us is keeping with the king of Israel?"

And he prepared a great feast for them, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the army of Aram did not come into the land of Israel again.

After this, Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, gathered his entire army and went up to besiege Samaria.

If we say, 'Let us go into the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we shall also die. Come, and let us fall into the hands of the Aramean army; if they spare us alive, we shall live; but if they kill us, we shall have died anyway."

And they rose at twilight and went to the camp of the Arameans, and when they came to the outer part of the camp of the Arameans, behold, there was no man there.

For the Lord (Adonai) had caused the Aramean army to hear the sound of chariots and the sound of horses and of a great army, and they said to one another, "Behold, the king of Israel has hired (for a fee, hired against us) the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us."

So they came and called out to the gatekeeper of the city. And they told him, saying, "We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no man there, nor the voice of any man, but the horses were tied up and the donkeys were tied up, and the tents were as they were."

And the king arose in the night and said to his servants, "I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we are hungry, so they have gone out of the camp and hidden themselves in the field, saying, 'When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and go into their city. [The king does not believe the words of the lepers; he thinks it is a trap to lure the people out of the city. His ancestors used a similar tactic in Ai, see Josh. 8:3–28.]

So they took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, "Go and see."

They went after them [eastward] to the Jordan. [Probably via Beth-shan, which lies along the road between Samaria and Damascus.] And behold, the whole road was full of clothing and weapons that the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. [During their flight, the Syrians had thrown away their cloaks, shields, and even swords—everything that hindered a hasty retreat.] So the messengers returned and told [all this] to the king.

Then the people went out and plundered the Aramean camp. So a sea measure [7-12 liters] of fine wheat was sold for a shekel [a month's wages], and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord (Yahweh) [see verse 1].

[Elijah had been commissioned to anoint Hazael as king, see 1 Kings 19:15. He reigned at the same time as Elijah's successor, Elisha. Hazael reigned from 842 to 805 BC.]
And Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad, king of Aram [Syria], was sick, and they told him, saying, "The man of God has come here."

So Hazael went and met him, and took a gift in his hand of all the good things of Damascus—40 loaded camels—and came and stood before him and said, "Your son Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, has sent me to you, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?

And Hazael said, "Who is your servant, who is like a dog, that should do these great things?" And Elisha said, "The Lord (Yahweh) has shown me that you shall be king over Aram."

And he went with Joram, the son of Ahab, to fight against Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth-Gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram.

And King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael, king of Aram. And Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram, son of Ahab, in Jezreel, because he was sick.

And Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. And Joram guarded (protected, preserved) Ramoth-Gilead from Hazael, king of Aram.

But King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Hazael, king of Aram. And Jehu said, "If this is your mind, let no one escape from the city and go and tell it in Jezreel."

At that time, Hazael, king of Aram [Syria], went up and fought against [the Philistine city] Gath and took it. [The plan was probably to control the southern trade routes; he had also taken areas on the eastern side, see 2 Kings 10:32–33.] And Hazael turned his face toward Jerusalem.

And Jehoash, king of Judah, took all the sacred things that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had set apart (consecrated), and his own sacred objects, and all the gold that was in the treasury of the house of the Lord (Yahweh) and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael, king of Aram, who had withdrawn from Jerusalem.

And the anger of the Lord (Yahweh) was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael, king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad, son of Hazael, all their days.

And Jehoahaz prayed to the Lord (Yahweh), and the Lord (Yahweh) listened to him, for he saw the affliction of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them.

And the Lord (Yahweh) gave Israel a savior, so that they could leave (literally: "go out from under") the hand of the Arameans, and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as before. [The savior is not identified but may be Elisha, who is mentioned in verse 14. Another suggestion is Jehoash, see verse 25.]

And there remained to Jehoahaz nothing but fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram destroyed them and made them like the chaff when threshing.

And he said, "Open the window toward the east." And he opened it. And Elisha said, "Shoot!" And he shot. And he said, "The Lord's (Yahweh's) arrow of victory, the arrow of victory against Aram, for you shall strike the Arameans at Aphek until you have devoured them."

And the man of God became angry with him and said, "You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until it was consumed, but now you will only strike Aram three times."

And Hazael, king of Aram, oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

And Hazael, king of Aram, died, and Ben-Hadad, his son, reigned in his place.

In those days the Lord (Yahweh) began to send Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, against Judah.

Then King Rezin of Aram (Syria) [740-733 BC] and King Pekah, son of Remaliah, of Israel [Northern Kingdom, 752-732 BC] came up to Jerusalem to wage war, and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. [2 Chron. 28:16–21]

At that time, Rezin, king of Aram, recaptured Eilat for Aram and drove the Jews out of Eilat, and the Edomites came to Eilat and lived there to this day.

And Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria [Tiglath-Pileser III], saying, "I am your servant and your son; come and save me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me."

And the Lord (Yahweh) sent against him the armies of the Chaldeans, the armies of the Arameans, the armies of the Moabites, and the armies of the sons of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy them, according to the word of the Lord (Yahweh) which he had spoken by the hand of his servants the prophets.

The sons of Shem were Elam, Ashor [the Assyrians], Arpakshad, Lud, and Aram, as well as Uz (Hebr. Ots), Hul, Geter, and Meshech.

But the Geshurites and the Arameans took away the villages of Jair and Kenath and its surrounding towns, 60 cities. All these were the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead.

The sons of Manasseh were Asriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore to him. She also bore Machir, the father of Gilead.

When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 of them.

David placed troops among the Arameans in Damascus, and the Arameans became David's servants and paid him tribute. And the Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

When the Ammonites realized that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent 1,000 talents [34 tons] of silver to hire chariots and horsemen from Aram-Naharajim, from Aram-Maacha, and from Tsova.

Joab saw that he had enemies both in front of him and behind him. He then selected some of Israel's best men and lined them up against the Arameans.

He said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, come to my aid, and if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come to your aid.

Then Joab and his men advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him.

When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were fleeing, they also fled before his brother Avishai and entered the city. And Joab came to Jerusalem.

When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to the Arameans who were beyond the River. They came out under the command of Shophach, commander of Hadadezer's army.

When David was told, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan, and when he came to them, he drew up in battle array against them. David drew up in battle array against the Arameans, and they fought against him.

But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed 7,000 of their charioteers and 40,000 of their foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach, their commander.

When Hadadezer's servants saw that they had been defeated by the Israelites, they made peace with David and became his servants. After this, the Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.

Each chariot they brought in from Egypt cost 600 shekels [a total of 6.9 kg] of silver, and each horse 150 [shekels – i.e. 1.7 kg of silver]. Likewise, through their efforts, such chariots were imported for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Aram.

Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord (Yahweh) and the royal palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying

At that time, the seer Hanani came to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him, "You relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, and therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

Zedekiah, son of Kenaanah, made iron horns and said, "This is what the Lord says: With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed."

But the king of Aram had given orders to the commanders of the chariots, saying, "You shall not fight against anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel."

The battle grew fiercer that day, and the king of Israel remained standing in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. But at sunset he died.

Someone came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from the land beyond the sea, from Aram. They are in Hazazon-Tamar, that is, Ein-Gedi."

It was also their advice that he followed when he went out with Joram, king of Israel, the son of Ahab, and fought against Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth Gilead.
But Joram was wounded by the Arameans.

So he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramah in the battle against Hazael, king of Aram. And Ahaziah,king of Judah , son of Joram, went down to visit Joram, son of Ahab, in Jezreel, because he was ill.

After a year, the Aramean army marched against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and exterminated all the princes of the people. And all the spoils they took, they sent to the king of Damascus.

The Aramean army came with only a small force, but the Lord (Yahweh) nevertheless gave them a very large army into their hands because the people had forsaken the Lord (Yahweh), the God (Elohim) of their fathers. So the Arameans carried out the punishment on Joash.

Therefore, the Lord (Yahweh), his God (Elohim), delivered him into the hand of the king of Aram. They defeated him and took many of his people captive and brought them to Damascus. Ahaz was handed over to the king of Israel, who inflicted a great defeat on him.

He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him, thinking, "Since the gods of the Aramean kings have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they will help me." But instead, they brought him and all Israel down.

It happened in the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah (Hebr. Uzzijaho), king of Judah [735-715 BC], that King Rezin of Aram (Syria) [740-733 BC] and King Pekah, son of Remaliah, of Israel [Northern Kingdom, 752-732 BC] went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it. [2 Kings 16:5–18; 2 Chron. 28:16–21]

And it was told to the house of David [King Ahaz and his entire royal household], saying, "Aram has encamped in Ephraim." Then his [Ahaz's] heart, like the hearts of his people, began to tremble, as the trees of the forest tremble when the wind blows.

and say to him: Be vigilant (protect and preserve yourself) and be still (calm, quiet). You shall not fear or be dismayed by these two stumps with smoldering fire, because of the burning anger of Rezin of Aram, nor by the son of Hos.

For Aram has planned to harm you, together with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying,

For Damascus is the head of Aram, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Before 65 years have passed, Ephraim will be broken down and will no longer be a people.

the Arameans to the east and the Philistines to the west,
and they devour Israel with open mouths.
[Refrain:]
For all this, his anger is not turned away
but he still stretches out his hand.
[The phrase "For all this, his anger is not turned away" recurs three times in this chapter, see verses 17, 21. But also earlier in Isa. 5:25 and later in Isa. 10:4.]

The fortresses shall disappear from Ephraim
and the kingdom from Damascus,
and the remnant of Aram shall be like the glory of the sons of Israel,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord of Hosts (Yahweh Sebaot).

And it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against the land, that we said, 'Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of the army of the Arameans,' so we are living in Jerusalem."

Before your wickedness was uncovered at the time of the mockery of the daughters of Aram and all those around her, the daughters of the Philistines who despise you all around,

Aram [present-day Jordan/Syria] were your merchants because they had great wealth; they traded for your wars with carbuncles, purple, and variegated works, fine linen, coral, and rubies.

And Jacob fled to the fields of Aram
and Israel served for a wife
and for a wife he guarded (protected, preserved – Hebr. shamar) sheep. [Gen. 29:18]

I will break down the gates of Damascus [break down the gate into the city]
and exterminate (cut down) the inhabitants of Bakat-Aven ["the valley of wickedness," see Hos. 4:15]
and whoever holds the scepter of Beit-Eden [city/region on the Euphrates or literally sarcastically: "the city of pleasure"]
and the people of Aram [Syria] shall go into captivity under Kir [meaning wall, probably the Transcaucasus region, present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia]," says the Lord (Yahweh).

[Verses 7-15 are included in the designated Sabbath reading that was read in all synagogues throughout the world on the same Sabbath that the State of Israel was proclaimed in 1948.]
Are you not like the children (sons) of Cush [the Ethiopians] to me, O children (sons) of Israel?
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
Did I not bring Israel up out of the land of Egypt,
and the Philistines from Kaftor [Crete, see Gen. 10:14]
and Aram (Syria) from Kir? [Hebr. kir means wall and is a place or area in Mesopotamia.]