And Solomon went to Hamathzobah, and prevailed against it.
Solomon went to Hamath-zobah. Hamath was on the Orontes, in Coele-Syria. Its king, Toi, had been the ally of David; but, from the combination Hamath and Zobah, it would appear that some revolution had taken place, which led to the union of these two petty kingdoms of Syria into one. For what cause the resentment of Solomon was provoked against it we are not informed, but he sent an armed force which reduced it. He made himself master also of Tadmor, the famous Palmyra, in the same region. The Romans, at a later period, attempted to impose the name of Adrianopolis upon it, but this appellation has utterly perished, and the Bedouins still give the ancient name of Tadmor to the desolate forest of erect and stately columns (see Taylor's 'Words and Papers'). Various other cities along the frontiers of his extended dominions he repaired and fitted up, either to serve as store-places for the furtherance of his commercial enterprises, or to secure his kingdom from foreign invasion (see the notes at 2 Chronicles 1:14; 1 Kings 9:15-24).