Lexical Summary Chabor: Habor Original Word: חָבוֹר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Habor From chabar; united; Chabor, a river of Assyria -- Habor. see HEBREW chabar NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom chabar Definition a river of Assyr. NASB Translation Habor (3). Brown-Driver-Briggs חָבוֺר proper name, of a river called נְהַר גּוֺזָן 2 Kings 17:6 = 2 Kings 18:11; erroneous 1 Chronicles 5:26 וְהָרָא וּנְהַר גּוֺזָן ׳וְה; ᵐ5 (Ξ)αβωρ, Greek Ξαβωρας, etc., Assyr. –abur, flowing into Euphrates from East (DlPa 183 ff. KAT2275. 614 COTi. 267); see גּוֺזָן. חֲבֻרָתוֺ see חַבּוּרָה above Topical Lexicon Geographical Context Habor refers to a river flowing through the ancient province of Gozan in northern Mesopotamia, generally identified with the Khabur, a major tributary of the Euphrates in what is today northeastern Syria and northwestern Iraq. Fertile banks, well-trodden caravan routes, and numerous Assyrian outposts made the region both agriculturally valuable and strategically significant. Assyrian royal inscriptions frequently list Gozan (Gu-za-nu) and its Habor River as staging grounds for military campaigns and as places where deported peoples were resettled to work royal lands and strengthen frontier defenses. Occurrences in Scripture 1. 2 Kings 17:6 – Samaria’s fall under Shalmaneser V/Sargon II and the placement of exiles “in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in the towns of the Medes.” These three references associate Habor exclusively with enforced displacement of Israelites, linking the river to covenant judgment motifs. Historical Setting and the Assyrian Captivity Assyria perfected mass deportation as a tool of imperial control. By uprooting conquered populations, Assyrian kings weakened rebellion, repopulated under-developed territories, and showcased their dominion. The Northern Kingdom’s exile to Habor took place in successive waves (circa 732–722 BC). The biblical text and Assyrian annals overlap: Sargon II’s records mention 27,290 Israelites removed from Samaria, settled “by the Habor, the river of Gozan.” Habor thus became one of several diaspora colonies where Israel’s ten tribes struggled to maintain identity far from the land promised to Abraham. Prophetic and Theological Implications 1. Covenant Justice – The LORD had warned through Moses that disobedience would lead to scattering “from one end of the earth to the other” (Deuteronomy 28:64). Habor stands as a tangible fulfillment of that warning. Practical Ministry Applications • Warning against complacency – Habor reminds the church that God disciplines His covenant people when they embrace idolatry or injustice. Archaeological and Extra-Biblical Witness Excavations at sites along the Khabur—particularly Tell Halaf (ancient Guzana) and Tell Fekhariyah—confirm an eighth-century influx of new populations. Cuneiform tablets reference captive Israelites assigned to agricultural estates. These findings corroborate the biblical timeline and add rich detail to the socio-economic realities faced by the exiles. Typological and Redemptive Themes The exile to Habor prefigures the wider human exile through sin and anticipates the greater regathering accomplished by Jesus Christ. Just as God eventually brought a remnant back from Mesopotamia, so He gathers a multinational people into His kingdom. Habor, once a symbol of judgment, therefore foreshadows the rivers of living water promised to all who believe (John 7:38). Forms and Transliterations וְחָב֤וֹר וּבְחָב֛וֹר ובחבור וחבור ū·ḇə·ḥā·ḇō·wr ūḇəḥāḇōwr uvechaVor vechaVor wə·ḥā·ḇō·wr wəḥāḇōwrLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance 2 Kings 17:6 HEB: אֹתָ֜ם בַּחְלַ֧ח וּבְחָב֛וֹר נְהַ֥ר גּוֹזָ֖ן NAS: them in Halah and Habor, [on] the river KJV: them in Halah and in Habor [by] the river INT: and settled Halah and Habor the river of Gozan 2 Kings 18:11 1 Chronicles 5:26 3 Occurrences |
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