8412. Tadmor or Tammor

Lexical Summary

Tadmor or Tammor: Tadmor

Original Word: תַּדְמֹר
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Tadmor
Pronunciation: tad-more'
Phonetic Spelling: (tad-more')
KJV: Tadmor
NASB: Tadmor
Word Origin: [apparently from H8558 (תָּמָר - palm trees)]

1. palm-city
2. Tadmor, a place near Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

continually

Or Tammor (1 Kings 9:18) {tam-more'}; apparently from tamar; palm-city; Tadmor, a place near Palestine -- Tadmor.

see HEBREW tamar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a city built by Solomon
NASB Translation
Tadmor (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

תַּדְמֹר proper name, of a location built by Solomon, according to 1 Kings 9:18 Qr = 2 Chronicles 8:8; Tadmor = Palmyra (RS^{Ency. Brit.} (9) PALMYBA Mommsen^{Röm. Geschichte.} see 423, compare Lag^{BN 125}); but read in both places תָּמָר Th RS^l.c. Mommsen^l.c. Kmp Benz Kit Bur Reckend^{ZMG xiii (1888), 402} Lag^l.c. GASm^{Geogr, 270, N. 2; 580, N. 2}; see II. תָּמָר.

Topical Lexicon

Etymology and General Description

Tadmor is generally understood to carry the idea of “palm” or “place of palms,” fitting its later Greco-Roman name Palmyra. Situated in an oasis approximately midway between Damascus and the Euphrates, it offered life-giving water, shade, and rest to travelers crossing an otherwise arid expanse.

Biblical Occurrences

1 Kings 9:18 and 2 Chronicles 8:4 record that Solomon “built” or “rebuilt” Tadmor. The Berean Standard Bible renders the latter: “He also built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the store cities that he had built in Hamath” (2 Chronicles 8:4). Together with Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, and Baalath, Tadmor forms part of a list of royal projects undertaken during the era of peace and prosperity granted to Solomon (1 Kings 9:15-19).

Geographical and Strategic Importance

• Oasis hub: The springs of Afqa and Efqa enabled date palms, orchards, and fields, turning Tadmor into a natural caravan stop.
• Trade intersection: Caravans moving silk, spices, frankincense, precious metals, and exotic animals from Arabia, India, and Mesopotamia converged here before branching toward Phoenician ports or inland Syrian markets.
• Military outpost: Store cities (Hebrew “miskenot”) in Hamath and Tadmor provided provisions and staging grounds for troops that secured Israel’s northern approaches and protected commercial routes.

Solomonic Administration and Wisdom

Tadmor illustrates Solomon’s God-given wisdom (1 Kings 4:29-34) expressed in infrastructure:

1. Stewardship of natural resources—harnessing an oasis for national blessing.
2. Economic vision—turning a desert way-station into a revenue stream through tolls and tribute.
3. Defensive foresight—fortifying the kingdom’s frontier in a time of peace, thus preventing future conflict.

The Chronicler’s inclusion of Tadmor underscores that such projects were not mere vanity; they were instruments through which God fulfilled His promise to give Israel “rest on every side” (1 Kings 5:4).

Later Historical Development

After the divided monarchy, Tadmor faded from Israelite texts but rose under successive empires:
• Neo-Babylonian and Persian eras maintained it as a customs post.
• Under Greek rule it was renamed Palmyra, reflecting the profusion of palms.
• Rome transformed it into a wealthy, semi-autonomous city whose colonnaded streets still stand.
• Queen Zenobia’s third-century rebellion briefly challenged Rome’s supremacy before Palmyra was subdued and partially destroyed.

Archaeology thus validates the biblical notice of a major oasis city already functioning in the tenth century B.C.

Theological Themes

1. Covenant fulfillment: Tadmor’s inclusion with inner-Israelite sites reminds readers that God’s covenant blessing extended beyond Judea’s hills into the desert, “from Dan to Beersheba” and even farther (1 Kings 4:25).
2. Kingdom expansion: The city prefigures the outward reach of God’s rule. Just as Solomon’s realm touched caravans heading to distant peoples, so the gospel would later move along commercial arteries into “all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
3. Provision in desolation: An oasis city built by the king pictures divine provision for His people in spiritual “wilderness” settings (Psalm 78:15-16; Revelation 7:16-17).

Ministry and Discipleship Implications

• Strategic placement: Churches and ministries today may learn from Tadmor to plant gospel works in pivotal cultural crossroads—universities, port cities, digital platforms—where influence radiates outward.
• Stewardship of prosperity: Solomon reinvested peace-time wealth for future security and service. Likewise, seasons of blessing should propel mission and mercy rather than self-indulgence (1 Timothy 6:17-19).
• Hospitality in the desert: Tadmor offered rest to strangers; Christian communities are called to be oasis-like refuges, “showing hospitality without complaining” (1 Peter 4:9).

Summary

Tadmor stands as a witness to the breadth of Solomon’s kingdom, the practicality of God-given wisdom, and the far-reaching purpose of divine blessing. Rising from a desert spring, it calls believers to build enduring works that refresh travelers and extend the reign of the true Son of David “to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 72:8).

Forms and Transliterations

תַּדְמֹ֖ר תַּדְמֹ֥ר תדמר taḏ·mōr tadMor taḏmōr

Englishman's Concordance

1 Kings 9:18
HEB: [תָּמָר כ] (תַּדְמֹ֥ר ק) בַּמִּדְבָּ֖ר
KJV: And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness,
INT: and Baalath continually the wilderness the land

2 Chronicles 8:4
HEB: וַיִּ֥בֶן אֶת־ תַּדְמֹ֖ר בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר וְאֵת֙
NAS: He built Tadmor in the wilderness
KJV: And he built Tadmor in the wilderness,
INT: built Tadmor the wilderness and all

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8412
2 Occurrences

taḏ·mōr — 2 Occ.