Bible Dictionaries
Hammath

Holman Bible Dictionary

(ham' muhth) Place name meaning, “hot spot,” probably due to hot spring, and personal name meaning, “hot one.” 1. Fortified city in the tribal territory of Naphtali (Joshua 19:35 ); probably the same as the levitical town of Hammoth-dor (Joshua 21:32 ). It may be located at tell Raqqat, just north of Tiberias. Others have tried to locate it at the famous hot springs of Hammam Tabiriyeh, south of Tiberias, but archaeologists have found no evidence of Iron Age occupation there. 1 Chronicles 6:76 reads “Hammon,” apparently the same place, in listing the Levitical towns. 2. Original ancestor of Kenites and Rechabites ( 1 Chronicles 2:55; KJV reads, “Hamath”; TEV, REB see a verbal construction meaning, “intermarried” or “connected by marriage.”). The context and grammatical construction of the verse makes certain understanding impossible. Hammath could be the founder of the city Hammath.