Though it's only in the Old Testament, Lebanon is referred to 71 times in Scripture. The mountain range that occupies a large part of its territory is described by the prophets as one of the natural borders of the Promised Land offered by God to the people of Israel.
“Every place on which you set foot shall be yours; your territory shall extend from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the Western Sea” (Deuteronomy 11:24), Moses declared after the exodus from Egypt.
Moses' successor, Joshua, even included “Baal-Gad, in the valley of Lebanon” in this territory. While the exact location of this city, the northernmost point of the Jewish nation's lands, is unknown, several hypotheses point to the southern Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.
The Land of the Cedars
In the Bible, Lebanon is also very often associated with the magnificent cedar forests that grow on the slopes of its mountains. Mentioned 75 times, this tree, which today appears on the Lebanese flag, was a key economic resource for the Near East at the time.
Indeed, it was used by Solomon to build the Temple of Jerusalem, the most sacred site in ancient Judaism, as well as the palace of the wise ruler. To carry out these constructions, Solomon sent tens of thousands of Jews to the Lebanese king Hiram of Tyre to transport the precious trunks.
The reputation for beauty of Lebanon's cedar forests is reflected in some of the most poetic verses in the Bible. This is the case in Psalm 92, where it is said that the righteous “grow like a cedar in Lebanon” and prosper despite their age, like these trees "green and full of sap” (Ps 92:12-15).
In Psalm 104, the Lebanese forests become an image of the perfection of divine creation: ”The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. In them the birds build their nests…" (Ps 104:16-17).
Imagery of love and beauty
In the Song of Solomon, the riches of Lebanon resonate in the song of the husband's love for his beloved. Expressing all his sensuality and desire, the man marvels at the beauty of his wife, associating her mouth with milk and honey and saying that “the scent of [her] garments is like the scent of Lebanon” (Song of Solomon 4:11).
The beloved compares his bride to a locked garden, a sealed fountain, “a garden fountain, a well of living water, and flowing streams from Lebanon” (Song of Solomon 4:15). And she, in turn, contemplates the object of her love, lingering over his legs, “alabaster columns, set on bases of gold,” whose appearance "is like Lebanon: choice as the cedars” (Song of Solomon 5:15).
The beauty of the Lebanese land also inspires the prophets Ben Sira, Hosea, and Nahum, who extol its fragrance, the renown of its wine, and the delicacy of its flora.
A mirror of divine power
The prophet Isaiah, for his part, sees in the verdant Lebanon a testimony to natural strength that only God can dominate. “Look, the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the tallest trees will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will hack down the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon with its majestic trees will fall” (Is 10:33-34).
Similarly, “The Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon” (Ps 29:5), and his power makes them sway like “abundance of grain” (Ps 72:16). The prophet Jeremiah, for his part, asserts that God would be capable of turning the white peaks of Lebanon into a barren desert (Jer 22:6).
Several passages associate Lebanon with its wildlife, with Isaiah reporting the presence of lions and leopards in its mountains. On the Lebanese peaks, we also find the “great eagle, with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors,” mentioned by Ezekiel, who says the eagle rests on “the top of the cedar” (Ez 17:3).
This remarkable natural grandeur often bows down before divine omnipotence: “Lebanon would not provide fuel enough, nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering,” Isaiah assures us, further exalting divine greatness, which is even more immense than the “glory of Lebanon” (Is 40:16; Is 35:2).
And in the New Testament?
Lebanon is not explicitly mentioned in the New Testament. However, it may nevertheless be referred to. The town of Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine at a wedding, could correspond to the modern-day town of Qana in southern Lebanon. Then again, it could also correspond to either Kafr Cana or Khirbet Cana in Israel.
Archaeologists have not reached a conclusion, but Antonio Andary of the Maronite Foundation supports the Lebanese hypothesis. He also believes that Jesus may have visited Lebanon on other occasions, notably when he met the Canaanite woman, which he believes took place near Sidon.
Finally, he asserts that the Transfiguration could have taken place at the top of Mount Hebron, a mountain in the Golan Heights that belongs partly to Lebanon and Syria (but has been occupied by Israel since 2024). The traditional location, however, is Mount Tabor in Israel.
