In modern terms, the country immediately north of Israel and enclosed on the east and north by Syria. In the Old Testament the term—which appears about 70x (the name does not appear in the NT)—should be taken as a reference to the mountain ranges or the region rather than the modern nation.
The bulk of the land is occupied by the two almost parallel mountain ranges named, in modern times, the Lebanon and Anti Lebanon mountains. Between them lies the Bega'a Valley (beqa'a actually means 'valley'), which some scholars identify with the "Valley of Lebanon" of Jos 11:17. The western flanks of the Lebanon range reaches right down to the Mediterranean Sea, leaving only a narrow coastal plain where the main cities of Tyre and Sidon, Berytus (Beirut), and Byblos are located. The Anti Lebanon is broken in two by the plateau near the southern end through which the River Barada flows east to feed the ancient oasis of Damascus. Mount Hermon is the highest peak of the southern portion of this range.
In the OT, Lebanon was essentially Phoenician territory, and most famous for its "Cedars of Lebanon," its timber prized all over the ancient Near East and which Hiram, king of Tyre, supplied Solomon for the building of the temple and his "Palace of the Forest of Lebanon" (1 Ki 5:6-14; 7:2).
Lebanon derives its name from the root, lbn, which means "white," very probably from the snow that covers its mountains for as much as half the year (at least, used to).
©ALBERITH