Riblah

Riblah was a city in Hamath where the Babylonians set up their headquarters during their campaigns against Judah (2Ki. 23:33; 25:6, 20-21; Jer. 39:5-6; 52:9-10, 26-27).

Riblah, located in the land of Hamath, was a city in ancient Syria where the Babylonians established their headquarters during their military campaigns against the kingdom of Judah. Pharaoh Necho of Egypt put Jehoahaz, king of Judah, in chains at Riblah (2Ki. 23:33). Later, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, captured Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, and brought him to Riblah, where he executed Zedekiah's sons before his eyes and then blinded him (2Ki. 25:6-7; Jer. 39:5-7; 52:9-11). The Babylonian army also brought other captured Judean officials to Riblah, where they were put to death (2Ki. 25:20-21; Jer. 52:26-27). Riblah's location on the Orontes River made it a strategic base for military operations. The exact site is identified with modern-day Ribleh in Syria, about 35 miles northeast of Baalbek, Lebanon.

Fruitful, an ancient town on the northern frontier of Palestine, 35 miles north-east of Baalbec, and 10 or 12 south of Lake Homs, on the eastern bank of the Orontes, in a wide and fertile plain. Here Nebuchadnezzar had his head-quarters in his campaign against Jerusalem, and here also Necho fixed his camp after he had routed Josiah’s army at Megiddo (2 Kings 23:29-35; 25:6, 20, 21; Jer. 39:5; 52:10). It was on the great caravan road from Palestine to Carchemish, on the Euphrates. It is described (Num. 34:11) as “on the eastern side of Ain.” A place still called el Ain, i.e., “the fountain”, is found in such a position about 10 miles distant.