חַדְרָ֔ךְ

From the study of Zechariah 9:1

Range of meaning

A proper name: an Aramean city-state and district in north Syria, roughly between Aleppo and Hamath.

Against the English

All English versions transliterate it as 'Hadrach.' The NLT is sometimes said to smooth it into a general reference to Syria/Aram. Modern readers usually have no idea where it is, which hides how far north the oracle begins.

Used elsewhere in the period

Assyrian records name Hatarikka as a target of campaigns in 772, 765 and 755 BCE and later as an Assyrian province. The Aramaic Zakkur stele (about 800 BCE, found at Tell Afis, which is often identified with the city itself) calls it Ḥzrk (Hazrach). There Zakkur, king of Hamath and Lu'ash, was besieged by Bar-Hadad of Damascus and his allies. Later Jewish interpretation in Sifre Deuteronomy 1 records R. Judah reading the name as ḥad ('sharp') + rak ('tender'), a title of the Messiah: sharp toward the nations, tender toward Israel. R. Yose ben Dormaskit insisted it was a real place near Damascus and that Jerusalem would one day extend to Damascus.