Hethlon

Hethlon appears only twice in Scripture — both in Ezekiel's vision of the restored borders of Israel after the exile (Ezekiel 47:15, 48:1). It is named as a waypoint on the northern boundary running from the Great Sea (Mediterranean) by way of Hethlon and Lebo-hamath to Zedad, then on to Berothah and Sibraim and the boundary of Damascus, and finally to Hazar-enan on the eastern desert frontier. The reconstruction echoes the ideal borders God had originally defined for Moses in Numbers 34, but Ezekiel's vision pushes them further to include the Phoenician coast and the full territory of Hamath. The exact site of Hethlon is uncertain; it has been identified with Heitela in northern Lebanon or with Khirbet el-Khatla west of Riblah. Either way it represents a northern Phoenician-coast waypoint marking the transition from sea to inland frontier in the eschatological geography of Israel.