[German version]
(Λίβανος/Líbanos, Lat. Libanus). Mountain range in northern Syria between the Mediterranean coast and the Antilibanos in the interior. The name (Hebrew lebānôn, Ugaritic Lbnm, Akkadian Labnāna, Arabic Lubnān) derives from the Semitic root *lbn ‘white’, i.e. the ‘white mountain’. The tale of L.' descent from a giant in Philo of Byblus (Euseb. Praep. evang. I,10,9) is mythological. The earliest information is found in OT and Assyrian sources.
The Lebanon extends for about 160 km almost parallel to the coast. Its highest elevation with 3126 m is Ǧeb…