Damascus. The chief expert of the great capital of Syria was the wine of Helbon. The name occurs only here in the Old Testament. The LXX. gives Chel-ben; the Vulgate, as if it described the quality of the wine, vinum pingue.
It has been identified with Aleppo and with Chaly-ben, but both of these places are too remote from Damascus, and Mr. J. R. Porter ('Dict. Bible,' s.v.) finds it in a place a few miles from Damascus, still bearing the name, and famous as producing the finest grapes in Syria.
Strabo names the wine of Chalybon as the favorite drink of the Persian kings, and Athenaeus (Ezekiel 1:22) says the same of the wine of Damascus. The name appears in Egyptian monuments in conjunction with Kedes, as a Hittite city, and Brugsch ('Geogr.
AEgypt.,' 2:45) agrees with Porter as to its position. White wool. The adjective has been taken as a proper name (Smend) "wool of Zachar,' the region being identified with Nabatheaea, which was famous for its sheep.
The LXX. gives "wool of Miletus," the city most famous in Greek commerce for its woollen fabrics.