Coelesyria

Coelesyria is a term that means “hollow Syria.” Ancient writers used the name in different ways, often for parts of the Jordan Valley.

The name does not appear in the Bible. However, it appears several times in the Apocrypha, a group of ancient Jewish writings included in some Bibles. It appears by itself in 1 Maccabees 10:69. In other passages, it appears together with Phoenicia (1 Esdras 2:17, 24, 27; 4:48; 6:29: 7:1; 8:67; 2 Maccabees 3:5, 8; 4:4; 8:8; 10:11).

After the time of Alexander the Great, the name commonly referred to the valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains. This valley is about 161 kilometers (100 miles) long. However, ancient writers did not always use the name for the same area.