Lebanon in the Heart of God
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Henry Zoghaib*
Dec, 14, 2025
Beirut – We have often read and written that among the likely meanings of Lebanon’s name is the prevalent one, “Lub Anan” (Lub in Akkadian means heart, and Anan is a Sumerian name for a god), which essentially means “Heart of God,” due to the ancient reputation of the Lebanese mountains as a dwelling place for the gods.
From this name, and another Phoenician one meaning “white,” due to the long snow-capped peaks of the Lebanese mountains, Nicolas Sehnaoui titled his new book “Lebanon, the Heart of God.” It was published by Dar Saer Al-Mashreq, originally in French, and translated into elegant Arabic by the poets Habib Younes and Cindy Shami. In this Phoenician-Lebanese context, the book features a foreword by the staunchly Francophone Lebanese writer, Alexandre Najjar, who notes that the author is “a member of parliament who evokes, in this book, the most significant pages of his country’s history.” Its publication coincides with the establishment of the Chair of Phoenician Studies at Saint Joseph University, making this book a key reference work.
And indeed, it is a valuable resource, even though its author does not claim expertise in history or archaeology. He has compiled some 220 names—personalities, places, and symbols—related to Lebanon and Phoenicia, ultimately concluding that Phoenicia’s geographical and historical imprint largely corresponds to the current borders of Lebanon.
Because the book has a striking subtitle, “Tales and Legends from Ancient and Medieval Times,” it is noteworthy that its opening pages feature international quotes about Lebanon, including the statement by the French diplomat and historian Gabriel Hanotaux: “If Lebanon is not among the highest mountains in the world, it is the highest peak in history,” and the statement by Gérard de Nerval: “No one dares to doubt Lebanon, whose shores are the cradle of all the world’s beliefs.”
When the author became aware of the role of his Phoenician ancestors as the wellspring of Western civilization in religion, literature, mathematics, law, nuclear physics, geography, and philosophy, he dedicated himself to collecting the pearls of wisdom from what has been said, written, published, and discussed in international academic and specialized references about the history of this “small” nation, “which has encompassed the world.” Thus, he structured his substantial book into ten chapters, traversing significant historical junctures, from the dawn of Phoenician civilization and the mythological legends that adorned it—legends still circulating today—to the Phoenician emperors and six popes, and some 50 historical, scientific, military, and conquering figures who inhabited Lebanon throughout various periods, as well as ancient mythical and historical figures.
The author devotes considerable space to Jesus and his family, Jesus and his disciples, and then moves on to 33 saints and martyrs of Lebanon, followed by 51 sites connected to Lebanon. He doesn’t conclude his book before including two main appendices: the first on myths and theories dating back to the pre-Flood era, and the second on the Maronites and their influence from Saint Maron to Patriarch Gabriel Hajjoula.
Thus, these 300 pages of this book contain a complete world of the rich Phoenician heritage throughout history, leaving it in the hands of those who will read it and grasp the importance of every inch of Lebanese land, and understand the extent to which others have fought against the truth of their homeland, from the Israelites to the Greeks to the Romans, all attempting to erase the Phoenician heritage. But the Phoenicians have always, throughout history, proven their cultural, scientific, and commercial prowess beyond any doubt. The author goes even further, suggesting that Phoenician culture contributed to Jesus’s revolution against Judaism, replacing Yahweh, the god of vengeance, with El, the god of love. Today, the Lebanese people’s greatest need is to understand their history, to realize that their Lebanese identity is not merely a cedar on a passport, but an act of belonging to a land whose legacy is a shining glory on the first page of history.
*Lebanese poet, writer, and journalist, director of the Heritage Center at the Lebanese American University, director of the Philokalia Literary Salon, and president of the Lebanese National Committee for the Publication of Lebanese Creativity. You can contact him via email at email@henrizoghaib.com, follow him on his website at صفحة الشاعر هنري زغيب, or via the X platform at @HenriZoghaib
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SOURCE: theinteldrop.org/2025/12/15/lebanon-in-the- …