Coelesyria

Literally, the term means “hollow Syria.” It was used somewhat loosely in referring to parts of the Jordan Valley. This designation is not found in the Bible but is mentioned a number of times in the Apocrypha, by itself in 1 Maccabees 10:69 and together with Phoenicia elsewhere (1 Esd 2:17, 24, 27; 4:48; 6:29: 7:1; 8:67; 2 Macc 3:5, 8; 4:4; 8:8; 10:11). It was the name commonly given to the approximately 100-mile-long (161-kilometer) valley that stretches between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains after the time of Alexander the Great, but it is apparent from the use of the term by ancient writers that it did not always indicate the same territory.