Azekah, a Judean town, was the site of several battles and sieges.
Azekah was a town in the Shephelah region of Judah, located about 17 miles southwest of Jerusalem. It is first mentioned in Joshua 10:10-11, where the Amorite kings were defeated by Joshua and the Israelites. Azekah was later listed as one of the cities in the allotment of the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:35). The Philistines gathered their armies between Socoh and Azekah before the famous battle between David and Goliath (1Sa.17.1). During the reign of King Rehoboam, Azekah was one of the cities fortified for the defense of Judah (2Ch.11.9). After the Babylonian exile, Azekah was reinhabited by the Jews (Nehemiah 11:30). The city was one of the last two strongholds, along with Lachish, to fall to the Babylonians during the siege of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 34:7). Archaeological excavations at the site of Tel Azekah have revealed evidence of the city's occupation from the Bronze Age through the Babylonian destruction.
Approximate location: 31.701, 34.936 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Dug over, a town in the Shephelah or low hills of Judah (Josh. 15:35), where the five confederated Amoritish kings were defeated by Joshua and their army destroyed by a hailstrom (10:10, 11). It was one of the places re-occupied by the Jews on their return from the Captivity (Neh. 11:30).
(dugover), a town of Judah, with dependent villages, lying in the Shefelah or rich agricultural plain. It is most clearly defined as being near Shochoh, (1 Samuel 17:1) but its position has not yet been recognized.
AZE'KAH. Josh 10:10-11; Josh 15:35. A city of Judah near Shocoh. Schwarz proposed Tell Zakariya, in the valley of Elah; Conder suggested Deir el-Soshek, 8 miles north of Shoeoh, also in the valley of Elah, as the site of Azekah.
AZE'KAH. Josh 10:10-11; Josh 15:35. A city of Judah near Shocoh. Schwarz proposed Tell Zakariya, in the valley of Elah; Conder suggested Deir el-Soshek, 8 miles north of Shoeoh, also in the valley of Elah, as the site of Azekah.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
7 verses in 5 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H5825
And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.
Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,
Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.
Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages; in Lachish and its fields; and in Azekah and its villages. So they settled from Beersheba all the way to the Valley of Hinnom.
as the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the remaining cities of Judah—against Lachish and Azekah. For these were the only fortified cities remaining in Judah.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.