Ezem, a city allotted to the tribes of Judah and Simeon in the Negev region.
Also known as Azem
Ezem is mentioned in the Bible as a city that was allotted to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:29) and later given to the tribe of Simeon as part of their inheritance within Judah's territory (Joshua 19:3; 1Ch.4.29).
The city is listed among other cities in the Negev, the southern desert region of Judah. In Joshua 15:29, Ezem is mentioned alongside Baalah, Iim, and Tolad, while in Joshua 19:3 and 1Ch.4.29, it is listed with Bethul, Hormah, and Ziklag as part of Simeon's inheritance.
No other details about Ezem are provided in the Bible, and its exact location is unknown. The Negev was known for its arid climate and served as a buffer zone between the Israelites and the surrounding desert-dwelling tribes.
The mention of Ezem in the lists of cities allotted to Judah and Simeon helps to define the extent of their territories and provides insight into the geography of the region during the time of the Israelite conquest and settlement of Canaan.
Approximate location: 31.245, 34.841 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
(bone), one of the towns of Simeon. (1 Chronicles 4:29)
E'ZEM (bone), a city of Simeon, 1 Chr 4:29; also called Azem. Josh 19:8.
E'ZEM (bone), a city of Simeon, 1 Chr 4:29; also called Azem. Josh 19:8.
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.
3 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6107
Baalah, Iim, Ezem,
Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem,
Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,
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.