Hormah

Biblical Text and Content

Hormah is the name of a town in southern Canaan that appears several times in the Old Testament.

• Place of defeat: Hormah appears in Numbers 14:45 and Deuteronomy 1:44. After the twelve spies gave their report at Kadesh Barnea, the people received God's sentence of judgment. Even so, they went up into the hill country, were defeated, and were driven back as far as Hormah. The ark of the covenant and Moses did not leave the camp (Numbers 14:44). Numbers identifies the attackers as the Amalekites and the Canaanites, whereas Deuteronomy identifies them as the Amorites. Deuteronomy says that the Amorites "chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah."
• The event that gave the town its name: This is recorded in Numbers 21:1-3. The king of Arad attacked Israel and took some of them prisoner. Israel then made a vow to utterly destroy their cities, and after the victory they called the place Hormah.
• The account in Judges: According to Judges 1:17, Judah, together with Simeon, attacked the Canaanites who lived in Zephath, utterly destroyed it, and called the name of the city Hormah.
• Other references:
• In Joshua 12:14, it appears in the list of conquered kings.
• In Joshua 15:30 and 19:4, it appears as a town of the tribes of Judah and Simeon, respectively.
• In 1 Chronicles 4:30, it appears as a town of the descendants of Simeon.
• In 1 Samuel 30:30, it appears as one of the places to which David sent portions of the spoil.

Background

The name "Hormah" is related to the Hebrew verb haram, which means to devote something to God by destroying it. The noun herem, from the same root, refers to that which is devoted to God for destruction. The name is therefore usually interpreted as "utter destruction" or "destruction."

Hormah appears to have been located in the Negev near Arad and Beersheba. Several candidate sites have been proposed, including Tel Masos, but its exact location has not been determined. Its appearance in the town lists of both Judah and Simeon is explained by the fact that Simeon's inheritance lay within the territory of the tribe of Judah (Joshua 19:1).

Broader Biblical Significance

The unbelief at Kadesh Barnea marked the beginning of the forty years in the wilderness, and Hormah is remembered as the place where the ensuing defeat came to an end. Numbers 21, by contrast, reports a victory won at a place bearing the same name. For this reason the two accounts are often read in contrast with each other.

The New Testament does not mention Hormah directly. However, Hebrews 3:16-19 cites the disobedience and unbelief of the wilderness generation as a warning.

Interpretation and Issues

• The twofold account of the name's origin: Both Numbers 21 and Judges 1 relate the origin of the name. Several explanations have been offered:
• Numbers records the vow and the initial victory, while Judges records the final conquest.
• The town was lost and later reconquered.
• In the view of critical scholarship, differing traditions about the origin of the name were preserved side by side.
• The name appearing before it was given: The occurrence of "Hormah" as early as Numbers 14:45 is generally understood as the writer's use of the later name.
• The ethics of utter destruction: Interpreters differ on how to understand herem (utter destruction). Some regard it as a one-time judgment within redemptive history that is not to be taken as a model for today, while others engage directly with the ethical questions the command raises.
• Distinction from homiletic application: The reading that "the place of defeat became the place of victory" is an application added in preaching; it is not something the text itself states.

In the Korean Church

Numbers 14:40-45 is often used as a sermon text warning against zeal that presses ahead in defiance of God's will. The place name Hormah itself is rarely singled out for emphasis in preaching or worship songs.