Zephath

Biblical Text

Zephath appears only once, in Judges 1:17. The passage belongs to the account of the period after Joshua's death, when the tribes of Israel were taking possession of the territories allotted to them. The text reports that Judah went with "Simeon his brother" to attack the Canaanites living in Zephath and utterly destroyed the town: "And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah" (Judges 1:17). Here "Simeon" refers to the tribe of Simeon, the descendants of Simeon. The preceding verse, Judges 1:16, records that the Kenites went up and settled in the wilderness of Judah south of Arad, indicating that the events took place in southern Judah.

Background

The Hebrew name of Zephath is read Tsephath and is often interpreted as related to a word meaning "to watch" or "to keep watch." This etymology, however, is not certain. The new name, Hormah, is widely understood to derive from the same root as the Hebrew herem, which denotes something devoted to God for destruction.

The town appears to have been located near Beersheba and Arad, in the arid Negev region of southern Judah. Archaeologists have proposed several sites, including Tel Masos and Tel Halif, but there is no consensus.

Significance in the Wider Bible

The name Hormah also appears in Numbers. In Numbers 14:45, Israel is driven back by the Canaanites as far as Hormah. Numbers 21:1-3 records that Israel, after fighting the king of Arad, utterly destroyed his cities in fulfillment of a vow and called the place Hormah. Joshua 12:14 lists the king of Hormah among the kings Israel defeated. In Joshua 15:30 and 19:4 and in 1 Chronicles 4:30, Hormah appears as one of the southern towns of Judah and as part of the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon. In 1 Samuel 30:30 it is named among the places to which David sent spoils. The account in Judges of Judah and Simeon fighting together is consistent with Joshua 19:1, which states that the territory of Simeon lay within the territory of Judah.

The "valley of Zephathah" in 2 Chronicles 14:10 has a similar name but is generally regarded as a different location near Mareshah. Neither Zephath nor Hormah is mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Debates

• When the name was given: Both Numbers 21 and Judges 1 give an account of the origin of the name Hormah. Conservative commentators harmonize the two accounts. Some hold that, following the victory and vow recorded in Numbers, Judah actually occupied the area during the period of the Judges and established the name; others regard the place name in Numbers as an anticipatory use of the later name. Critical scholars sometimes see the two passages as distinct traditions explaining the origin of the same place name, preserved side by side.
• Interpreting the destruction: Interpretations also differ regarding the herem in the accounts of the conquest of Canaan. Many commentaries, including those in the Reformed tradition, explain it as God's judgment on the sins of the Canaanites. Others read it as the hyperbolic victory language common in ancient Near Eastern war records.