Difference between revisions of "Hormah"

<p> ''''' hôr´ma ''''' ( חרמה , <i> ''''' ḥormāh ''''' </i> ): A city first mentioned in connection with the defeat of the Israelites by the Amalekites and the Canaanites, when, after the ten spies who brought an evil report of the land had died of plague, the people persisted, against the will of Moses, in going "up unto the place which [[Yahweh]] hath promised" (&nbsp; Numbers 14:45; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 1:44 ). after the injury done them by the king of Arad, Israel took the city, utterly destroyed it, and called it Hormah, i,e. "accursed" (&nbsp;Numbers 21:3 ). To this event probably the reference is in &nbsp;Judges 1:17; where Judah and Simeon are credited with the work. In &nbsp;Joshua 12:14 it is named between [[Geder]] and Arad; in &nbsp; Joshua 15:30 between [[Chesil]] and Ziklag, among the uttermost cities toward the border of Edom in the South; and in &nbsp; Joshua 19:4 between Bethul and Ziklag (compare &nbsp; 1 Chronicles 4:30 ). To it David sent a share of the spoil taken from the Amalekites who had raided Ziklag (&nbsp;1 Samuel 30:30 ). The city must have lain not far from Kadesh, probably to the Northeast. No name resembling Hormah has been recovered in that district. The ancient name was Zephath (&nbsp;Judges 1:17 ). It is not unlikely that in popular use this name outlived Hormah: and in some form it may survive to this day. In that case it may be represented by the modern <i> ''''' eṣ ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' Ṣabaitā ''''' </i> between <i> ''''' el ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' Khalaṣa ''''' </i> in the North and <i> ''''' ‛Ain Ḳadı̄s ''''' </i> in the South, about 23 miles from the latter. If we may identify Ziklag with <i> ''''' ‛Aslūj ''''' </i> , about 14 miles North of <i> ''''' eṣ ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' Ṣabaitā ''''' </i> , the probability is heightened. Robinson ( <i> BR </i> , III, 150) compares the name Zephath with that of <i> ''''' Naḳb eṣ ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' Ṣafā ''''' </i> , to the North of <i> ''''' Wādy el ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' Fiḳrah ''''' </i> ; but this appears to be too far - about 40 miles - from Kadesh. </p>

<p> (Heb. Chormah', '''''חָרְמָה''''' '', Devoted'' city, otherwise ''Peak'' of a hill; Sept. '''''῾Ερνά''''' 5. r. occasionally '''''῾Ερμάθ''''' and '''''Ἀνάθεμα''''' ), a royal city of the Canaanites in the south of [[Palestine]] (&nbsp;Joshua 12:14; &nbsp;1 Samuel 30:30), near which the Israelites experienced a discomfiture from the Amalekites resident there, as they perversely attempted to enter Canaan by that route after the divine sentence of wandering (&nbsp;Numbers 14:45; &nbsp;Numbers 21:1-3; Deuteronomy 1, 44). Joshua afterwards besieged its king (&nbsp;Joshua 15:30), and on its capture assigned the city to the tribe of Judah, but finally it was included in the territory given to Simeon (&nbsp;Joshua 19:4; &nbsp;Judges 1:17; &nbsp;1 Chronicles 4:30). It is elsewhere mentioned only in &nbsp;1 Chronicles 4:30. It was originally called ZEPHATH (&nbsp;Judges 1:17), under which name it appears to have been again rebuilt and occupied by the Canaanites (see Bertheau, ad loc.; Hengstenberg, ''Pentat. 2,'' 220); whereas the name Hormah was probably given to the site by the Israelites in token of its demolition (see &nbsp;Numbers 21:3). Hence traces of the older name alone remain. (See Zephath). </p>