Mount Halak
Morrish Bible Dictionary [1]
The southern limits of Joshua's conquests. Joshua 11:17; Joshua 12:7 . Not identified.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [2]
hā´lak ( ההר החלק , hā - hār he - ḥālāḳ ): A mountain that marked the southern limit of the conquests of Joshua ( Joshua 11:17; Joshua 12:7 ). It is spoken of as the "mount Halak (literally, "the bare" or "smooth mountain") that goeth up to Seir." The latter passage locates it on the West of the Arabah. The southern boundary of the land is defined by the ascent of Akrabbim ( Numbers 34:4; Joshua 15:3 ). This may with some certainty be identified with the pass known today as naḳb eṣ - Ṣafā , "pass of the smooth rock," through which runs the road from the South to Hebron. To the Southwest opens Wādy Maderah , a continuation of Wādy el - Fiḳrah , in which there rises a conspicuous hill, Jebel Maderah , composed of limestone, answering well the description of a bare or smooth mountain. It is a striking feature of the landscape viewed from all sides, and may well be the mount here referred to. See also Hor , Mount .
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [3]
Jebell Maderah, with which we may probably identify this mountain, lies on the south side of a wady of the same name, five miles south-west of the pass of Sufah, and is a round, isolated hill, with numerous blocks of stone on the base and summit, which Arab tradition ascribes to a destructive shower, as a punishment for inhospitality on the part of the ancient inhabitants (Palmer, Desert of the Exodus, page 351).
