What is…
Azekah

also known as: Azeka

Hebrew; עֲזֵקָה —transliteration: `Azeqah —meaning: tilled, dug over

Azekah was a fortified city in the Shephelah (Shephela)—low hills of Judah (Joshua 15:35), where the 5 confederated Amorite kings were defeated by Joshua and their army destroyed by a hailstorm (Joshua 10:10-11).

This city is mentioned by name 7 times in Scripture—Joshua 10:10-11, Joshua 15:35; 1 Samuel 17:1; 2 Chronicles 11:9; Nehemiah 11:30; Jeremiah 34:7.

It served as one of the main border cities of Judah, as it sits at the boundary on a mountain overlooking the fertile plain. A 40 minute walk to the west is the ruin of the fortified city of Keilah (Khirbet Qeiyafa).

During the time when the Prophet Jeremiah spoke to a warning to King Zedekiah, the king of Babylon was attacking the sole remaining fortified cities of the Kingdom of Judah—Azekah, Lachish and Jerusalem.

Azehah is one of the places re-occupied by the Jews on their return from the Captivity (Nehemiah 11:30).

Ruins

Azekah’s ruins are prominent, and are called Tel Azeka (aka Tell Zakariya). The city’s position was strategic, overlooking the Valley of Elah and the Valley of Aijalon, on the corridor linking the coastal highway to the hill country interior.