“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.”
Then Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and devoted the city to destruction. So the city was called Hormah. — The joint campaign of Judah and Simeon against Zephath reflects the earlier alliance structure of verse 3, yet its placement here suggests that sustained cooperation had become exceptional. The verb 'devoted to destruction' employs the technical term for herem, the sacred destruction protocol used in Joshua's conquest, indicating that Judah and Simeon consciously reenact earlier conquest theology. The renaming to 'Hormah' ('destruction' or 'devoted thing') commemorates this destruction, creating a place-name that serves as permanent testimony to Israel's faith commitment. Yet the location of Zephath/Hormah remains disputed, and its appearance in later biblical narratives as still inhabited by Canaanites suggests that even this herem-designated destruction failed to permanently remove the population.
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