Azmon
Azmon is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Negev in modern-day Israel. Known today as Ain Muweileh. It appears across 3 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Azmon was a settlement situated in the southernmost reaches of the territory of Judah, serving as one of the border markers defining Judah's southwestern frontier with Egypt. It appears in two boundary descriptions in the Pentateuch and the historical books: in Numbers 34:4–5, Azmon is listed as a point on the southern boundary of Canaan as described by God to Moses before the conquest, and in Joshua 15:4, the same boundary line is repeated as the southern limit of the tribe of Judah's inheritance. The town functioned less as a prominent settlement in biblical narrative and more as a fixed geographical reference point in the administrative geography of Israel, anchoring the desert frontier where cultivated land gave way to the harsh wilderness of the Negev and Sinai. Its location near Ain Muweileh, a desert water source, would have made it a vital waypoint for travelers and caravans traversing the southern trade routes. The region in which Azmon lay was also the general area through which Israel wandered during the wilderness period, giving it indirect significance in the story of the Exodus.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Azmon is tentatively identified with the area around Ain Muweileh in the northern Sinai/Negev borderland, a region characterized by sparse desert occupation. The identification is based primarily on the boundary list descriptions and the proximity of the name to known water sources in the region. Archaeological surveys of the Negev have documented Bronze and Iron Age sites in this general area, reflecting occasional occupation tied to water sources and caravan routes. However, no specific site has been conclusively identified as Azmon through inscriptions or controlled excavation, and the identification with Ain Muweileh remains a scholarly proposal rather than a confirmed finding.
Verse Appearances (3)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]