Where is the City of Palms in the Bible?

The City of Palms is mentioned in Judges 1:16 as a location in the Judean wilderness, near the Dead Sea. It is traditionally identified with the ancient oasis city of Jericho, known today as the archaeological site Tell es Sultan.

What happened at the City of Palms in the Bible?

The Bible records that the descendants of Moses' father-in-law, the Kenites, went up from Jericho (the City of Palms) with the tribe of Judah into the wilderness of Judah to settle (Judges 1:16). This marks a peaceful settlement following the Israelite conquest.

Why is the City of Palms significant?

Its significance lies in its identification as Jericho, one of the oldest and most important cities in the ancient Near East. The name 'City of Palms' highlights its role as a vital oasis and landmark in the arid Judean region, providing context for biblical journeys and settlements.

City of Palms

cityOld TestamentJudea1 verse

Today Tell es SultanCountry IsraelCoordinates 31.872, 35.445

City of Palms is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Tell es Sultan. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.

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Biblical History

The City of Palms is a well-known biblical designation for Jericho, an ancient oasis settlement in the lower Jordan Valley. Its abundant date palms, thriving due to the area's natural springs and warm climate, gave the city this evocative title. In the Old Testament, the designation appears in the account of Moabite oppression during the period of the judges, when Eglon king of Moab seized the City of Palms and made it his base of operations against Israel (Judges 3:13). The city held deep resonance for Israel as the first conquest under Joshua, where God's miraculous power brought down its walls before the advancing Israelites (Joshua 6). The city was subsequently rebuilt during the monarchy period and appears in the narrative of Hiel the Bethelite, who rebuilt Jericho at great personal cost (1 Kings 16:34). As a gateway to the Promised Land, the City of Palms represents both divine judgment and grace throughout the Old Testament narrative.

Archaeological & Historical Notes

Tell es-Sultan, the archaeological site associated with ancient Jericho, has been excavated since the late nineteenth century by scholars including Charles Warren, Ernst Sellin, Carl Watzinger, John Garstang, and Kathleen Kenyon. The site preserves evidence of occupation spanning more than ten millennia. Kenyon's stratigraphic analysis in the 1950s disputed earlier claims of a clear Late Bronze Age destruction level, though subsequent studies by Bryant Wood and others have revisited this conclusion. The ancient spring nearby continues to flow, confirming the site's suitability for permanent settlement throughout antiquity.

Verse Appearances (1)

Judg

Judg 1:16

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]
Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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