Hazazon-tamar
Hazazon-tamar is a region mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Ein Gedi. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Hazazon-tamar, meaning "pruning of the palms" or "Hazazon of the palm trees," is identified in 2 Chronicles 20:2 with the oasis settlement of Ein Gedi on the western shore of the Dead Sea. In this passage, messengers warn King Jehoshaphat that a vast coalition of Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites has assembled at Hazazon-tamar and is advancing against Judah. The identification with Ein Gedi suggests that the invaders had gathered at this well-watered oasis, famous for its springs, lush vegetation, and date palms, before marching into the Judean highlands. Jehoshaphat's response to this crisis becomes one of the Old Testament's most celebrated acts of national prayer and dependence on God: he proclaimed a fast, led the people in corporate prayer at the temple, and received a prophetic word promising divine deliverance without a battle (2 Chronicles 20:3–17). The subsequent routing of the coalition forces, who turned on one another in confusion while Judah's army approached singing praises, established Hazazon-tamar/Ein Gedi as the backdrop for one of Jehoshaphat's most defining moments of faith. The region's rich natural resources and strategic position on the Dead Sea made it a natural assembly point for large forces.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Ein Gedi, the modern oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea identified with Hazazon-tamar, has been excavated extensively, revealing occupation from the Chalcolithic period through the Byzantine era. The site's extraordinary natural springs: 'Ein Gedi and 'Ein Arugot, create a lush microenvironment of tropical vegetation in an otherwise arid desert landscape. Iron Age remains at Tel Goren, the main tell at Ein Gedi, include a significant Judahite administrative settlement with pottery, storage facilities, and evidence of the balsam and date palm industries for which the oasis was famous in antiquity. The Chalcolithic temple sanctuary discovered nearby predates the Israelite period by millennia and attests to Ein Gedi's long history as a sacred and productive site.
Verse Appearances (1)
2Chr
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]