Bezek
בֶּזֶק/BEE-zek/
“Lightning”
Summary
The name of two places in Israel: the residence of Adoni-bezek captured by Judah, and the gathering point where Saul mustered his army.
☩Residence of Adoni-bezek
The first Bezek was the city of Adoni-bezek ('lord of Bezek'), in the territory allotted to Judah. Here Judah and Simeon defeated ten thousand Canaanites and Perizzites and captured their king, cutting off his thumbs and big toes as he had done to seventy other kings.
Key verses:Judges 1:4-7
☩Saul's Gathering Point
A second Bezek was the rendezvous where Saul numbered the combined forces of Israel and Judah before marching to relieve Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites. This location was apparently near the center of the country, within a day's march of Jabesh, possibly at Khirbet Ibziq about seventeen miles from Shechem.
Key verses:1 Samuel 11:8
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Bezek," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Bezek," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).