Encyclopedia entry
Eglon
Disambiguation
The source enumerates 2 distinct subjects under Eglon. Jump to one below, or read in order.
The bullock; place of heifers.
Eglon (1)
#Chieftain or king of one of the Moabite tribes (Judg. 3:12-14). Having entered into an alliance with Ammon and Amalek, he overran the trans-Jordanic region, and then crossing the Jordan, seized on Jericho, the “city of palm trees,” which had been by this time rebuilt, but not as a fortress. He made this city his capital, and kept Israel in subjection for eighteen years. The people at length “cried unto the Lord” in their distress, and he “raised them up a deliverer” in Ehud (q.v.), the son of Gera, a Benjamite.
Eglon (2)
#A city in Judah, near Lachish (Josh. 15:39). It was destroyed by Joshua (10:5, 6). It has been identified with Tell Nejileh, 6 miles south of Tell Hesy or Ajlan, north-west of Lachish. (See LACHISH.)
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
(calf-like).
A king of the Moabites, (Judges 3:12) ff., who, aided by the Ammonites and the Amelekites, crossed the Joran and took “the city of palm trees.” (B.C. 1359.) here, according to Josephus, he built himself a palace, and continued for eighteen years to oppress the children of Israel, who paid him tribute. He was slain by Ehud. [Ehud] A town of Judah in the low country. (Joshua 15:39) The name survives in the modern Ajlan, a shapeless mass of ruins, about 10 miles from Eleutheropolis and 14 from Gaza, on the south of the great maritime plain.
In the Bible
14
Verses where Eglon is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- Joshua 10:3
Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying,
- Joshua 10:5
So the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces and advanced with all their armies. They camped before Gibeon and made war against it.
- Joshua 10:23
So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.
- Joshua 10:34
So Joshua moved on from Lachish to Eglon, and all Israel with him. They laid siege to it and fought against it.
- Joshua 10:35
That day they captured Eglon and put it to the sword, and Joshua devoted to destruction everyone in the city, just as he had done to Lachish.
- Joshua 10:36
Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and fought against it.
+8 more verses naming Eglon.
Eglon references
14
Voices on Eglon
1
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.