Beth-horon

Beth-horon (meaning: house of the hollow or house of the cavern) was the name of two towns—Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon—situated in the territory of Ephraim on the strategic pass leading from the Shephelah coastal plain up into the central highlands near Jerusalem. The pass of Beth-horon was one of the most militarily significant routes in all of Palestine, commanding access between the coastal lowlands and the Judean highlands.

Beth-horon was built or rebuilt by Sherah, the daughter of Ephraim—one of the rare instances in the Old Testament where a woman is credited with founding cities. The pass became the scene of several decisive military engagements: Joshua's great victory over the five Amorite kings when the Lord hurled great stones from heaven and the sun stood still; the route of Philistine retreat after their defeat at the time of Samuel; and a theater of conflict in the Maccabean wars centuries later. Solomon fortified both the upper and lower towns as part of his system of strategic defense for the approaches to Jerusalem.