Bezek

Bezek (meaning: lightning or scattering) was a place in the mountainous region of Judah and the residence of Adoni-bezek, a Canaanite king of formidable reputation. After the death of Joshua, the tribes of Judah and Simeon went up to battle against the Canaanites, and they found and fought Adoni-bezek at Bezek, defeating him and capturing him there. The capture of Adoni-bezek is notable for the poetic justice of his punishment: his thumbs and great toes were cut off, and he acknowledged that he had done the same to seventy kings who gathered scraps under his table.

A second Bezek appears in 1 Samuel 11:8 as the place where Saul mustered his army before relieving the siege of Jabesh-gilead by the Ammonites. This Bezek was in a different location, probably in the northern part of Manasseh, suited for the mustering of a northern coalition to march against Nahash the Ammonite. The two uses of the name suggest either a common toponym applied to more than one site or a very large territory. The first Bezek is the more theologically significant, illustrating the principle of retribution embedded in Israel's conquest narratives.