Halak

Halak (meaning smooth or bald), referred to as the Mount Halak or smooth mountain, marked the southern limit of Joshua's military campaigns in Canaan: Joshua smote all their kings from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon (Josh. 11:17; 12:7). It thus defined the extreme southern boundary of Joshua's conquests, corresponding to the northern boundary of Edom.

The mountain is generally identified with a prominent bare or white chalk ridge in the Negev region, possibly Jebel Halaq in the Negeb, rising near the road between Beersheba and Petra. Its description as going up to Seir (Edom) places it in the southern hill country approaching the Arabah and Edomite territory, consistent with its role as a natural geographic boundary marker for the extent of the Israelite conquest.