Makkedah

Makkedah was a royal Canaanite city in the Shephelah region of Judah, site of a significant episode in Joshua's southern campaign. After the defeat of the Amorite coalition at the battle of Gibeon (Joshua 10), the five fleeing kings — of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon — hid in a cave at Makkedah. Joshua sealed them in the cave while Israel continued fighting, then ceremonially executed them by hanging them on five trees after the battle, their bodies returned to the cave (Joshua 10:16–27). Joshua also conquered the city of Makkedah itself on the same day (Joshua 10:28), and it appears in the list of conquered kings in Joshua 12:16.

Makkedah's location in the Shephelah, near Lachish and Azekah, placed it in the strategic lowland corridor between the Mediterranean coastal plain and the Judean hills. The episode of the five kings and the cave became emblematic of Israel's dominance over the Amorite coalition.