Mareshah

Mareshah (meaning from the beginning or an inheritance) was a city in the Shephelah lowlands of Judah, assigned to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:44) and later fortified by Rehoboam as one of his border strongholds (2 Chronicles 11:8). It is best known as the site of the battle in which King Asa of Judah defeated the vast Ethiopian army of Zerah in the valley of Zephathah, a signal victory attributed to Asa's prayer and trust in God (2 Chronicles 14:9–10).

Mareshah was also the ancestral home of the prophet Micah (Micah 1:15) and appears in Micah's lament as one of the cities that would fall to Assyrian invasion. Archaeological excavation has identified it with Tell Sandahannah near Beit Jibrin, where Hellenistic remains confirm significant occupation in the intertestamental period.