JAHAZ

(Jaʹhaz).

A city E of the Jordan and evidently situated N of the Arnon. It was probably wrested from the Moabites by Amorite King Sihon. (Nu 21:23-26) At Jahaz the Israelites defeated the forces of Sihon, and the city itself became a Reubenite possession. (De 2:32, 33; Jos 13:15, 18, 23; Jg 11:20, 21) Subsequently Jahaz was designated as a Levite city for the Merarites. (Jos 21:34, 36) Later in Israel’s history the city came under Moabite control. On the Moabite Stone, King Mesha boasted of having taken Jahaz from the king of Israel with 200 warriors. Also, the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah mention the city in pronouncements against Moab.​—Isa 15:1, 4; Jer 48:1, 34.

Although scholars have suggested several possible sites for ancient Jahaz, its precise location remains unknown.