MAKKEDAH

(Mak·keʹdah) (place of shepherds].

A royal Canaanite city in the Shephelah. It was in the cave of Makkedah that the five kings who had allied themselves against the Gibeonites hid and were then temporarily trapped until their execution. Thereafter this cave became their common tomb, and the Israelite army under Joshua captured the city of Makkedah and devoted it to destruction. At the time of the division of the Promised Land, Makkedah was granted to the tribe of Judah.—Josh. 10:5-29; 12:7, 8, 16; 15:20, 33, 41.

The exact site of Makkedah is unknown. It has been tentatively identified with Khirbet el-Kheishum, about a mile and a half (2.4 kilometers) N-NE of the suggested location of Azekah. Extensive ruins and nearby caves mark the site.