A city in the Shephelah, or plain of Judah; about midway between Jerusalem and the Philistine boundary, in a southwestern direction; probably not far from Socoh or Shochoh (1 Samuel 17:1)—now Shuweikah—with which it is coupled (Joshua 15:35). Its exact site has not been ascertained. Eusebius relates that a village, Ezekah, was to be found between Eluethe-ropolis and Elia.
Azekah existed before the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites. Joshua, having defeated the five kings at Gibeon, followed them up to Azekah (Joshua 10:10,11). The Philistine army lay between Shochoh and Azekah, when David fought Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1). Rehoboam fortified it (2 Chronicles 11:9), and four centuries later, in the reign of Zedekiah, the Jews opposed Nebuchadnezzar's forces at Azekah (Jeremiah 34:7). After the return from the Exile it was resettled by the tribesmen of Judah (Nehemiah 11:30).