Person Old Testament
Hoham
Hoham, the Amorite king of Hebron, was one of the five kings who formed an alliance against Joshua and the Israelites, but was ultimately defeated. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Joshua 10:3.
Why it matters. King of Hebron, defeated by Joshua.
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Hoham
Hoham was the Amorite king of Hebron during the time of Joshua's conquest of Canaan, as mentioned in Jos.10.3. When the Gibeonites made a peace treaty with Israel, Hoham formed an alliance with four other Amorite kings—Adoni-Zedek of Jerusalem, Piram of Jarmuth, Japhia of Lachish, and Debir of Eglon—to attack Gibeon (Jos.10.1-5).
In response to the Gibeonites' request for help, Joshua and the Israelite army marched through the night and launched a surprise attack on the Amorite forces. With the help of God, who sent large hailstones and caused the sun to stand still, the Israelites defeated the Amorite kings and their armies (Jos.10.6-11).
The five Amorite kings, including Hoham, fled and hid in a cave at Makkedah. Joshua ordered the cave to be sealed until the battle was finished. After the victory, the kings were brought out of the cave, and Joshua instructed his commanders to put their feet on the kings' necks, symbolizing their complete defeat. The kings were then executed and hanged on trees until evening (Jos.10.16-27).
Hoham's story illustrates the power and faithfulness of God in fulfilling His promise to give the Israelites the land of Canaan. It also demonstrates the consequences of opposing God's people and the ultimate victory of those who trust in Him.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
Joshua (1 verse)