Jahaz

Jahaz is the name assigned to one or more ancient settlements in the Near East, most prominently a city in the Moabite region east of the Jordan River. In biblical geography, Jahaz is cited in connection with the eastern Jordan Valley and the network of towns that formed the Moabite territory.

In the Hebrew Bible, Jahaz appears in lists of Moabite towns and in narratives that describe the region’s boundaries and defenses. The references are brief and do not provide detailed history of the city, and the exact role Jahaz played within Moabite administration or society remains unclear.

Archaeology and identifications: The precise location of Jahaz remains uncertain. Various sites along the eastern Jordan Valley have been proposed as candidates, but none has achieved broad scholarly consensus, and no definitive artifacts are securely linked to Jahaz.

Etymology and significance: The name Jahaz is of Semitic origin and reflects the common practice of naming places in the biblical world. The toponym illustrates the fragmentary nature of ancient biblical geography, where several towns are known from textual sources but have not been conclusively identified in the archaeological record.