Bible Locations

Avvim is a town in the territory of Benjamin, listed in Joshua 18:23 with Parah and Ophrah, among the towns in the eastern part of Benjamin, near Bethel. The name means "ruins." Many scholars think it may be another name for Ai, since Ai also means "the ruin" and was in the same area, east of Bethel. It's also similar to the name of the Avvites, a people who lived in villages near Gaza before the Philistines came (Deuteronomy 2:23), but that's a different group in a different region. The area around Bethel and Ai is in the central hill country, about 12 miles north of Jerusalem, a land of rocky ridges, terraced fields and small springs, where the hills begin to descend east toward the Jordan Valley. Avvim's exact location is unknown, and no events are recorded there. Its name may reflect a settlement built near older ruins.