Bible Locations

Hashmonah was one of Israel's campsites during the desert wanderings, listed in Numbers 33:29-30: "They left Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth." These stops belong to the period of wandering after the spies' bad report, when Israel moved between water sources in the wilderness south of Canaan. The name may mean "fruitfulness" or "fatness," perhaps describing a spot with water and vegetation. Its exact location is unknown. It was somewhere in the Sinai or the Negev, possibly near the Arabah or the region of Kadesh Barnea. Some scholars suggest a connection with Heshmon, a town in the Negev of Judah (Joshua 15:27), but that's uncertain. No events are recorded there. Interestingly, the name looks similar to that of the Hasmoneans, the family of the Maccabees, but there's no connection.