Bible Locations

The waters of Merom were where Joshua defeated the great northern coalition of Canaanite kings led by Jabin of Hazor. Joshua 11:5 says, "All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom to fight against Israel," with horses and chariots "as numerous as the sand on the seashore." God told Joshua not to be afraid, and "Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them." Israel routed them, hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots. The location is debated. Older scholars identified it with Lake Huleh, north of the Sea of Galilee, but most now prefer a spring near Meron, in Upper Galilee, below Mount Meron, the highest mountain in Israel, or a site in southern Lebanon. A town called Merom appears in Egyptian records of Thutmose III and in Assyrian records of Tiglath-pileser III.