Hevel Lakhish ( he, חבל לכיש, lit. ''Lakhish Region'') is an area of south-central
Israel. Part of the southern
Shephelah, it is located between the
Judean Mountains and the
Mediterranean Sea and is named after the
Biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
city of
Lachish.
History
In ancient times, the main road through the Lachish region ran from the port city of Gaza through Gath,
Lachish,
Maresha,
Azekah
Azekah ( he, עֲזֵקָה, ''ʿazēqā'') was an ancient town in the Shfela ("lowlands of Judea") guarding the upper reaches of the Valley of Elah, about 26 km (16 mi) northwest of Hebron.
The current '' tell'' (ruin) by that name, a ...
, the
Elah Valley and the
Ayalon Valley
The Ayalon Valley ( he, or , ''ʾAyyālōn'') is a valley in the lowland of the Shephelah in the States of Palestine and Israel, identified in the 19th century as Yalo at the foot of the Bethoron pass, a Palestinian Arab village located sout ...
before turning east through the
Beit Horon
Beit Horon ( he, בֵּית חוֹרוֹן) is a communal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Bordering Route 443 between Modi'in and Jerusalem, the biblical pass of Beit Horon (Joshua 10:10), after which it is named, it falls under the juris ...
Ascent, to the Hill Road and
Jerusalem. A break-off road ran from Maresha to the Hill Road at
Hebron.
Before the
1948 Arab-Israeli War
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
, three
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
im were founded in the area -
Gal On
Gal On ( he, גַּלְאוֹן, גל און, lit. ''Wave of Strength'') is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the Shephelah, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council. In it had a population of .
The kibbutz is associate ...
,
Gat and
Negba. Between 1955 and 1961 twenty more settlements were established.
Lova Eliav was a driving force in the development of the region.
Jewish Virtual Library: Rivka Guber
/ref>
The area is covered by three regional councils - Lakhish, Shafir and Yoav
Joab (Hebrew Modern: ''Yōʼav'', Tiberian: ''Yōʼāḇ'') the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army, according to the Hebrew Bible.
Name
The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, theophoric - deri ...
- and one city council, Kiryat Gat. In the year 2009 70,200 people lived in the region, 100% of them Jews.
See also
* Geography of Israel
References
{{coord, 31, 37, 53, N, 34, 42, 40, E, region:IL_type:landmark_source:kolossus-cswiki, display=title
Regions of Israel