Kamon
1:
KAMON (PLACE) [Heb qāmôn (קָמֹון)]. The burial place of Jair the Gileadite (Judg 10:5), one of the minor judges of Israel. One might expect that if Jair was a Gileadite, he was from Gilead in Transjordan, and perhaps he was buried in his place of origin (EHI, 787). Keil and Delitzsch (n.d., 372–73) offer an alternate assumption, however, that since Jair judged Israel (i.e., not just Gilead), he may very well have been living in, and buried in, Cisjordan. Eusebius and Jerome cited Kammona in the Esdraelon, possibly the Cyamon (Gk Kyamōn) of Judith 7:3, possibly Tell Qeimun (M.R. 160230), the Jokmeam of 1 Kgs 4:12. Most interpreters, however, look toward Gilead. This thought is heightened by Judg 10:4, which tells us he had 30 sons who had 30 cities, called Havvoth-jair, “the villages of Jair.” These “tent cities” are referred to in Num 32:41, where Jair the son of Manasseh conquered their villages (of Gilead?) and called them Havvoth-jair. This Jair was Machir’s grandson (1 Chr 2:21–23), great-grandson of Manasseh, and thus great-great-grandson of Joseph, son of Jacob. Deut 3:14 tells of his conquest of Argob, that is Bashan, and that he called the villages Havvoth-jair. Some scholars think these verses all refer to the same man while others think the conqueror and the judge are two different people. There is a further problem in the identification of Gilead, which some see as N of the Yarmuk, i.e., Bashan as in Deut 3:14. Some see it as S of the Jabbok River while most see it as N of the Jabbok, S of the Yarmuk. That puts Kamon in this area if it is related to Jair as “Gileadite.” The name is preserved in Qamm (M.R. 218221) and Qumeim, halfway between the Sea of Galilee and Ramoth-gilead. These two villages are on either side of the present road, about 6 and 7 miles respectively S-SE of Umm Qeis (M.R. 214229), on the way to modern Irbid (Beth-arbel [M.R. 229218], Hos 10:14). There is no archaeological evidence here for the Iron Age. The area was not settled before the Roman period. Kamon has also been identified with Qanawat in Jabal Druze but others think this is much too far E. Simons (GTTOT, 134) suggested Krak-Canatha between Dera’a and Souweida. It may also be the name of a clan territory. Jdt 4:4 refers to Kona, which has been suggested as Qoman. Simons (GTTOT, 298, 497) does not agree. It is too obviously a literary adaptation of Gen 14:15, though one can note the word there is Hobah. Polybius’ History 5.70, 12, refers to Kamoun, a site taken by Antiochus in his war with Ptolemy Philopator. The reference follows immediately after his capture of Scythopolis and in conjunction with his conquest of Pella, Abila, Gadara, etc., in Gilead (Gehman NWDB, 533). The site is identified with Hanzir, 5 miles E of Pella (M.R. 207206). It is N of the Jabbok. Iron Age I and Hellenistic type potsherds have been found on the site.
Bibliography
Keil, C. F., and Delitzsch, F. n.d. Joshua, Judges, Ruth. Vol. 2 of Commentary on the Old Testament. Trans. J. Martin. Grand Rapids. Repr. 1986.
Ottosson, M. 1969. Gilead: Tradition and History. Lund.
Henry O. Thompson
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (4:5). New York: Doubleday.
2:
KAMON City in Gilead where Jair the judge was buried (Jgs 10:5). While the place has not been identified with certainty, modern Kameim, a small village southeast of the Sea of Galilee, probably reflects the original name, if not the exact location.
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (767). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
3:
KA´MON (kaʹmon). The place of the judge Jair’s burial (Judg. 10:5; “Camon,” KJV). Josephus (Ant. 5.7.6) states that Kamon was a city of Gilead. Eusebius and Jerome place it on the great road, six Roman miles N of Legio, on the plain of Jezreel or Esdraelon. Polybius (doubtlessly correct) mentions it among other cities of Gilead (History 5.70.12).
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
4:
Kamon (Heb. qāmôn)
The burial place of Jair the Gileadite, a minor judge of Israel (Judg. 10:5). Polybius (Hist. 5.70.12) refers to Kamoun which Antiochus conquered after Pella, Abila, Gadara, and other places in Gilead while battling Ptolemy Philopator. Kamon has been associated with Hanzir (207206), N of the Jabbok and 8 km. (5 mi.) E of Pella, where Iron I and Hellenistic sherds have been found. Krak-Canatha, between Derala and Souweida, and Qamm (218221), 20 km. (13 mi.) SE of the Sea of Galilee, have also been suggested.
Philip R. Drey
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (760). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
