adonizedec

Adoni-zedec
lord of justice or righteousness, was king in Jerusalem at the
time when the Israelites invaded Palestine (Josh. 10:1,3). He
formed a confederacy with the other Canaanitish kings against
the Israelites, but was utterly routed by Joshua when he was
engaged in besieging the Gibeonites. The history of this victory
and of the treatment of the five confederated kings is recorded
in Josh. 10:1-27. (Comp. Deut. 21:23). Among the Tell Amarna
tablets (see {EGYPT}) are some very interesting letters
from Adoni-zedec to the King of Egypt. These illustrate in a
very remarkable manner the history recorded in Josh. 10, and
indeed throw light on the wars of conquest generally, so that
they may be read as a kind of commentary on the book of Joshua.
Here the conquering career of the Abiri (i.e., Hebrews) is
graphically described: "Behold, I say that the land of the king
my lord is ruined", "The wars are mighty against me", "The
Hebrew chiefs plunder all the king's lands", "Behold, I the
chief of the Amorites am breaking to pieces." Then he implores
the king of Egypt to send soldiers to help him, directing that
the army should come by sea to Ascalon or Gaza, and thence march
to Wru-sa-lim (Jerusalem) by the valley of Elah.