This place name identifies a Canaanite city that Judah and Simeon defeated, then renamed Hormah ('destruction'). Judges 1:17 records the conquest and renaming. The original name Zephath and the new name Hormah reflect the city's fate—it was devoted to destruction. Various locations have been proposed for its identification, including sites in the Negev south of Judah. The renaming practice reflected Israel's theological understanding that this city had come under the ban of holy war.