Bible Dictionaries
Adoni-Zedek
Holman Bible Dictionary
(ad' oh ni-zee dehk) Personal name meaning, “the Lord is righteous” or “the god Zedek is righteous.” King of Jerusalem who gathered coalition of Canaanite kings to fight Gibeon after Joshua made a peace treaty with Gibeon (Joshua 10:1 ). Joshua marched to Gibeon's aid and defeated the coalition. Joshua made a public example of the kings before executing them (Joshua 10:22-26 ). He exposed their bodies on trees, a further sign of humiliation, since it postponed burial and a way to celebrate victory. Joshua carefully obeyed the law by taking them from the trees before nightfall (Deuteronomy 21:23 ).
Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'Adoni-Zedek'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/a/adoni-zedek.html. 1991.