HORMA (Hebrew Hormah). — A Canaanite city, originally Sephatah, but always referred to in advance by the name applied by the Israelites of H. from the “destruction” (herem, q.v.) carried out during the conquest (Num. 21:1–3; Judg. 1:17).
H. is recalled in three biblical episodes. First, in the attempt of the Israelites to enter Canaan from the south, which failed due to the resistance of the Amalekites and Canaanites, who drove them back as far as H. (Num. 14:39–45). Then in the new attempt, presented as a revenge for the first defeat (Num. 21:1–3), though this was not followed by occupation unless one sees in it the same episode where the defeat, as in other similar cases, is colored by the later victory. This was achieved when, from Jericho, the tribes of Judah and Simeon advanced into the south, seized the city, and devoted it to destruction, replacing the sad name of Sephatah with the glorious one of H. (Judg. 1:17). H. then took on new life within the tribes of Judah and Simeon (Josh. 15:30; 19:4).
From the combined biblical texts (Josh. 12:14; 1 Chron. 4:30), it should be sought in the vicinity of Beersheba. The proposed identification with Subaïta, 35 km south of Beersheba, implies too great a distance and is not confirmed by archaeology, which asserts its origin with the Nabataeans. The site of Tell es-Sebaʿ, also called Tell Mūsā, 5 km south of Beersheba, proposed by Alt, corresponds well to historical and archaeological requirements.