‘ And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it, and the name of the city was called Hormah.'
The alliance continued their work by capturing Zephath. The impression given is that it was in Simeonite territory as ‘Judah went with Simeon'. It was ‘devoted' to Yahweh and therefore totally destroyed, possibly as the first city to be captured for Simeon. Hormah means ‘devoted' (i.e. to God). But it may also be because of the vow made in Numbers 21:1-3, it being seen as a permanently ‘devoted' place. It may have been connected with ‘the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah' (2 Chronicles 14:10). Otherwise it is unknown. Mareshah was part of Judah's inheritance, in the midst of which was Simeon's.