Upper Beth-horon

Upper Beth-horon ("house of the hollow") sat at the high end of the steep ridge road descending from the central hill country through the Aijalon Valley to the coastal plain — one of the most strategic routes into Jerusalem from the west. When the five Amorite kings attacked Gibeon for making peace with Israel, Joshua force-marched all night from Gilgal. As the kings fled "down the ascent of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah... more died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword" (Joshua 10:11). Solomon later refortified both Upper and Lower Beth-horon (1 Kings 9:17). Identified with modern Beit Ur el-Foqa.