Balah

Balah is a town in the territory allotted to the tribe of Simeon, appearing in the Simeonite town list and reappearing under a slightly different spelling in the Chronicler's parallel.

A Simeonite Town

Joshua's allotment to Simeon names the town in the cluster following Hazar-shual: "and Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Ezem" (Jos 19:3). The town sits among the southern settlements assigned within Judah's boundary that Simeon receives.

Called Bilhah in Chronicles

The Chronicler's list of Simeon's settlements gives the same town under the form Bilhah, in the same neighbor-grouping with Ezem: "and at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad" (1Ch 4:29). The two lists trace the same Simeonite territory; the spelling shifts between Balah in Joshua and Bilhah in Chronicles.