Hazar-shual

Hazar-shual is a town in the southern Negeb of Judah, listed beside Beer-sheba in two of its four occurrences. The town shows up first in Joshua's allotment of Judah, then in the Simeonite allotment that lay inside Judah's territory, then in the Chronicler's settlement summary, and again among the towns reoccupied after the exile.

In the southern allotments

In Judah's town list, Hazar-shual appears with Beer-sheba: "and Hazar-shual, and Beer-sheba and its towns" (Josh 15:28). When Simeon's allotment is given out from Judah's portion, the same town reappears in Simeon's list: "and Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Ezem" (Josh 19:3). The town is therefore counted in both lists — Judah's by territory, Simeon's by occupation.

In Chronicles and after the return

The Chronicler summarizes the same Simeonite settlement-area: "And they dwelt at Beer-sheba, and Moladah, and Hazarshual" (1Chr 4:28). After the exile, when Nehemiah lists the towns of Judah where the people resettled, Hazar-shual is again named alongside Beer-sheba: "and in Hazar-shual, and in Beer-sheba and its towns" (Neh 11:27). The same southern cluster — Hazar-shual with Beer-sheba — persists across the four occurrences.