4368. Mekonah
Lexical Summary
Mekonah: Mekonah

Original Word: מְכֹנָה
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Mkonah
Pronunciation: meh-ko-NAH
Phonetic Spelling: (mek-o-naw')
KJV: Mekonah
NASB: Meconah
Word Origin: [the same as H4350 (מְכוֹנָה מְכוֹנָה - stands)]

1. a base
2. Mekonah, a place in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Mekonah

The same as mkownah; a base; Mekonah, a place in Palestine -- Mekonah.

see HEBREW mkownah

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a place in Judah
NASB Translation
Meconah (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
מְכֹנָה proper name, of a location in Judah Nehemiah 11:28. ᵐ5L Μαμη. — מְכֹנָה = מְכוֺנָה see כון.

[מִכְנָס], מִכְנְסֵי see כנס.

מֶ֫כֶס, [מִכְסָה] see כסס.

מִכְסֶה, מְכַסֶּה see I. כסה.

מַכְמֵּלָה see כפל.

Topical Lexicon
Geographic Setting

Mekonah was a Judean village in the Negeb-Shephelah belt, listed immediately after Ziklag (Nehemiah 11:28). Because Ziklag is securely located in the south-western hill country bordering the Philistine plain, Mekonah is commonly placed in the same district, probably a few kilometres north-east of Tell es-Shearia (biblical Ziklag) or near the later Greco-Roman site of Menois. The topography—rolling pastureland that grades into semi-arid steppe—made it suitable for mixed agriculture and flock-keeping, matching Nehemiah’s emphasis on “villages with their fields” (Nehemiah 11:25).

Biblical Context

Nehemiah 11 records the repopulation of Judah after the Babylonian exile. While some families were chosen by lot to live in fortified Jerusalem, others re-occupied ancestral towns to restore the rural economy. Verse 28 reads: “in Ziklag, in Mekonah and its villages”. The verse places Mekonah among a chain of settlements stretching from Kiriath Arba (Hebron) southward to Beersheba, illustrating a deliberate policy to secure Judah’s traditional frontiers (Joshua 15:20-32). Mekonah therefore represents the re-establishment of covenant life not only in the urban centre but also in the countryside, ensuring that Jerusalem’s temple worship was undergirded by stable agrarian support.

Historical Background

1. Pre-exilic roots: The appearance of Mekonah in a post-exilic list implies an earlier existence, likely disrupted by Babylonian incursions (2 Kings 25:1-12).
2. Post-exilic restoration: Under Persian authorization (Ezra 1:1-4), Judah’s leaders organized a two-pronged strategy—fortifying Jerusalem and rehabilitating country towns. Mekonah’s inclusion signals a successful resettlement that reclaimed territory threatened by Edomite and Philistine encroachment during the exile.
3. Later history: By the Hellenistic era a settlement named Menois is mentioned by Eusebius near Gaza; many scholars regard it as Mekonah’s successor, suggesting continuous occupation into the early Christian centuries.

Theological and Ministry Significance

• Covenant faithfulness: God’s promise to “bring them back to the land” (Jeremiah 32:37) proved tangible when even modest villages such as Mekonah were re-occupied. Small places mattered in the outworking of divine fidelity.
• Community over individualism: The repopulation lists underline corporate obedience. Families moved where assigned, demonstrating collective submission to God-ordained leadership—an enduring model for church mission and church planting.
• Worship-work integration: Rural settlers supplied grain, oil, and livestock that sustained temple service (Nehemiah 10:39). Mekonah exemplifies the seamless link between everyday labor and formal worship, encouraging modern believers to view secular vocations as integral to kingdom advance.

Related Passages and Themes

Joshua 15:20-32 – Original allotment of southern Judah, the territorial canvas reclaimed in Nehemiah 11.
1 Samuel 30 – David’s stay at Ziklag prefigures later Judean presence in the same corridor, connecting the monarchy’s early trials with post-exilic hopes.
Psalm 126:1-3 – The joy of restored fortunes resonates with the settlers who returned to villages like Mekonah.
Hebrews 11:8-10 – Faith seeks a lasting city; yet, like Abraham, the returned exiles lived in ordinary towns while looking ahead to ultimate fulfillment.

Archaeological Notes

No definitive excavation of Mekonah has yet occurred. Surface finds at Khirbet el-Maqs include Iron-Age sherds overlain by Persian-to-Byzantine material, matching the occupational profile implied by Nehemiah. Lack of massive fortifications aligns with its description as a village rather than a fortified city.

Lessons for Today

1. God honors humble places. Ministry in lesser-known locales carries eternal weight.
2. Strategic planning in God’s work marries prayerful dependence (Nehemiah 2:4) with practical organization (Nehemiah 11:1-2).
3. Re-establishing godly presence in neglected regions echoes the call to “strengthen what remains and is about to die” (Revelation 3:2), urging churches to revitalize spiritual desolations wherever they are found.

Forms and Transliterations
וּבִמְכֹנָ֖ה ובמכנה ū·ḇim·ḵō·nāh ūḇimḵōnāh uvimchoNah
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Nehemiah 11:28
HEB: וּבְצִֽקְלַ֥ג וּבִמְכֹנָ֖ה וּבִבְנֹתֶֽיהָ׃
NAS: and in Ziklag, in Meconah and in its towns,
KJV: And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah, and in the villages
INT: Ziklag Meconah towns

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 4368
1 Occurrence


ū·ḇim·ḵō·nāh — 1 Occ.

4367
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