“lord of justice.”
Canaanite king of Jerusalem. Learning that after Joshua’s conquest of Ai the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel, he led four other kings to punish Gibeon.
Joshua, coming to the aid of Gibeon, defeated him, and he and his allies were hanged (Josh. 10:1-27). Among the tablets of Tell El-Amarna (see AMARNA) letters from Adonisedek have been found asking the king of Egypt to send soldiers to defend him from the “Abiri” (Hebrews).
These letters give a vivid account, from the point of view of the Canaanites, of the wars that took place when Joshua took possession of the land.