Original Word: קָמוֹן
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Qamown
Pronunciation: kah-MONE
Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-mone')
KJV: Camon
NASB: Kamon
Word Origin: [from H6965 (קוּם - arose)]

1. an elevation
2. Kamon, a place East of the Jordan

Camon

From quwm; an elevation; Kamon, a place East of the Jordan -- Camon.

see HEBREW quwm

Word Origin
from qum
Definition
burial place of Jair
NASB Translation
Kamon (1).

קָמוֺן proper name, of a location Judges 10:5, Παμνων, A Παμμω (ᵐ5^L Καλκων); in Gilead Jos^Ant. see 7, 6 (Καμων); probably = Καμουν of Polyb^{see 70, 12} (named next after Πελλα); Buhl^{Geogr. 256} thinks of †umêm, †amm (Schumacher^{Northern Ajlûn 137 f.}), between Jarmuk and Jabbok, west of Irbid.

Canonical Reference

Judges 10:3–5: “After him, Jair the Gileadite rose up and judged Israel twenty-two years. He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they possessed thirty towns in the land of Gilead that are called Havvoth-jair to this day. When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.”

Geographical Setting

Kamon was located in the Transjordan highlands of Gilead. Modern proposals place it east of the Jordan Valley near the Yarmuk River (Tell Qamm or Qumeim) or, less convincingly, at Kafr Kama in Lower Galilee. The Gilead identification best accords with the text: Jair’s rule, his thirty towns, and his burial are all tied to Gilead. Set on fertile uplands, the site controlled approaches between the plateau and the Jordan Valley, explaining its later strategic value in Hellenistic and Roman eras.

Historical Background

1. Period of the Judges. Jair’s twenty-two-year judgeship followed the deliverance wrought by Tola and preceded the apostasies that brought Israel under Philistine and Ammonite oppression (Judges 10:6).
2. Jair’s Administration. The prosperity implied by “thirty sons…thirty donkeys…thirty towns” suggests stability, commerce, and effective local governance. Kamon became the family burial place, memorializing that season of relative peace.
3. Subsequent Mentions. While Kamon itself is not cited again in the canon, second-century sources (Josephus, Antiquities 5.7.6) speak of a “Camon” east of the Jordan, confirming a living memory of the locale.

Theological Significance

1. Memorial of God’s Provision. Kamon stands as a silent witness that God “raised up judges who saved them” (Judges 2:16). Jair’s grave testifies to the Lord’s covenant faithfulness even when Israel vacillated in obedience.
2. Transience of Leaders. The mention of Jair’s burial immediately precedes Israel’s relapse into idolatry (Judges 10:6). Kamon therefore marks the tension between faithful leadership and a nation’s need for a greater, lasting Deliverer—ultimately answered in Jesus Christ, the righteous Judge whose reign never ends.
3. Foreshadowing the Kingdom. The thirty towns administered from Gilead anticipate the ordered tribal inheritances that will be consummated when Israel embraces her Messiah (Isaiah 11:11–14; Ezekiel 47:13–23).

Ministry Applications

• Leadership Legacy. Jair’s burial in Kamon urges every servant of God to labor so that the place where one’s earthly race ends becomes a testimony to God’s grace rather than personal ambition.
• Stewardship of Prosperity. The judge’s sons rode expensive mounts; his towns prospered. Kamon challenges believers to use seasons of blessing for kingdom purposes, not self-indulgence (1 Timothy 6:17–19).
• Vigilance After Victory. Israel’s slide into sin after Jair’s death warns churches that post-revival periods require intentional discipleship lest complacency invite bondage anew (Revelation 3:2).

Archaeological and Extra-Biblical Notes

• Tell Qamm/Qumeim: Pottery from Iron Age I–II and a strategic ridge match the biblical timeframe and topography of Gilead.
• Roman Milestones and Byzantine Remains: Evidence of later occupation highlights the site’s long-term viability, supporting the biblical impression that Kamon lay on a major east-west route.
• No excavated tomb of Jair has been identified; however, rock-cut graves in the district affirm burial customs congruent with Judges 10:5.

Related Biblical Themes and Sites

Havvoth-jair (Numbers 32:41); Gilead (Genesis 37:25; Jeremiah 22:6); Burial Places of the Judges (Judges 2:9; 8:32; 10:2).

בְּקָמֽוֹן׃ בקמון׃ bə·qā·mō·wn bekaMon bəqāmōwnInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts