Adullam - location profile

Location and Setting

• Adullam ("retreat" or "refuge") was located twelve miles southwest of Bethlehem, on a hill above the southeastern extension of the Valley of Elah. The route that passed nearby connected the Ridge road to the coast.
• The town was best known for the nearby caves near the top of a hill in the middle of the valley. The well at the foot of the hill and the commanding view of all directions from the caves provided an ideal refuge.

Historical and Biblical Significance

• Prior to moving to Egypt to escape the famine in Israel, the tribe of Judah had settled in Bethlehem and the immediate environs. They began to spread out into the surrounding territory by establishing relationships with the neighboring Canaanite cities. As in the case of Judah, who married an Adullamite, some of the clans of Judah intermarried with the Canaanites. The shameful story of Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar, took place in this context (Gen 38:1-30).
• When David left Nob (Mt. Scopus at Jerusalem), in his desperation he sought refuge with Achish, king of Gath. He received a hostile reception there but was able to escape by feigning insanity. From Gath he retraced the route the Philistines had taken when they fled from Saul’s army after David killed Goliath of Gath. This brought David into and through the Valley of Elah. Certainly he would have remembered and reflected on the place there where he had slain the giant with a stone from his sling. From there he proceeded just beyond the southeastern branch of the valley to Adullam. David’s entire family and others, men who were discontented, in debt, or in distress, joined him there, supporting him against Saul. Four hundred men were hiding in the caves at the time (1 Sam 22:1-4).
• From Adullam, David took his mother and father to Moab (the ancient home of his great-grandmother, Ruth) for safety.
• Adullam was among the fifteen cities of Judah that King Rehoboam fortified to protect his kingdom from foreign attack (2 Chr 11:7).
• When the Israelites returned from the Babylonian exile, Adullam was resettled by members of the tribe of Judah (Neh 11:30).

Bibliography

1. Aharoni, Yohanan. The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1962.
2. Baly, Denis. The Geography of the Bible: A Study in Historical Geography. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1957.
3. Houston, J. M. "Adullam" The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Ed. Merrill C. Tenney. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976.
4. Kent, Charles Foster. Biblical Geography and History. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1920.