Map of Old Testament Israel - Adullam

Adullam
B-14 on the Map

Adullam Tel esh-Sheikh Madhkur. A Canaanite city mentioned in the Bible in Gen. 38:1; Josh. 12:15; also mentioned as a city of Judah, Josh. 15:35; and David's place of refuge, 1 Sam. 22:1; etc. Near the city contained was the cave of Adullam.

Genesis 38:1 - And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name [was] Hirah.
Joshua 12:15 - The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;
Joshua 15:35 - Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah,
1 Samuel 22:1 - David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard [it], they went down thither to him.

ADULLAM

a-dul'-am (`adhullam): (1) A city, with dependencies, and in ancient times having a king, mentioned five times in the Old Testament, each time in a list with other cities (Josh 12:15; 15:35; 2 Ch 11:7; Mic 1:15; Neh 11:30). In the list of 31 kings whom Joshua smote, Adullam follows Hormah, Arad, Libnah, and precedes Makkedah. Among the 14 Judahite cities of the first group in "the lowland" Adullam is mentioned between Jarmuth and Socoh. In the list of 15 cities fortified by Rehoboam it appears between Socoh and Gath. Micah gives what may be a list of cities concerned in some Assyrian approach to Jerusalem; it begins with Gath, includes Lachish, and ends with Mareshah and Adullam. And Adullam is still in the same company in the list in Nehemiah of the cities "and their villages" where the men of Judah then dwelt. In the time of the patriarchs it was a place to which men "went down" from the central mountain ridge (Gen 38:1). Judas Maccabeus found it still existing as a city (2 Macc 12:38). Common opinion identifies Adullam with the ruin `Aid-el-Ma, 13 miles West-Southwest from Bethlehem (see HGHL, 229 ff). This is in spite of the testimony of the Onomasticon, which, it is alleged, confuses Adullam with Eglon. Presumably the city gave its name to the cave of Adullam, the cave being near the city.
 

 

More Information about Adullam

Adullam is a region of Israel near the Valley of Elah (to the south of Bet Shemesh), West of Gush Etzion. The villages of Aderet, Neve Michael/Roglit, and Aviezer are located here. In the 1950s there were plans to set up Adullam as a formal political/economic region, on the model of Lachish, but the plans were not carried out. Plans from the 1960s called for a Moshav called Adullam to be established, contiguous with Moshav Aderet, but this plan too did not materialize, and the preliminary legal framework for Moshav Adullam was dismantled a few years ago. Adullam was also one of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Joshua 12:15 and Joshua 15:35) referred to in the Hebrew Bible. It stood near the highway which later became the Roman road in the Valley of Elah, the scene of David's memorable victory over Goliath (1 Samuel 17:2), and not far from Gath. It was one of the towns which Rehoboam fortified against Egypt (2 Chronicles 11:7). Micah calls it "the glory of Israel" (Micah 1:15). I Samuel refers to the Cave of Adullam, and reports that David, when he had been expelled from the court of King Saul, there gathered together "every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented" (1 Samuel 22:2). In the past, this cave was thought to be in Wadi Khureitun, between Bethlehem and the Dead Sea, but there is little evidence for this viewest The site at Aid-el-ma (Hurvat Adulam), about 4 km south of the Valley of Elah, and about 20 miles West from Bethlehem, is now more commonly accepted. At this place is a hill some 140 m high pierced with numerous caverns, some of them large enough to hold 200 or 300 men. An Adullamite can mean an inhabitant of Adullam, and the word is used in this sense in Genesis 38:1. However, by reference to the passage in 1 Samuel mentioned above, it has come to mean someone who is plotting against the established leadership of a political party or other group, a group of such plotters being called a "Cave of Adullam". John Bright described a 19th century plot within the leadership of the United Kingdom Liberal Party, directed against the 1866 Reform Bill, in these terms (see Adullamites). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adullam

Adullam: Bible+Cities - Bible History Links (Ancient Biblical Studies)Adullam in Eastons Bible Dictionary One of the royal cities of the Canaanites, now 'Aid-el-ma (Josh. 12:15; 15:35). It stood on the old Roman road in the ...
https://free-bible.com/links.php?cat=40&sub=488&cat_name=Bible+Places&subcat_name=Adullam

Adullam - Biblical Meaning of Adullam in Eastons Bible Dictionary ...Adullam - Biblical Meaning for Adullam in Eastons Bible Dictionary (Free Bible)
wwwestfree-bible.com/eastons/A/Adullam/

ADULLAM in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE (Free Bible) ADULLAM a-dul'-am (`adhullam): (1) A city, with dependencies, and in ancient times having a king, mentioned five times in the Old Testament, each time in a ...
wwwestfree-bible.com/isbe/A/ADULLAM/ 

Adullam - Biblical Definition of Adullam in Fausset's Bible ...Adullam in Fausset's Bible Dictionary (Free Bible)
wwwestfree-bible.com/faussets/A/Adullam/ 

Adullam - Meaning of Adullam in Smiths Bible Dictionary (Bible ...Adullam: Biblical Meaning of Adullam in Smiths Bible Dictionary (Free Bible)
wwwestfree-bible.com/smiths/A/Adullam/ 

Adullam - Definition of the Name Adullam and Meaning in ...Adullam their testimony; their prey; their ornament. Bibliography Information Hitchcock, R.D. Dr "Definition for 'Adullam' Hitchcock's Bible Dictionary". ...
wwwestfree-bible.com/hitchcock/A/Adullam/ 

Adullam: Bible Places - Bible History Links (Ancient Biblical Studies) Adullam in Eastons Bible Dictionary One of the royal cities of the Canaanites, now 'Aid-el-ma (Josh. 12:15; 15:35). It stood on the old Roman road in the ...
https://free-bible.com/links.php?cat=40&sub=488&cat_name=Bible+Places&subcat_name=Adullam

Adullam: - Bible History Links (Ancient Biblical Studies) A cave near the city of Adullam were David was hiding from King Saul ... Adullam in Eastons Bible Dictionary One of the royal cities of the Canaanites, ...
https://free-bible.com/links.php?cat=40&sub=488&cat_name=&subcat_name=Adullam

Map of David's Kingdom - David - Smith's 1Sa 21:13 His first retreat was the cave of Adullam. In this vicinity he was joined by his whole family, 1Sa 22:1 and by a motley crowd of debtors and ...
https://free-bible.com/map-davids-kingdom/map-davids-kingdom_david_smith_s.php

A-dul'lam [enclosure]. A town in the Shephelah, in the territory of Judah, mentioned between Jarmuth and Socoh (Josh. xv. 35). It was in existence, inhabited by Canaanites, as early as the time of Jacob (Gen. xxxviii. 1,2). A petty kin^ ruled over it at the time of the conquest (Josh. xii. l.r>). It was fortified by Rehpboani (2 Chron. xi. 7). continued to flourish in the time of Micah the prophet (Mic. i. 15), and was inhabited after the exile (Neh. xi. 30; 2 Mac. xii. 38). In its vicinity was the cave which David at one period of his wanderings made his headquarters, and whither his father and his brethren and many other adherents went down to join him (1 Sam. xxii.; 2 Sam. xxiii..l3; Antiq. vi. 12, 3). M. Clermont-Ganneau is possibly right in hearing an echo of the name still lingering iu 'Aid el-Miyeh. This name belongs to a hill which is crowned with a fortress and has caves in its sides. The hill stands on the south side of a ravine at its junction with the southern extension of the valley of Elah les-Suu; - and is about two miles from the place where the fight took place between David and Goliath. A-dul'ter-y.

1. In a special sense, sexual intercourse of a married man with a female not his wife, or that of a married woman with a man not her husband. Polygamy, with inferior wives and concubines, is not adultery. Under the Mosaic law adultery was punished with death (Lev. ix. 10).

2. In a general sense, all sexual impurity in thought, word, or deed, or whatever tends thereto. This is the sense in the seventh commandment, interpreted on the principles of the Sermon on the Mount (Ex. xx. 14; Dent. v. 18; Mat. v. 27, 28).

3. Figuratively, the worship of false gods or other infidelity to the covenant with Jehovah (Jer. iii. 8, 9"; Ezek. xxiii. 37, 43; Hos. ii. 2-13}, Ood claiming our undivided affections, as a husband does the undivided regard of the woman who has sworn him fidelity. - DBD

Adullam, Khirbat Rs-shrikh Mudkhvr? (the ruin of the famous chief), part of the ruins bearing the name 'ayd-el-mieh. Many caves in the neighborhood ; in the valley of Elah, 8 m. North of lieit Jibrin ; ancient town (Ge. 38. 1, 12, 20); seat of a Canaanite king (Josh. 12. 15), afterwards in the possession of Judah (Josh. 15. 35); situated in the lowlands (Mic. 1. 15); fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chr. 11. 7); reoccupied by the Jews after the captivity (Neh. 11. 30) ; cave in the neighborhood, the resort of David and his men (1 Sa. 22. 1; 2 Sa. 23. 13; 1 Chr. 11. 15). m. Iv. vI.  - NBAS

A city in the shephelah, or low country between the hill country of Judah and the sea; very ancient (Genesis 38:1; Genesis 38:12; Genesis 38:20); the seat of one of the 31 petty king smitten by Joshua (Joshua 12:15). Fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:7) Called for its beauty "the glory of Israel" (Micah 1:15). Reoccupied on the return from Bahyhm (Nehemiah 11:30). The limestone cliffs of the shephelah are pierced with caves, one of which was that of Adullam, David' s resort (1 Samuel 22:1; 2 Samuel 23:13; 1 Chronicles 11:15). Tradition fixes on Khureitun as the site, South of the wady Urtas, between Bethlehem and the Dead Sea. This cave on the borders of the Dead Sea six miles SouthEast of Bethlehem (his parents' residence) would be more likely as the place whence David took his parents to Moab close by, than the region of the city Adullam in the far West. Names of western places are sometimes repeated in the East. David's usual haunts were in this eastern region...
https://free-bible.com/faussets/A/Adullam/