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ADULLAM

(Heb.ʿăḏullām)

A town in the Shephelah of Judah (Josh. 15:35). Although unexcavated, it is commonly identified with Tell esh-Sheikj Madhkûr/µorvat {Adullam (150117), 8 km (5 mi.) S of Beth-shemesh. Located in the southern portion of the valley of Elah, Adullam, along with the site of Socoh, guarded one of the routes from the coastal plain to the Judean highlands. It is one of the westernmost fortified towns along the boundary of Judah.

In the story of Judah and Tamar, Judah’s friend Hirah is identified as an Adullamite (Gen. 38:1, 12, 20). The king of Adullam is listed among those whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated (Josh. 12:15). David took refuge from Saul in the cave of Adullam after fleeing from Gath (1 Sam. 22:1-2). David’s “mighty men” assembled here; three of them ran from the cave and entered Philistine territory to get water from the well of Bethlehem for their leader (2 Sam. 23:13-17). 1 Chr. 11:15 records that the three men met David at “the rock” (Heb. haṣṣūr) at the cave of Adullam, a description consistent with the stronghold character of the cave; in 2 Samuel the men went down to the cave at the beginning of “harvest” (qāṣîr), a substitution based on the text’s confusing syntax.

Adullam is included among the list of cities that Rehoboam fortified (2 Chr. 11:7) and is variously ascribed to the time of Hezekiah and Josiah. The prophet Micah (Mic. 1:15), a contemporary of Hezekiah, included it in his lamentation over the cities of Judah. Adullam was one of the cities re-inhabited by the exiles returning from Babylon (Neh. 11:30). During the Hellenistic period, Judas Maccabeus and his men rested there after a battle with the governor of Idumea (2 Macc. 12:38).

Remains of a Late Roman/Byzantine public building have been identified at the site.

Bibliography. Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia, 1979); V. Fritz, “The ‘List of Rehoboam’s Fortresses’ in 2 Chr. 11:5-12: A Document from the Time of Josiah,” ErIsr 15 (1981): 46*-53*; Z. Ilan, “Ancient Synagogues Survey: Judean Shephelah,” Excavations and Surveys in Israel 7-8 (1988/89): 5-6; N. Naʾaman, “Hezekiah’s Fortified Cities and the LMLK Stamps,” BASOR 261 (1986): 5-21; “The Kingdom of Judah under Josiah,” Tel Aviv 18 (1991): 3-71; A. F. Rainey, “The Biblical Shephelah of Judah,” BASOR 251 (1983): 1-22.

Jennifer L. Groves

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ADULLAM

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)