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ZIKLAG

(Heb. ṣîqlag)

A town in southwest Palestine, at the southern edge of the Shephelah. It was an ancestral holding of Simeon (Josh. 19:5) and then Judah (15:31). According to 1 Chr. 4:30-31 when David became king of Judah, Ziklag and several other towns in its vicinity became part of Judah. Apparently Josh. 15:31 reflects the time of the Monarchy.

While Saul ruled Israel, Ziklag was in Philistine hands, and Achish, king of Gath, gave Ziklag to David as a fief (1 Sam. 27:1-6). After David had lived there for a year and four months, the Amalekites attacked the town and destroyed it while David was away (1 Sam. 30:1-3). The Amalekites plundered Ziklag, but David and his band pursued and defeated them somewhere south of Gaza. David then returned to Ziklag’s remains. Shortly afterward, David left Ziklag for Hebron, where the Judahites anointed him king of Judah.

The exact location of Ziklag is unknown. Two modern sites are possible candidates: Tel µalif (Lahav)/Tell el-Khuweilefeh (137087), ca. 16 km. (10 mi.) NE of Beer-sheba, and Tell esh-Shariʿa/Tel Seraʿ (119088), midway between Beer-sheba and Gaza. Excavations at Tel µalif show it also was under Philistine influence ca. 1000 b.c.e., and it flourished during the following centuries as well. Tell esh-Shariʿa is a more likely location since it is closer to Philistia. Excavations there have revealed several phases of occupation in the Iron Age, all with a strong Philistine presence. The most intense building activity occurred during the 10th-9th centuries. Typical Israelite four-room houses and impressive buildings of ashlar masonry have been found. If this is the correct site for Ziklag, it was rebuilt after David’s departure and remained part of Judah.

Paul S. Ash

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ZIKLAG

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)