Valley of Elah
A valley in the low hills of Judah, south-west of Jerusalem, where 1 Samuel sets the fight between David and Goliath. The armies of Saul and the Philistines faced each other across it.
The valley of Elah runs through the low hills between the highlands of Judah and the coastal plain where the Philistine cities lay. In 1 Samuel the Philistines camp between Socoh and Azekah, Saul’s army camps in the valley, and each holds a hillside with the valley between them (1 Samuel 17:1–3). Here David killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17:19, 48–51). The priest at Nob later speaks of “Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah” (1 Samuel 21:1, 9). The valley is identified with the Wadi es-Sant. The exact place of the fight is not known, and the point on the map marks the valley only.
What happened here
- about 1025 BC, traditional dateDavid and Goliath
Samuel anoints David, the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem. In the valley of Elah the young shepherd kills the Philistine champion Goliath with a sling and a stone, and his fame turns King Saul against him.