Ziklag

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Ziklag (

Philistine kingdom of Gath when Achish was king.[1]
Its exact location has not been identified with any certainty.

Identification

At least 14 sites have been proposed as the location of Ziklag.

Gaza city) had been suggested as possible locations.[4][5] Khirbet Zuheiliqah was identified by Conder and Kitchener as the location on the basis of Ziklag being a corruption of Zahaliku, whence also Zuheiliqah.[3]

The more recently proposed identifications for Ziklag are:

In the Bible

Philistine's original base

The

Cherethites.[3]

Tribal allotment

In the lists of cities of the Israelites by tribe given in the Book of Joshua, Ziklag appears both as a town belonging to the Tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:31) and as a town belonging to the Tribe of Simeon (Joshua 19:5). Textual scholars believe that these lists were originally independent administrative documents, not necessarily dating from the same time, and hence reflecting the changing tribal boundaries.[4]

David receives Philistine Ziklag

Jerahmeelites
.

Biblical scholars argue that the town was probably on the eastern fringe of the Philistines' territory, and that it was natural for it to be annexed to Judah when David became king.[16] Since the compilation of the Book of Joshua is regarded by textual scholars as late, probably being due to the deuteronomist, it is possible that the tribal allocations given within it date from after this annexation rather than before.[16]

David and the Amalekites

According to

Amalekites; the Amalekites burning the town, and capturing its population without killing them (scholars[who?] think this capture refers to enslavement). However, none of the archaeological sites which have been proposed to be Ziklag show any evidence of destruction during the era of David.[17]

In the narrative, when David's men discovered that their families had been captured, they became angry with David. David sought the face of his God to determine whether or not to pursue the Amalekites. The Lord answered and said to pursue them for he would recover all. Initially, six hundred men went in pursuit, but a third of them were too exhausted to go further than the

HaBesor Stream. They found an abandoned and starving slave, formerly belonging to one of the Amalekites who had raided Ziklag, and having given him fig cake, raisin
cake, and water, persuaded him to lead them to the Amalekite raiders. The slave led them to the camp of the captors, and found the captors holding a feast and celebrating, due to the size of their spoil; David's forces engaged in battle with them for a night and a day, and ultimately became victorious.

Textual scholars ascribe this narrative to the

secondary character being the wife of the enemy (Nabal) rather than their former slave, David's forces being joined by damsels rather than rejoining their wives, and Nabal rather than the Amalekites being the enemy.[citation needed
]

The Books of Samuel go on to mention that as a result, the people taken by the Amalekites were released, and the spoil that the Amalekites had taken, including livestock, and spoil from attacks elsewhere, were divided among David's men, including the third that had remained at the

Besor. This ruling, that even those left behind would get a share, is stated by the text to have been a response by David to those who believed only the two-thirds of David's men who had battled with the Amalekites should get a reward. A similar ruling is given in the Priestly Code (Numbers 31:27) and in Joshua 22:8. Scholars[who?] believe that these rulings are derived from the decision in regard to the Amalekite spoil, rather than vice versa.[16]

According to the text, once back at Ziklag, David sent portions of the spoil to the various community leaders within Judah; the text gives a list of the locations of the recipients, but they are all just within the Negev.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ 1 Samuel 27:5–6
  2. ^
    S2CID 246508717
    .
  3. ^ a b c d Cheyne and Black, Encyclopedia Biblica
  4. ^ a b "Ziklag". Jewish Encyclopedia.
  5. ^ "Ziklag". Easton's Bible Dictionary.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9780802825254
    . Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  7. ^
    ISBN 9780826485717. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
  8. ^ ברוכים הבאים לאתר של קיבוץ להב, Kibbutz Lahav ofiicial website
  9. Jerusalem Post
    .
  10. ^ The Zeita Excavations - project overview Archived December 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ^ "Une ancienne cité philistine découverte en Israël" [Ancient Philistine City Discovered in Israel]. Le Figaro (in French). 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  12. ^ AFP (2019-07-09). "En Israël, des archéologues affirment avoir découvert la ville biblique de Ziklag" [In Israel, archaeologists claim to have discovered the biblical city of Ziklag]. Geo.fr (in French). Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  13. ^ Amanda Borschel-Dan (8 July 2019). "As archaeologists say they've found King David's city of refuge, a debate begins". The Times of Israel.
  14. ^ 1 Samuel 27:8
  15. ^ Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers on 1 Samuel 27, accessed 29 May 2017
  16. ^ a b c d e f Matthew Black; Arthur Samuel Peake (1962). Peake's Commentary on the Bible. T. Nelson.
  17. ^ Fritz, Volkmar (May–June 1993), Where is David's Ziklag?, Biblical Archaeology Review
  18. ^ "Books of Samuel". Jewish Encyclopedia.

Bibliography

  • Blakely, Jeffrey, "The Location of Medieval/Pre-Modern and Biblical Ziklag", Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 139,1 (2007), 21–26.
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