Ziklag
Ziklag is a settlement mentioned in 13 verses. Its most likely location is Tell esh Sharia. The name means “measure pressed down.”
Where is Ziklag?
Approx. 31.3912, 34.6816 · OpenStreetMap · Google Maps
Possible modern locations
| Identification | Type | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Tell esh Sharia | settlement | High |
| Tel Halif | settlement | Medium |
| Tel Beer Sheva | settlement | Low |
| Khirbet a Ra’i | settlement | Low |
| Tel Masos | settlement | Low |
| Khirbet Zuheiliqah | settlement | Low |
Ziklag in the Bible dictionary
A town in the Negeb, or south country of Judah (Josh. 15:31), in the possession of the Philistines when David fled to Gath from Ziph with all his followers. Achish, the king, assigned him Ziklag as his place of residence. There he dwelt for over a year and four months. From this time it pertained to the kings of Judah (1 Sam. 27:6). During his absence with his army to join the Philistine expedition against the Israelites (29:11), it was destroyed by the Amalekites (30:1, 2), whom David, however, pursued and utterly routed, returning all the captives (1 Sam. 30:26-31). Two days after his return from this expedition, David received tidings of the disastrous battle of Gilboa and of the death of Saul (2 Sam. 1:1-16). He now left Ziklag and returned to Hebron, along with his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, and his band of 600 men. It has been identified with ‘Asluj, a heap of ruins south of Beersheba. Conder, however, identifies it with Khirbet Zuheilikah, ruins found on three hills half a mile apart, some seventeen miles north-west of Beersheba, on the confines of Philistia, Judah, and Amalek.
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain. Full dictionary entry →
Verses that mention Ziklag
- Joshua 15:31
And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah,
- Joshua 19:5
And Ziklag, and Beth–marcaboth, and Hazar–susah,
- 1 Samuel 27:6
Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.
- 1 Samuel 30:1
And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
- 1 Samuel 30:3
So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
- 1 Samuel 30:14
We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
- 1 Samuel 30:26
And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord;
- 2 Samuel 1:1
Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;
- 2 Samuel 4:10
When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings:
- 1 Chronicles 4:30
And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,