Adullam

Adullam (Hebrew: עֲדֻלָּם) is an ancient ruin, built upon a hilltop overlooking the Elah Valley, south of Bet Shemesh in Israel. In the late 19th century, the town was still in ruins, and called by its Arabic corruption, `Eîd el Mieh. The hilltop is mostly flat, with cisterns carved into the rock. The remains of stone structures which once stood there can still be seen. Sedimentary layers of ruins from the old Canaanite and Israelite eras, mostly potsherds, are noticeable everywhere, although olive groves now grow atop of this hill, enclosed within stone hedges. The villages of Aderet, Neve Michael/Roglit, and Aviezer are located nearby. Access to the site may be obtained by passing through the cooperative small holder's agricultural villages (Moshavim) of Aderet or Neve Michael (known also as Roglit). The ruin lies at a distance of ca. 2 kilometers south of Moshav Neve Michael.

History

Adullam was one of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Joshua 12:15 and Joshua 15:35) referred to in the Hebrew Bible. It stood near the highway which later became the Roman road in the Valley of Elah, the scene of David's victory over Goliath (1 Samuel 17:2). It was here that Judah, the son of Jacob (Israel), came when he left his father and brothers in Migdal Eder, where he befriended a certain Hirah, an Adullamite, (Genesis 38:1) and where he met his first wife (unnamed in Genesis), the daughter of Shua. It was one of the towns which Rehoboam fortified against Egypt (2 Chronicles 11:7). Micah calls it "the glory of Israel" (Micah 1:15).