Hebrew word · H5725

עֲדֻלָּם

'adulam

Adullam

A place name, the town of Adullam in the Shephelah, the low foothill country between the Judean highlands and the coastal plain. Its meaning is uncertain; one guess is 'refuge' or 'enclosed place,' but this is not established and should not be built on.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Adullam = "justice of the people"

a town of the Canaanites allotted to Judah and lying in the lowlands; site of the cave where David hid

Also named: a.dul.la.mi (עֲדֻלָּמִי "Adullamite" H5726)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Samuel 22:1

Range of meaning

A place name, the town of Adullam in the Shephelah, the low foothill country between the Judean highlands and the coastal plain. Its meaning is uncertain; one guess is 'refuge' or 'enclosed place,' but this is not established and should not be built on.

Against the English

All versions keep the name as it is. WEB's 'Adullam's cave' and KJV's 'the cave Adullam' mean the same as 'the cave of Adullam.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 38:1, 12, 20 (Judah's friend Hirah the Adullamite); Joshua 12:15 (a Canaanite royal city); Joshua 15:35 (listed among Judah's lowland towns); 2 Chronicles 11:7 (fortified by Rehoboam); Nehemiah 11:30; Micah 1:15 ('the glory of Israel shall come to Adullam,' a probable echo of David's time there). It is usually identified with Khirbet esh-Sheikh Madhkur (Tel Adullam).

From the study of Joshua 12:15

Range of meaning

A place name of uncertain meaning. Explanations based on a root meaning 'refuge' or 'enclosed place' are guesses and are not secure. The town lay in the Shephelah. It is usually identified with Tell esh-Sheikh Madhkur, near Khirbet 'Id el-Ma.

Against the English

English transliterates it. Most churchgoers know the name only from 'the cave of Adullam', David's hideout. Here it is the town and its ruler.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 38:1, 12, 20 (Hirah the Adullamite, Judah's friend); Josh 15:35 (Judah's Shephelah district); 1 Sam 22:1 and 2 Sam 23:13 (David's cave); 2 Chr 11:7 (fortified by Rehoboam); Mic 1:15 ('the glory of Israel shall come to Adullam'); Neh 11:30 (resettled after the exile).

Similar words

Where it appears

Joshua · 2

  1. Joshua 12:15 עֲדֻלָּ֖ם Adullam

    the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;

    Here: A Shephelah town southwest of Bethlehem. Israel already knew it from the Judah story (Gen 38) and later from David's hideout (1 Sam 22:1). Joshua 10 does not describe its capture. It appears only in this summary list.

  2. Joshua 15:35 וַעֲדֻלָּ֔ם and Adullam

    Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 22:1 עֲדֻלָּ֑ם Adullam

    So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.

    Here: An old town in the Judean lowlands, south of the Elah Valley where David fought Goliath. It sits on home ground for Judah's tribe, between Philistine Gath and David's home town of Bethlehem.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 23:13 עֲדֻלָּ֑ם Adullam

    At harvest time, three of the thirty chief men went down to David at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 11:15 עֲדֻלָּ֑ם Adullam

    Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 11:7 עֲדֻלָּֽם׃ Adullam

    Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam,

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 11:30 עֲדֻלָּם֙ Adullam

    Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages; in Lachish and its fields; and in Azekah and its villages. So they settled from Beersheba all the way to the Valley of Hinnom.

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 1:15 עֲדֻּלָּ֥ם Adullam

    I will again bring a conqueror against you, O dweller of Mareshah. The glory of Israel will come to Adullam.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.