David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. 2 Samuel 5:4 I remember seeing from Tel Azekah a few years ago a new excavation at a site called Khirbet Qeiyafa. It has received quite a bit of press the last few years. I was excited to visit it a couple weeks ago. Khirbet Qeiyafa is situated overlooking the Elah Valley (where David fought Goliath) in the Shephelah (foothills). There are two gates through the city walls, making many think it may be Biblical Shaaraim (Hebrew for “two gates”) (Joshua 15:36, 1 Samuel 17:52). What […]
Tag Archives: Elah Valley
Swinging Doors of the Shephelah
When moving from the Mediterranean coast into the hills of Judah (places like Jerusalem and Bethlehem), travelers had several parallel routes to choose from. They were dominated by several valleys in a region called the Shephelah. I want to focus on the three most prominent today. The first, in the north, is the Aijalon Valley, dominated by the cities of Aijalon and Gezer. There was a road from here that led east up to lower and upper Beth Horon, to Gibeon and beyond. This route is mentioned a couple times with the Israelites routing their enemies westward (Joshua 10:12, 1 […]
Shephelah
Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out–Lachish and Azekah. These were the only fortified cities left in Judah. Jeremish 34:6-7 We continued our journey west, emerging from the hill country to the shephelah, the low foothills. This region is characterized by low, rolling hills and wide valleys. The Sorek valley (mentioned last time) opened up as we crossed the limestone line. Sitting near the border is the ancient site of […]