IN   the  Shefelah  "  (nS|?K^,)  or  low  "  rolling  hills  "  situated
between  the  mountain  country  of  Judah  and  the  sea
(for   so    the    Palestine    explorers   show   the   term    must    be
understood),  lay  the  city  of  Adullam,  of  very  ancient  date
(see    Gen,    xxxviii. i,    I2,    20),  and  the  seat  of  one  of  the
thirty-one    petty    kings    smitten    by  Joshua    (xii. 15). The
cave   of  Adullam,    David's    well-known    refuge    whither    he
fled    from    Saul,  and    then    from    the   king   of  Gath,  is   not
near  the  city ;  for  it  is  not  in  a  plain  such  as  that  in  which
the  city  stood,  that  a  cave  is  likely  to  be  found   capable  of
sheltering  four  hundred  men. But  in  the  hilly  wilderness  in
the  east  of  Judah,  towards  the  Dead   Sea,  there  are  many
excavations  piercing  the  limestone  cliffs. Moreover,  it  is  not
uncommon  to  find  western  names  repeated  in  the  East  (as  is
the  case  with  "  Carmel  "). Local  tradition  in  this  case  seems
not  to  be  far  astray  in  designating  as  the  cave  of  Adullam
one  near  the  Dead  Sea,  about  six  miles  south-east  of  Beth-
lehem, in  the  side  of  a  deep  ravine  called  Wady  Khureitun,  a
part  of  the  tremendous  gorge  of  Wady  Urtas. The  path  to
the  mouth,  admitting  only  of  foot  pasengers,  winds  along  the
ledge  of  the  rock,  narrow  enough  to  make  one  nervous  in
looking  at  the  overhanging  cliffs  above  and  the  deep  ravine
below. The   entrance   is  by  a  long  winding  passage,    with
small  cavities  on  either  side. The  large  chamber  within  is
formed  with  natural  arches  of  great  height. From  it  numerous
passages  lead  in  all  directions,  joined  by  others  at  right  angles,
the  whole  forming  a  bewildering  labyrinth. Lieutenant  Con-


STUDIES  IN  THE  CL. PSALMS. 51

der  and  M. Ganneau  think  the  darkness,  scorpions,  bats,  and
flies  are  against  Khureitun  as  the  site  of  Adullam  ;  they  prefer
Ayd-el-Mieh,  eight  miles  north-east  of  Libnah  (Beit  Jebrin),
and  ten  miles  south-west  of  Gath  (Tel  es  Safyeh),  as  the
site  of  both  city  and  cave ;  the  latter  having  an  unobserved
entrance,  and  barring  the  valley  up  which  the  Philistines
used  to  go  in  raids  on  Judah's  corn  lands. For  the  reasons
above,  I  prefer  Khureitun. 