E'lah (llQh.Elah', nbx, terebinth or oak [q. v.]), the name of a place, and also of five men.
1. The Valley of Elah (nbxn p-ZV, vale of the terebinth or oak; Sept. i) KoiXdc; 'HXci, but translates i) KoiKuQ Tijg opvug in 1 Sam. xvii, 2, 19 ; Vulg. likewise vall/s tereblnt/ii'), a valley in (not "by," as the A.V. has it) which the Israelites were encamped against the Philistines when David killed Goliath (1 Sam. xvii, 2, 19; xxi, 9). It lay somewhere near Shocoh of Judah, and Azekah, and was nearer Ekron than any other Philistine town (1 Sam. xvii). Shocoh has been with great probability identified with Shuweikeh, near Beit Netif, some 14 miles S.AV. of Jerusalem, on the road to Buit Jibrin and Gaza, among the more western of the hills of Judah, not far from where they begin to descend into the great Philistine plain. The village stands on the south slopes of the 2vady es-Sumt, or valley of the acacia, which runs off in a N.W. direc- tion across the plain to the sea just above Ashdod. Above Shuweikeh it branches into two other wadj's. large, though inferior in size to itself, and the junction of the three forms a considerable open space of not less than a mile wide cultivated in fields of grain. In the centre is a wide torrent bed thickly strewed with round pebbles, and bordered by the acacia bushes from which the valley derives its present name. There seems to be no reason to doubt that this is the Valley of the Ter- ebinth. It has changed its name, and is now called after another kind of tree (the sumt, or acacia), but the terebinth (biitm) appears to be plentiful in the neigh- borhood, and one of the largest specimens in Palestine still stands in the immediate neigiiborhood of the spot, in wady Sur, the southernmost of the branch wadj's. Four miles E. of Shuweikeh, along wady llusur, the other branch, is the khan and ruined site Akbeh, which Van de Velde proposes toidentifj' with Azekah. These identifications are confirmed by that of Ephes- dammim (q. v.), the site of the Philistine camp. Ek- ron is 17 miles, and Bethlehem 12 miles distant from Shocoh, (Fqt the valley, see Kobinson, Researches, ii,
350 ; Van de Velde, Narrative, ii, 191 ; Porter, Hand- book, p. 249, 250, 280 ; Schwarz, Palest, p. 77.)
There is a point in the topographical indications of 1 Sam. xvii which it is very desirable should be care- fully examined on the spot. The Philistines were be- tween Shocoh and Azekah, at Ephes-dammim, or Pas- dammim, on the mountain on the S. side of the wad}', while the Israelites were in the "valley" (p^^^) of the terebinth, or, rather, on the mountain on the N. side, and "the ravine" or "the glen" (S<^5il) was be- tween the two armies (ver. 2, 3). Again (ver. 52), the Israelites pursued the Phihstines "till you come to 'the ravine' " (the same word). There is evident- ly a marked diff'erence between the "valley" and the "ravine," and a little attention on the spot might do much towards elucidating this, and settling the iden- tification of the place. In the above location, the dis- tance between the armies was about a mile, and the vale beneath is flat and rich. The ridges rise on each side to the height of about 500 feet, and have a uni- form slope, so that the armies ranged along them could see the combat in the vale. The Philistines, when defeated, fled down the valley towards Gath and Ekron.
The traditional "Valley of the Terebinth" is the wady Beit-Haninn, which lies about 4 miles to the N.W. of Jerusalem, and is crossed by the road to Nebi Samwil. The scene of David's conflict is pointed out a little N. of the " Tombs of the Judges," and close to the traces of the old paved road. In this valley olive- trees and carob-trees now prevail, and terebinth-trees are few ; but the brook is still indicated whence the youthful champion selected the " smooth stones" wherewith he smote the Philistine. The brook is dry in summer, but in winter it becomes a mighty torrent, which inundates the vale (Kitto, Pictorial Palestine, p. 121). But this spot is in the tribe of Benjamin, and otherwise does not correspond with the narrative of the text (see Theuius, Sachs, exeg. Stud, ii, 151). — ■ Smith, s. V.
2. (Sept. 'HXac, but 'HXnc in Chron. ; Vulg. Ela.') One of the Edomitish " dukes" or chieftains in Mount Seir (Gen. xxxvi, 41 ; 1 Chron. i, 52), B.C. post 1963. By Knobel (^Comment, zu Gen. in loc.) he is connected with Elath (q. v.) on the Red Sea.
3. (Sept. 'Acd V. r. 'AXn.) The middle one of the three sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh (1 Chron. iv, 15), B.C. 1618. In that passage his sons are called Kenaz or Uknaz, but the words may be taken as if Kenaz was, with Elah, a son of Caleb. It is a singu- lar coincidence that the names of both Elah and Ke- naz also appear among the Edomitish "dukes."
4. (Properly Ela, Heb. Ela', X5X ; Sept. 'HXc't.) The father of Shimei ben-Ela, Solomon's commissariat officer in Benjamin (1 Kings iv, 18), B.C. 1013.