1 Samuel 17:2

17:2 Saul and the Israelite army ¹  assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against ²  the Philistines.

1 Samuel 17:19

17:19 They are with Saul and the whole Israelite army ³  in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”

1 Samuel 21:9

David Goes to Gath

21:9 The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod. If you wish, take it for yourself. Other than that, there’s nothing here.” David said, “There’s nothing like it! Give it to me!”

1 Samuel 15:5

15:5 Saul proceeded to the city ⁴  of Amalek, where he set an ambush ⁵  in the wadi. ⁶ 

1 Samuel 17:3

17:3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites ⁷  on another hill, with the valley between them.

1 Samuel 6:13

6:13 Now the residents of Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they were pleased at the sight.

1 Samuel 13:18

13:18 another band turned toward the road leading to Beth Horon; and yet another band turned toward the road leading to the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboim in the direction of the desert.

1 Samuel 31:7

31:7 When the men of Israel who were in the valley and across the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them.

1 Samuel 17:52

17:52 Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward, shouting a battle cry. ⁸  They chased the Philistines to the valley ⁹  and to the very gates of Ekron. The Philistine corpses lay fallen along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.

1 Samuel 23:24

23:24 So they left and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon.

1 Samuel 17:40

17:40 He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in the pouch ¹⁰  of his shepherd’s bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine.

¹ tn Heb “the men of Israel” (so KJV, NASB); NAB, NIV, NRSV “the Israelites.”

² tn Heb “to meet.”

³ tn Heb “all the men of Israel.”

⁵ tc The LXX has the plural here, “cities.”

⁶ tc The translation follows the LXX and Vulgate which assume a reading וַיָּאָרֶב (vayya’arev, “and he set an ambush,” from the root ארב [’rv] with quiescence of alef) rather than the MT, which has וַיָּרֶב (vayyareb, “and he contended,” from the root ריב [ryv]).

⁷ tn That is, “the dry stream bed.”

⁷ tn Heb “Israel.”

⁹ tn Heb “arose and cried out.”

¹⁰ tc Most of the LXX ms tradition has here “Gath.”

¹¹ tn This Hebrew word occurs only here and its exact meaning is not entirely clear. It refers to a receptacle of some sort and apparently was a common part of a shepherd’s equipment. Here it serves as a depository for the stones that David will use in his sling.