Ziklag

Ziklag is a biblical locality mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. It is described as a town within the Philistine territory that was given to David by Achish, king of Gath, during David’s period of exile from Saul. The narrative appears in 1 Samuel 27–30 and is summarized in 1 Chronicles 12:1. The precise geographic site of Ziklag remains uncertain; several locations in the southern Levant have been proposed, but there is no widely accepted identification.

In the biblical account, David and his men lived at Ziklag as part of Achish’s faction and conducted raids on behalf of the Philistines. While they were away, Amalekites attacked Ziklag, burned the town, and took captive the women and children. When David and his surviving men returned, they found the city in ashes, and their families missing; some of the men proposed mutiny against him. David sought guidance from the Lord, then pursued the raiders with six hundred men (two hundred had stayed behind at Besor). They defeated the Amalekites and recovered all the captives and the spoil, distributing portions to those who had joined him and to the other groups that supported him.

Ziklag’s appearance in the biblical text is often cited as part of David’s rise to leadership during the exile and his early relationship with Achish. The location and historicity of Ziklag are debated, and no definitive archaeological identification has been established.