ELAH (‘terebinth’). A valley in the Shephçlah, the scene of the battle between David and Goliath ( 1 Samuel 17:21 :9). It is most likely the modern Wady es-Sunt , which, rising in the mountains about Jeba, about 11 miles due S.W. of Jerusalem, runs westward, under various names, till it opens on the Maritime Plain at Tell es-Safi . In the middle of the valley is a watercourse which runs in winter only; the bottom is full of small stones such as David might have selected for his sling.
R. A. S. Macalister.