Cave of Adullam

Biblical Text

The Cave of Adullam first appears in 1 Samuel 22:1–2. Fleeing from Saul, David went to Gath in the land of the Philistines, where he escaped by feigning madness before Achish, its king (1 Samuel 21:10–15). He then took refuge in the Cave of Adullam. His brothers and all his father's house went down to him there, and "every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men" (1 Samuel 22:2).

The Cave of Adullam also appears in 2 Samuel 23:13–17 and 1 Chronicles 11:15–19. At harvest time David was at the Cave of Adullam, while the Philistine army was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. When David expressed a longing to drink water from the well by the gate of Bethlehem, three of his mighty men broke through the Philistine camp and drew water for him. David refused to drink it, calling it "the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives," and poured it out unto the LORD (2 Samuel 23:16–17).

Background

Adullam was originally the name of a town near the cave. The town appears several times in other passages:

• The account of Judah's association with Hirah the Adullamite (Genesis 38:1)
• The list of kings defeated by Joshua (Joshua 12:15)
• The list of lowland towns of the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:35)
• The towns Rehoboam fortified (2 Chronicles 11:7)
• The prophecy of Micah (Micah 1:15)
• The places where those who returned from exile settled (Nehemiah 11:30)

The town lay in the foothills between the hill country of Judah and the Philistine coastal plain. Scholars commonly identify it with a site near the Valley of Elah, though this identification is not certain. The region is known for its many limestone caves, which made it well suited for hiding. The original meaning of the name "Adullam" is unclear, so the frequently cited interpretation "refuge" lacks firm support.

Significance in the Wider Biblical Narrative

The Cave of Adullam symbolizes the period when David, though anointed, had not yet ascended the throne and lived as a fugitive. The band that gathered there later grew to about six hundred men (1 Samuel 23:13). The superscriptions of Psalms 57 and 142 state that David composed them "in the cave." The superscriptions do not, however, identify which cave is meant, so some interpreters take it to be the Cave of Adullam, while others take it to be the cave at En Gedi (1 Samuel 24).

The name Adullam does not appear in the New Testament. The account is nonetheless sometimes meditated upon alongside the description in Hebrews 11:33–38 of people of faith who "wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth" (Hebrews 11:38).

Interpretation and Debated Points

Christian tradition has read this passage symbolically, viewing the scene of marginalized people gathering to David, the rejected king, as a foreshadowing of Christ calling the weak and lowly to form a community. This interpretation is often presented together with 1 Corinthians 1:26–28.

Other interpreters, wary of sermons that treat David merely as an example of faith, emphasize reading the passage within the flow of redemptive history, that is, the history of salvation in which God establishes the Davidic dynasty.

It is often said in sermons that "the four hundred of Adullam became David's mighty men." The text, however, does not directly state that the mighty men named in 2 Samuel 23 came from among these four hundred. In addition, some scholars point to the use of both "cave" and "stronghold" in 2 Samuel 23:13–14 as grounds for suggesting that letters may have been altered in the Hebrew manuscripts.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, a frequent theme drawn from 1 Samuel 22:2 is the transformation of those "in distress," "in debt," and "discontented" under David's leadership. The name "Adullam" is also reportedly given to some small groups and communities.