Bible Location
15 cross references · Modern-day map available
Keilah was a town in the lowlands of Judah remembered especially from David's years as a fugitive. It is important because David rescued it from the Philistines but then had to leave when its inhabitants were prepared to hand him over to Saul. First appears in Josh 15:44.1
Coordinates
31.61, 35.00
First appears
Josh 15:44
AI summary: Keilah is significant because it captures the unstable loyalties of David's fugitive period. David acts as a deliverer for the town by rescuing it from Philistine attack, yet the same town cannot be relied upon when Saul threatens it. That tension gives Keilah a memorable place in the story of David's rise, highlighting both his emerging leadership and the precariousness of life before kingship. The cross references present Keilah as a Judahite town of rescue, betrayal risk, and divine guidance.1
Latitude
31.61
Longitude
35.00
Bible references
15
Citadel, a city in the lowlands of Judah (Josh. 15:44). David rescued it from the attack of the Philistines (1 Sam. 23:1-8); but the inhabitants proving unfaithful to him, in that they sought to deliver him up to Saul (13), he and his men “departed from Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go.” They fled to the hill Hareth, about 3 miles to the east, and thence through Hebron to Ziph (q.v.). “And David was in the wilderness of Ziph, in a wood” (1 Sam. 23:15). Here Jonathan sought him out, “and strengthened his hand in God.” This was the last interview between David and Jonathan (23:16-18). It is the modern Khurbet Kila. Others identify it with Khuweilfeh, between Beit Jibrin (Eleutheropolis) and Beersheba, mentioned in the Amarna tablets. 3
Source note: this 1893 dictionary language reflects its period and may be culturally insensitive or outdated. It is presented as historical source material, not as ai-BIBLE’s language, interpretation, or endorsement.
| Book | Cross-References |
|---|---|
| Josh | |
| 1Sam | |
| Neh |
Figure1: A table of cross references between the selected passage and other passages (Data from Robert Rouse, “Theographic Bible Information,” Theographic-Bible-Metadata, 2020, https://github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata.)
AI-assisted summary prepared for ai-BIBLE and stored as page content, based on dictionary material, place metadata, and linked Bible cross references.
Alistair de Blacquiere-Clarkson, “ai-BIBLE Bible Names JSON Factsheet Aggregating Material from Smith’s Bible Dictionary & Hitcocks’s New and Complete Analysis of the Bible.” ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
M.G.Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
Robert Rouse, “Theographic Bible Information,” Theographic-Bible-Metadata, 2020, https://github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata.