Place Old Testament
Rock of Escape
Also known as Rock of Escape =ESV; Sela Hammahlekoth =NIV, KJV
The Rock of Escape was a place where Saul stopped pursuing David after being called away to fight the Philistines (1Sa. 23:28). Mentioned once in Scripture, at 1 Samuel 23:28.
Why it matters. Place where Saul stopped pursuing David
- Primary passages
- Location
- 31.417, 35.117 (approximate, within about 2 km)
Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Rock of Escape
The Rock of Escape, also known as Sela-hammahlekoth in Hebrew, was a location in the wilderness of Maon where Saul was pursuing David. When Saul and his men were about to close in on David and his followers, a messenger arrived informing Saul that the Philistines had invaded the land. Saul then broke off his pursuit of David to fight against the Philistines. As a result, the place was named the Rock of Escape or the Rock of Divisions (1Sa. 23:28). The exact location of this site is unknown, but it was likely situated in the wilderness area near Maon, in the Judean hills south of Hebron.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
1 Samuel (1 verse)