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Place Old Testament

Ziklag

Ziklag was a city allotted to Judah and Simeon that was later given to David by the Philistine king Achish . Mentioned in 12 verses across 5 books, first at Joshua 15:31.

Why it matters. A city given to David; originally Judah's, then Simeon's

Location
31.378, 34.874 (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 Ziklag

Ziklag was a city located in the Negev region of Judah, initially allotted to the tribe of Judah (Jos.15.31) and later to Simeon (Jos.19.5; 1Ch.4.30). The Philistine king Achish of Gath gave the city to David when he fled from King Saul (1Sa.27.6). David and his men lived there for over a year, making raids on the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites (1Sa.27.8-9). While David and his men were away, the Amalekites attacked and burned Ziklag, taking captive the women and children (1Sa.30.1-2). David pursued them, defeated them, and recovered all that was taken (1Sa.30.18-20). David sent some of the spoils from this victory to his friends in Judah (1Sa.30.26). After Saul's death, David departed from Ziklag to go to Hebron (2Sa.1.1). During David's reign, some Benjamites and Manassites defected to him at Ziklag (1Ch.12.1,20). In the time of Nehemiah, Ziklag was reinhabited by the people of Judah (Neh.11.28). Its exact location is uncertain.

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

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Appears in Scripture

Named in 12 verses across 5 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.

Record type: Place. FaithGraph explanations on this page are editorial and are not Scripture.