Probably from the conjunction of two roots Adol (עדל) + Am (עם) = "the justice of the people".
The King David stories (1 Samuel 22 ff) speak of both a town and a cave, the latter his base during his bandit years; should we read "cave" as a euphemism? On this occasion the answer is definitely no - archaeologists have found the genuine cave, in the desert above the city of Adul-Am, which was formerly a royal city of the Beney Kena'an, later fortified by Rechav-Am (Rehoboam).
The cave's name also adds weight to this; for a place to be called "justice of the people" it must have some sacred, legal, shamanistic or oracular function, and traditionally, before cities were built, caves fulfilled this function. It is now known that Adul-Am had been used as a burial-cave since ancient times, and that it was probably the cave-home of one of the ancient royal families, and therefore the place where justice was carried out. Those inhabitants of Kena'an who claimed ancestry to such groups were known as Chorim, or Horites.
According to Genesis 38:1, when Yehudah met his wife Shu'a, or possibly Bat Shu'a, he was at the camp of Chirah ha Adul-Ami, Hirah the Adulamite. After Shua's death he went sheep-shearing with Chirah at Timna.
Joshua 12:15 places Adul-Am among the kings put to death by Yehoshu'a; we have to assume that this means "the king of Adul-Am", rather than a monarch bearing that name or title.
Joshua 15:35 reckons it among the fourteen cities given to the tribe of Yehudah in the Shephelah, the low region between Yafo (Jaffa; Joppa in the New Testament) and Azah (Gaza).
Micah 1:15 refers to Adul-Am as though it were a well-known place of some significance.
Nehemiah 11:30 places it in the tribe of Yehudah between Be'er Sheva and Gey Hinnom, which is an area so wide it is like placing Stonehenge between Tintagel and Windsor, which of course it is (I have chosen these three for my analogy in order to parallel what is clearly an analogy rather than a map: Gey Hinnom is a physical valley in the foothills of Yeru-Shala'im, but also the symbolic Gehenna; Be'er Sheva was the family home of the Yisra-Eli patriarchs, where Adul-Am provided sepulchres for an earlier dynasty of tribal rulers)
1 Samuel 22:1 has King David hiding in the Cave of Adul-Am from Sha'ul; several Psalms also reflect this period of his life (55 and 57 allude to it, 142 is rather more explicit). 2 Samuel 23:13 refers to it as a stronghold which David used when he was fighting for the Pelishtim as king of Tsiklag.
Joshua 15:35 reckons it among the fourteen cities given to the tribe of Yehudah in the Shephelah, the low region between Yafo (Jaffa; Joppa in the New Testament) and Azah (Gaza).
Micah 1:15 refers to Adul-Am as though it were a well-known place of some significance.
Nehemiah 11:30 places it in the tribe of Yehudah between Be'er Sheva and Gey Hinnom, which is an area so wide it is like placing Stonehenge between Tintagel and Windsor, which of course it is (I have chosen these three for my analogy in order to parallel what is clearly an analogy rather than a map: Gey Hinnom is a physical valley in the foothills of Yeru-Shala'im, but also the symbolic Gehenna; Be'er Sheva was the family home of the Yisra-Eli patriarchs, where Adul-Am provided sepulchres for an earlier dynasty of tribal rulers)
1 Samuel 22:1 has King David hiding in the Cave of Adul-Am from Sha'ul; several Psalms also reflect this period of his life (55 and 57 allude to it, 142 is rather more explicit). 2 Samuel 23:13 refers to it as a stronghold which David used when he was fighting for the Pelishtim as king of Tsiklag.
Copyright © 2019 David Prashker
All rights reserved
The Argaman Press
No comments:
Post a Comment