The meaning of Ziklag in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
zik'-lag (tsiqelagh, tsiqelagh (II Samuel 1:1), tsiqelagh (I Chronicles 12:1, I Chronicles 12:20); usually in the Septuagint Sekelak, or Sikelag): A town assigned (Joshua 19:5; I Chronicles 4:30) to Simeon, but in Joshua 15:31 named, between Hornah and Madmannah, as one of the cities of the Negeb of Judah, "toward the border of Edom." It is said (I Samuel 27:6) to have remained a royal city. In Nehemiah 11:28 it is in the list of towns reinhabited by the returning children of Judah. Its chief associations are with David. Achish the Philistine king of Gath gave it to David as a residence (I Samuel 27:6 f.; I Chronicles 12:1, I Chronicles 12:20); it was raided by the Amalekites, on whom David took vengeance and so recovered his property (I Samuel 30:14, I Samuel 30:26); here the messenger who came to announce Saul's death was slain (II Samuel 1:1; II Samuel 4:10).
The site of this important place is not yet fixed with certainty; Conder proposed Zucheilika, a ruin 11 miles South-Southeast of Gaza, and 4 miles North of Wady es-Sheri'a, which may be the "Brook Besor" (I Samuel 30:9-10, I Samuel 30:21); Rowland (1842) proposed 'Asluj, a heap of ruins South of Beersheba and 7 miles to the East of Bered. Neither site is entirely satisfactory. See Williams, Holy City, I, 463-68; BR, II, 201, PEF, 288, Sh XX.
E. W. G. Masterman
See more on the meaning of Ziklag in the Bible:
Ziklag {Easton's Bible Dictionary}
Ziklag {Hitchcock's Bible Name}
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