Gath to Adullam likely route through Elah Valley

When David sought safe haven from Saul, he went to Gath looking for work. But when he arrived at the hometown of Goliath, he panicked. He made marks on the doors of the city gate and allowed saliva to run down his beard. The king of Gath sent David away, and he took refuge in the “Cave of Adullam” (1 Samuel 21:10-22:1). This is one of the places where a map can tell us something about the story. If David took the shortest route from Gath to the region of Adullam, he probably came through the Elah Valley. If he intentionally avoided that route out of fear, he was thinking about Elah. Only a few years after he’d had the courage to tackle a giant single handedly in that valley, he had suffered a self-inflicted panic attack in Gath. What had happened? More importantly, how did he recover to become the fearless king of Israel? David’s song from Adullam (Psalm 34) provides the clues of how David overcame an embarrassing encounter with the Philistines. In time, he would conquer the entire Philistine territory (2 Samuel 8:1).