Shaaraim
Shaaraim is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Negev in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khirbet es Sira. It appears across 2 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Shaaraim, meaning "two gates," appears in two significant Old Testament contexts. Its most dramatic appearance is in the account of David's victory over Goliath. After the young shepherd's stunning triumph in the Valley of Elah, the Israelites pursued the fleeing Philistines "on the road to Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron" (1 Samuel 17:52). The Philistine dead lay scattered along the road from Shaaraim to these major Philistine cities, underscoring the completeness of the rout. Shaaraim also appears in Joshua 15:36 as one of the cities allotted to the tribe of Judah in the Shephelah (lowland) district. Its location in the border region between Israelite and Philistine territory made it strategically significant during the period of conflict between these two peoples. The name "two gates" may reflect the city's role as a gateway settlement with entrances facing different directions, possibly controlling access routes between the Judean hills and the coastal plain. Shaaraim's appearance in the David and Goliath narrative forever links it to one of Scripture's most beloved stories of faith triumphing over seemingly impossible odds.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Shaaraim has been tentatively identified with Khirbet Qeiyafa, a fortified Iron Age city overlooking the Elah Valley, excavated by Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University from 2007 to 2013. Remarkably, the site features two gates, matching the meaning of Shaaraim. Radiocarbon dating places the settlement in the late 11th to early 10th century BC, corresponding to the time of David. Finds include an ostracon bearing one of the earliest known Hebrew inscriptions, cultic objects without graven images (consistent with Israelite practice), and massive fortification walls of a type unusual for the region. An alternative identification is Khirbet es-Sira. The Qeiyafa identification has generated significant scholarly debate about the emergence of the Israelite monarchy and the historicity of the biblical account of David's kingdom.
Verse Appearances (2)
Josh
1Sam
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]