Eltekeh
Eltekeh is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Coastal Plain in modern-day Israel. Known today as Tel Shalaf. It appears across 2 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Eltekeh was a Levitical city located in the territory of Dan along the coastal plain of ancient Canaan. It is first mentioned in Joshua 19:44 as part of the allotment given to the tribe of Dan, and again in Joshua 21:23, where it is listed among the cities set apart for the Kohathite Levites, clans of the tribe of Levi who served at the altar. This dual significance marks Eltekeh as both a Danite settlement and a sacred city of refuge and service for the priestly tribe. Eltekeh also figures in later Assyrian records, appearing in inscriptions of Sennacherib as a site of a fierce battle during his 701 BC campaign against Judah and Egypt. An Egyptian relief force was defeated here before Sennacherib turned his attention to the siege of Jerusalem in the days of King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18-19). The city thus stands at the intersection of tribal allotment, Levitical service, and the great Assyrian crisis of the eighth century.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Eltekeh is commonly identified with Tel Shalaf (also written Tel Shallaf), situated on the coastal plain southwest of modern Tel Aviv. The site has been partially surveyed and shows evidence of occupation spanning the Bronze and Iron Ages, consistent with its role as a Canaanite and then Israelite city. Sennacherib's annals specifically mention 'Eltekeh' as the site of his victory over Egyptian forces, lending strong external corroboration to the biblical record. The mound has not undergone systematic large-scale excavation, and much of its stratigraphy remains unstudied. Regional surveys confirm Iron Age II occupation layers that correspond to the period of Assyrian military activity in the region.
Verse Appearances (2)
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]