place

Athach

עֲתָ֑ךְ

Athach, a town in Judah that received a share of the spoils from David's victory over the Amalekites.

verses
1
first named
1 Samuel 30:30
last named
1 Samuel 30:30
feature
settlement
coordinates
31.62°N · 34.88°E
settlement31.62°N · 34.88°E

Khirbet el Ater (OpenBible)

Scholarship offers 2 identifications for this place. The leading one is shown; the others are recorded in the gazetteer.

Description

Athach in the text

In the words of STEPBible TIPNR:

Athach is mentioned briefly in 1Sa.30.30 as one of the towns in Judah that received a portion of the spoils from David's victory over the Amalekites. After rescuing his men's families and recovering all that the Amalekites had taken, David sent gifts from the plunder to the elders of Judah and to his friends in various towns, including Athach.

The exact location of Athach is unknown, but it was likely situated in the southern part of Judah, possibly in the Negev region. The context of 1Samuel 30 suggests that Athach was among the towns where David had previously found support and refuge during his time fleeing from King Saul.

David's act of sharing the spoils with Athach and other towns demonstrates his gratitude for their assistance and his desire to strengthen his relationships with the people of Judah. This gesture also foreshadows David's future role as king over all Israel, as he sought to build alliances and establish his authority in the region.

Apart from this single reference in 1 Samuel, no other information about Athach is provided in the Bible. Its mention in the context of David's victory and distribution of plunder highlights the significance of his growing influence and the support he enjoyed among the towns of Judah.

Relations

Direct connections

Every relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends of an edge always agree. Neither end of one reaches this entity.

Not stated

Nothing stands in a stated relation with this entity.

Read it

Where to read it

Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — one, across 1 book.

  1. 1 Samuel1 verse

    30:30

Onward

Where this page goes

Nothing in the graph stands one hop from this entity yet. These are the best-connected entities of the same type, so the page still ends somewhere. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.

Sources

What this rests on