Editing Ziklag (section)

==Identification==
At least 14 sites have been proposed as the location of Ziklag.<ref name=Kelmer/> At the end of the 19th century, both [[Elusa (Haluza)|Haluza]] (by [[Wadi]] [[Asluj]], south of [[Beersheba]])<ref name="EnBib">Cheyne and Black, ''[[s:Encyclopaedia Biblica/Zereth Shahar-Zuzim#ZIKLAG|Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref> and Khirbet Zuheiliqah (northwest of Beersheba and south-southeast of [[Gaza City]]) had been suggested as possible locations.<ref name="JE">{{cite encyclopedia |title= Ziklag |url= http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=121&letter=Z&search=ziklag |encyclopedia= Jewish Encyclopedia}}</ref><ref name="Easton">{{cite web|title=Ziklag|publisher=Easton's Bible Dictionary|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/easton/ebd2.html?term=Ziklag}}</ref> Conder and Kitchener identified Khirbet Zuheiliqah as the location on the basis of ''Ziklag'' being a corruption of ''Zahaliku'', whence also ''Zuheiliqah''.<ref name="EnBib"/>

The more recently proposed identifications for Ziklag are:
*[[Albrecht Alt]] (1883–1956) proposed [[Tel Halif]]/[[Tell el-Khuweilifeh]], just beside kibbutz [[Lahav]], some {{Convert|10|mi|km}} northeast of [[Beersheba]].<ref name=Woudstra>{{cite book |title= The Book of Joshua |series= The New International Commentary on the Old Testament |author= Marten Woudstra |year= 1981 |location= Grand Rapids, Michigan |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]] |pages= 245, 373 |isbn= 9780802825254 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BfG1svPVYyQC&pg=PA373 |access-date=1 May 2015 }}</ref><ref name=NegevGibson/> Due to this identification, for some time Lahav was officially named Tzekleg.<ref>[https://www.lhv.co.il/http_new/index.asp?sitename= ברוכים הבאים לאתר של קיבוץ להב], Kibbutz Lahav ofiicial website </ref>
*[[Tell esh-Sharia]] (Arabic) or [[:he:תל שרע|Tel Sera (Hebrew)]].<ref name=Woudstra/><ref name=NegevGibson>{{cite book|title=Sharia, Tell esh-|work=Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land|editor=Negev, A. |editor2=Gibson, S.|year=2001|pages=458–9|publisher=Continuum |isbn=9780826485717|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=27nq65cZUIgC&q=Sharia+%28tell+esh-%29&pg=PA458}}</ref> In June 2020, [[Moshe Garsiel]] and Bath-Sheva Garsiel suggested that since the name of the Tell as well as the Wadi both mean "law" in Arabic, it commemorates David's law of sharing the spoils of war between the warriors and those left behind, which occurred in the vicinity (1 Sam 30: 22–26).<ref>{{cite web |last=Winston |first=Alex |date=21 July 2020 |title=Biblical site of Ziklag finally identified? |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/biblical-site-of-ziklag-finally-identified-635127 |website=[[Jerusalem Post]]}}</ref>
*[[Tel Zayit]]<ref>[http://www.zeitah.net/overview.html The Zeita Excavations - project overview] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071210032236/http://www.zeitah.net/overview.html |date=December 10, 2007 }}.</ref>
*[[Khirbet a-Ra'i|Khirbet a-Ra‘i]] in the [[Shephelah]], close to modern-day [[Kiryat Gat]], proposed in 2019<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-09 |title=Une ancienne cité philistine découverte en Israël |trans-title=Ancient Philistine City Discovered in Israel |url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/une-ancienne-cite-philistine-decouverte-en-israel-20190709 |access-date=2019-07-10 |website=Le Figaro |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=AFP |date=2019-07-09 |title=En Israël, des archéologues affirment avoir découvert la ville biblique de Ziklag |trans-title=In Israel, archaeologists claim to have discovered the biblical city of Ziklag |url=https://www.geo.fr/histoire/en-israel-des-archeologues-affirment-avoir-decouvert-la-ville-biblique-de-ziklag-196478 |access-date=2019-07-10 |website=Geo.fr |language=fr}}</ref> by excavating archaeologist [[Yosef Garfinkel]] and contested mainly on grounds of biblical geography and lacking name continuity by [[Aren Maeir]] and [[Israel Finkelstein]].<ref name="Rai2019">{{cite news |url= https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-archaeologists-say-theyve-found-king-davids-city-of-refuge-a-debate-begins/ |title= As archaeologists say they've found King David's city of refuge, a debate begins |author= Amanda Borschel-Dan |newspaper= The Times of Israel |date=8 July 2019}}</ref> Kyle Kelmer supported this identification in 2023.<ref name=Kelmer>{{cite journal | author = Kyle H. Keimer | year = 2023 | title = Biblical Ziklag: the Case for Khirbet er-Ra'i | journal = Palestine Exploration Quarterly | volume = 155 | issue = 2 | pages = 115–134 | doi = 10.1080/00310328.2022.2030182| s2cid = 246508717 }}</ref>