ELAH, THE VALLEY OF (Hebr. "'Emek ha-Elah"):
Scene of the combat between David and Goliath (I Sam. xvii. 2, xxi. 9). It is identified with the fertile Wadi al-Sanṭ, rich in oaks, terebinths, and acacias. The older as well as the newer name refers to the trees growing in the valley. The present name is an exact equivalent for an older designation, if Wellhausen's plausible suggestion is correct, that the valley of Shittim, mentioned in Joel iv. (A. V. iii.) 18, is to be found in Wadi al-Sanṭ. (Hebr. "shiṭṭah" = Arabic "sanṭ").
