Sela-Hammahlekoth

Se’la-Hammahle’koth. (the cliff of escapes or the cliff of divisions). A rock or cliff in the wilderness of Maon, southeast of Hebron, the scene of one of those remarkable escapes which are so frequent in the history of Saul’s pursuit of David. 1Sa 23:28.

("the rock of divisions".) (Targum, Midrash, Rashi), "the rock of escapes" (Gesenius): 1Sa 23:28. S.E. of Judah, in the wilderness of Maon, where David was on one side of the mountain, Saul on the other. A message announcing a Philistine invasion caused "divisions" in Saul’s mind, whether to pursue David still or go after the invaders. David narrowly escaped.

SELA-HAMMAHLEKOTH.—A rock or cliff in the wilderness of Maon, at which Saul ‘returned from pursuing after David’ (1Sa 23:28). The site is uncertain.

sē-la-ha-ma´lḗ-koth, -kōth (המּחלקות סלע, ṣela‛ha-maḥl^eḳōth; πέτρα ἡ μερισθεῖσα, pétra hē meristheı́sa): “The rock of divisions (or, escape)” (1Sa 23:28 margin). “Saul ... pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul” (1Sa 23:25, 1Sa 23:26). The name seems to survive in Wâdy Malāki, “the great gorge which breaks down between Carmel and Maon eastward, with vertical cliffs” (PEF, III, 314, Sh. XXI).