ADULLAM ə dul’ əm (עֲדֻלָּ֔ם, retreat, refuge). A Canaanite town, situated on the route via Azegah and Soko, that controlled one of the principal passes into the hill-country of Judah from the northern Shephelah. It is first mentioned in Genesis 38:1, 2, when Judean clans spread out by establishing friendly relationships with the Canaanite cities of this district. Such is the context of the affair of Judah and Tamar, with the intermarriage of the clan of Judah and the residents of Adullam. It is mentioned as a Canaanite royal city in Joshua 15:35. Adullam is usually associated with the cave nearby, where David fled for refuge when he was refused protection by Achish, king of Gath (1 Sam 22:1). Adullam is mentioned in the list of fortresses that Rehoboam reinforced on the western approaches to the Judaean hills (2 Chron 11:7). Adullam is mentioned by Micah in the description of Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah (Mic 1:15) and Nehemiah refers to it as one of the inhabited towns after the Exile (Neh 11:30). The site of Adullam is usually identified with Tell esh-Sheikh Madhkur, near Khirbet ’eld el-Ma, half-way between Lachish and Jerusalem.