Bible Locations

This Socoh was a town in the Shephelah of Judah, listed in Joshua 15:35, above the Valley of Elah. First Samuel 17:1 says, "Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah." From there, Goliath came out and challenged Israel for forty days until David killed him with a sling. Solomon's third district included Sokoh (1 Kings 4:10). Rehoboam fortified it, and the Philistines later captured it. It's identified with Khirbet Abbad, on a hill above the Elah Valley, near the modern moshav of Aviezer. Jar handles stamped "for the king" and "Socoh" show it was a royal center under Hezekiah. The Elah Valley below is broad and fertile, a natural route from Philistia into the hill country.