Socoh

Socoh ("the bushes") was a fortified town in the western foothills (Shephelah) of Judah, allotted to Judah at the conquest (Joshua 15:35). It overlooked the strategic Valley of Elah, the natural corridor from the Philistine coastal plain up into the Judean hill country. The Philistines mustered their forces "between Socoh and Azekah" before the legendary confrontation between Goliath the Gittite and a young shepherd named David (1 Samuel 17:1). Rehoboam later refortified Socoh as part of his defensive ring of cities (2 Chronicles 11:7). It was captured by the Philistines during the reign of Ahaz in the eighth century BCE (2 Chronicles 28:18). Identified with Khirbet Abbad / Khirbet Shuweikeh, where excavations have produced Iron Age and Persian-period remains.