The Valley, or Vale, of Elah is best known as the site where David fought Goliath (1 Samuel 17: 2ff). It is a valley in the Shephelah, the vast hill tract from the coastal plain to the hills of Judea and Samaria. It is 14 miles SW of Jerusalem. Other names for this valley are the current name Wadi es-Sant (Valley of the Acacia), and possibly the Valley of Shittim (Joel 3:18). Trees in this valley are acacias, terebinths, and oaks. The brook where David gathered stones is a wadi, with water in it only from recent rains. Looking south across the brook in the Valley of Elah.