H5555 H5555
Sela Hammahlekoth—a place name meaning 'Rock of Divisions' or 'Rock of Escape,' where David evaded Saul
Sela Hammahlekoth (literally 'Rock of Divisions' or 'Rock of Escape') is a place name appearing in 1 Samuel 23:28. It marks the location where Saul broke off his pursuit of David because news arrived that the Philistines had invaded. The name commemorates this moment of sudden separation or escape. The first element means 'rock' or 'crag,' while the second element may derive from a root meaning 'smooth,' 'slippery,' or 'divisions.' Some interpret it as 'the Slippery Rock' (hard to climb), others as 'Rock of Divisions' (where pursuer and pursued were divided). The name captures the dramatic moment when David narrowly escaped Saul's closing trap.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A place name appearing twice in 1 Samuel 23:28 (both in the same verse), identifying the rock where Saul and David were separated when urgent news diverted Saul's pursuit. The name literally means something like 'Rock of Divisions/Escape/Smoothness,' commemorating the narrow escape. The multilingual evidence shows varied interpretation: 'Rock of Escape' (English), 'peña de las divisiones' (Spanish = rock of divisions), reflecting different understandings of the name's second element, though all recognize it as the site of David's providential deliverance from Saul's pursuit. 2×
AR["الْانْقِسَامَاتِ", "صَخْرَةَ"]·ben["পাথর", "সেই-বিভাজনের"]·DE["Rock-von", "der-Escape"]·EN["Rock-of", "the-Escape"]·FR["Rock-de", "le-Escape"]·heb["ה-מחלקות", "סלע"]·HI["चट्टान", "बँटवारे-का"]·ID["Batu", "Pemisahan"]·IT["Rock-di", "il-Escape"]·jav["pamisahan", "parang"]·KO["나누는-곳의", "바위"]·PT["Rocha-de", "as-Divisões"]·RU["Разделений", "Скала"]·ES["las-divisiones", "peña-de"]·SW["Mgawanyiko", "mwamba-wa"]·TR["-kaymak", "kaya"]·urd["جدائیوں-کا۔", "چٹان"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַחְלְקוֹת n.f.pl. smoothness, סֶלַע הַמּ׳ 1 S 23:28 rock of smoothness, i.e. slippery rock, perhaps original meaning of this n.pr., v. further מַחֲלֹקֶת sub I. חלק.