Khirbet Qeiyafa in the context of "Saar Ganor"

The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries. Jews are named after Judah, and primarily descend from people who lived in the region.

The Hebrew Bible depicts the Kingdom of Judah as one of the two successor states of the United Kingdom of Israel, a term denoting the united monarchy under biblical kings Saul, David, and Solomon and covering the territory of Judah and Israel. However, during the 1980s, some biblical scholars began to argue that the archaeological evidence for an extensive kingdom before the late 8th century BCE is too weak, and that the methodology used to obtain the evidence is flawed. In the 10th and early 9th centuries BCE, the territory of Judah might have been limitedly populated, comprising some fortified sites and many unfortified rural settlements. The Tel Dan Stele, discovered in 1993, shows that the kingdom existed in some form by the middle of the 9th century BCE, but it does not indicate the extent of its power. Recent excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, however, support the existence of a centrally organized and urbanized kingdom by the 10th century BCE, according to the excavators.

The Valley of Elah, Ella Valley ("Valley of the terebinth"; from the Hebrew: עמק האלה, romanized: Emeq HaElah), or Wadi es-Sunt (Arabic: وادي السنط), is a long, shallow valley in the Shephelah area of Israel. It is best known from the Hebrew Bible incident where David defeated Goliath (1 Samuel 17:2 and 19). It is home to several important archaeological sites, including those identified as the ancient towns of Azekah and Sokho (1 Samuel 17:1). Rising from the valley on its extreme southeast end lies the hilltop ruin Adullam, and on its north lie the ruins of the ancient fortress city of Khirbet Qeiyafa, which is identified with the ancient town of Shaaraim mentioned in 1 Samuel 17:52.

The valley is named after its indigenous trees: in Hebrew after the large and shady terebinth trees (Pistacia terebinthus and P. palaestina), and in Arabic for the white acacia trees (Faidherbia). On the west side of the valley, near Socho, there is a huge and ancient terebinth, 55 feet (17 m) in height with a trunk 17 feet (5.2 m) in circumference and a canopy at least 75 feet (23 m) in diameter. This tree is notable for being one of the largest terebinths in the area, and marks the valley's upper end.

Shaaraim (Hebrew: שַׁעֲרַיִם, romanized: Šaʿărayim), possibly meaning Two Gates, is an Israelite city mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. Some have identified it with Khirbet Qeiyafa, an archaeological site on a hilltop overlooking the Valley of Elah in the Judean Mountains.