And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
Because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains ...
Palestine is a mountainous country, and, from the limestone character of its rocks, abounds in caverns, natural and artificial. Of the former instances occur frequently in the sacred history (Genesis 19:30; Genesis 23:9; Genesis 25:9; Joshua 10:16; 1 Samuel 22:1; 1 Samuel 24:4); and of the latter, profane historians and travelers have given ample details (Josephus, 'Antiquities,' b. 14:, ch. 15:; 'Jewish Wars,' b. 1:, ch. 16:; Strabo, b. xvi; Tavernier, 'Voyage de Perse' part 2:, ch. 4:; 'Maundrell,' p. 118). Many of these caves are very large, capable of holding 4,000 people. And there is reason to conclude that they were formed for the use of the living, and not of the dead. The Horites on mount Seir were Troglodytes; and mention is made in the Koran, (Judg. 15,26) of the Arabian tribe of Thamud, 'who hewed houses out of the mountains to secure themselves.' At the period of their national history to which this chapter refers, the Israelites appear greatly to have increased the number of these mountain grottoes, and to have become, at least in the eastern parts of Judea, to so great an extent a Troglodyte people, that the remembrance of this means of safety was never forgotten; and in times of public panic they resorted to their subterranean hiding places (1 Samuel 13:6).