Land of Shaalim

Saul in search of his father’s asses passed through Mt. Ephraim and the land of Shalishah, then through the land of Shaalim and the land of yemini. This last name English Versions of the Bible renders "Benjamin" (1Sa 9:4). The whole passage is so obscure that no certain conclusions can be reached. The search party may have proceeded northward from Gibeah, through the uplands of Ephraim, turning then westward, then southward, and finally eastward. We should thus look for the land of Shalishah and the land of Shaalim on the west side of the mountain range: and the latter may have been on the slopes to the East of Lydda. Possibly we ought here to read "Shaalbim," instead of "Shaalim."