Telaim

Tel'aim

[some Tela'im] (Heb. with the art. hat Telaim. הטּלָאַים, the young lambs [ in Isa 40:11]; Sept. ἐν Γαλγάλοις; Vulg. quasi agnos), a place where Saul collected and numbered his forces before his campaign against the Amalekites (1Sa 15:4). It is strange that both the Sept. version and Josephus (Ant. 6:7,2) read Gilgal, which was in the valley of the Jordan, near Jericho, and certainly not a fitting place to marshal an army to war with the Amalekites, seeing it would have to march through the wild passes of the wilderness of Judah (Ewald, Gesch. 3, 50). The Targum renders it "lambs of the Passover," according to a curious fancy, mentioned elsewhere in the Jewish books. (Yalkut on 1Sa 15:4, etc.), that the army met at the Passover, and that the census was taken by counting the lambs. This is partly endorsed by Jerome in the Vulg. A similar fancy is found in the midrash in reference to the name Bezek (1Sa 11:8), which is taken literally as meaning "broken pieces of pottery," whereby, as by counters, the numbering: was effected. Bezek and Telaim are considered by the Talmudists as two of the ten numberings of Israel, past' and future. It is probably identical with TELEM SEE TELEM (q.v.), the southern position of which (Jos 15:24) would be suitable for an expedition against Amalek; and a certain support is given to this by the mention of the name (Thailam or Thelam) in the Sept. of 2Sa 3:12.