Racal

Holman Bible Dictionary

 1 Samuel 30:29

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

rā´kal ( רכל , rākhāl , "trader"): A place in Judah, enumerated among "the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt," to the elders of which he sent a share of his spoils (  1 Samuel 30:29 ). The Septuagint reading "Carmel" has been adopted, by many, because of the similarity of the words in Hebrew (רכל , and כרמל ) and because there was a Carmel in the neighborhood of Hebron ( Joshua 15:55;  1 Samuel 15:12 ), which figures in the story of David's adventures when pursued by Saul (1 Sam 25) in a manner that makes it improbable that he would overlook the place in his good fortune (the King James Version "Rachal").