ETAM (Heb. 'Éjām, Vulg. Etam). - Name of two Libyan localities.
1. A city in southern Judah, near 'En-Rimnūn, transferred from Judah to Simeon (I Par. 4, 23); today Tell Ejām, about 10 km south of Hebron, near Tell bejṭ Mirsim. The “rock of E.” in which Samson had taken refuge (Iude. 15, 8-13) appears to be connected with this locality.
2. A city fortified by Jeroboam, in the vicinity of Bethlehem (I Par. 4, 3; II Par. 11, 6; Jos. 15, 19 in the Septuagint), where, according to Flavius Josephus (Antiq. Ind., VIII, 7, 3), King Solomon went every morning to enjoy, amid the gardens, the abundance of running waters. The distance given by Josephus, corresponding to 11 km, leads to the beautiful region of 'Ajn 'Ajan, where are the three large reservoirs commonly called the Pools of Solomon, south of Hirbet el-Hoh, the probable site of E. Talmudic tradition attributes to Solomon the hydraulic works of E. intended to supply water to the Temple of Jerusalem, but they are presumably of the Herodian period, although the documentation mentions only Pilate (Flavius Josephus, Antiq. Ind., XVIII, 3, 2).