Bible Dictionary
SECU
Secu was a place near Ramah where Saul stopped while seeking Samuel and David. Its exact location is uncertain, though it lay somewhere between Gibeah and Ramah.
Definition
Secu was a place near Ramah mentioned in the account of Saul’s search for Samuel and David. Its exact location cannot be established from the supplied material, though it lay somewhere between Saul’s residence at Gibeah and Ramah.
Biblical Usage
In 1 Samuel 19:22, Saul came to a great well at Secu and asked where Samuel and David were. The place appears in the narrative of Saul’s pursuit of David.
Historical Background
A proposed identification was Khirbet Suweikeh south of Bireh, but this remains uncertain. The Septuagint may instead describe a cistern by a threshing-floor on a bare hill, possibly within Ramah.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>se'-ku (sekhu; Codex Vaticanus en Sephei; Codex Alexandrinus en Sokcho; the King James Version Sechu): This name occurs only in the account of David's visit to Samuel (1Sa 19:22). Saul, we are told, went to "Ramah, and came to the great well that is in Secu," where he inquired after Samuel and David. It evidently lay between the residence of Saul at Gibeah and Ramah. It is impossible to come to any sure conclusion regarding it. Conder suggested its identification with Khirbet Suweikeh, which lies to the South of Bireh. This is possible, but perhaps we should read with the Septuagint's Codex Vaticanus, "He came to the cistern of the threshing-floor that is on the bare hill" (en to Sephei). The threshing-floors in the East are naturally on high exposed ground where this is possible, and often form part of the area whence water in the rainy season is conducted to cisterns. This might have been a place actually within the city of Ramah.</p><p>W. Ewing</p>