Aphek is roughly 50 kilometres north of Gath and 65 kilometres south-south-west of Shunem. It was the strategic gathering place of the Philistine armies (cf. 1 Samuel 4:1).1 It was also the stage of the first and final battles between Israel and Philistia recorded in 1 Samuel 1:1 – 31:13.2 From a literary point of view, the gathering at Aphek is an ominous sign for what will happen to Saul.3
1 Les Philistins rassemblèrent toutes leurs troupes à Aphek, et Israël campa près de la source de Jizreel.