Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Samuel 23:24

"And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of the desert." — 1 Samuel 23:24 (ASV)

The plain - The Arabah is the desert tract that extends along the Jordan Valley from the Dead Sea to the Sea of Galilee, and is now called El-Ghor. Today, Arabs use this name for the valley between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.