Gibeah

Gib´eah. There were several places of this name, which, as before remarked [GEBA], is the feminine form of the word Gibeah, and signifies a hill. Without doubt all the places so named were situated upon hills.

1. Gibeah of Benjamin is historically the most important of the places bearing this name. It is often mentioned in Scripture. It was the scene of that abominable transaction which involved in its consequences almost the entire extirpation of the tribe of Benjamin (Jdg 19:14, sq.). It was the birth-place of Saul, and continued to be his residence after he became king (1Sa 10:26; 1Sa 11:4; 1Sa 15:33; 1Sa 23:19; 1Sa 26:1); and here was the scene of Jonathan’s romantic exploit against the Philistines (1 Samuel 14). It was doubtless on account of this its intimate connection with Saul, that the Gibeonites hanged up here his seven descendants (2Sa 21:6). Jerome speaks of Gibeah as, in his time, level with the ground, and since then it does not appear to have been visited by travelers till recently. Dr. Robinson, who made many valuable observations in this neighborhood, detected Gibeah in the small and half-ruined village of Jeba, which lies upon a low, conical, or rather round eminence, on the broad ridge which shelves down towards the Jordan valley, and spreads out below the village in a fine sloping plain. The views of the Dead Sea and the Jordan, and of the Eastern mountains, are here very extensive. Among the ruins some large hewn stones, indicating antiquity, are occasionally seen. This place is about five miles north by east from Jerusalem.

2. Gibeah in the mountains of Judah (Jos 15:57). which, under the name of Gabaatha, Eusebius and Jerome place twelve Roman miles from Eleutheropolis, and state that the grave of the prophet Habakkuk was there to be seen. Dr. Robinson identifies it with the village of Jebah, which stands upon an isolated hill, in the midst of Wady-el-Musurr, about ten miles south-west of Jerusalem.

3. Gibeah in Mount Ephraim, called Gibeah of Phineas, where the high-priest Eleazar, son of Aaron, was buried by his son Phineas (Jos 24:33). Dr. Robinson finds it in a narrow valley called Wady-el-Jib, the Geeb of Maundrell, lying just midway on the road between Jerusalem and Shechem.

A hill,\par 1. A city of Benjamin, 1Sa 13:15, and the birthplace and residence of Saul king of Israel; whence it is frequently called "Gibeah of Saul," 1Sa 11:4 ; 15:34; 23:19; 26:1; 2Sa 21:6 ; Isa 10:29 . Gibeah was also famous for its sins; particularly for its sins; particularly for that committed by forcing the young Levite’s wife, who went to lodge there; and for the war which succeeded it, to the almost entire extermination of the tribe of Benjamin, Jdg 19:1- 30. Scripture remarks, that this occurred at a time when there was no king in Israel, and when every one did what was right in his own eyes. Dr. Robinson found traces of Gebeah in the small and ruinous village of Jeba, near Ramah, separated from Michmash on the north by a deep valley, and about six miles north by east from Jerusalem.\par 2. A town of Judah, Jos 15:57, which lay about ten miles southwest of Jerusalem. The prophet Habakkuk is said to have been buried here.\par 3. In mount Ephraim, called Gibeah of Phinehas, where Eleazar the son of Aaron was buried, Jos 24:33 . It is found in the narrow valley El-Jib, midway between Jerusalem and Shechem.\par

Gib’e-ah. A word employed in the Bible to denote a hill. Like most words of this kind, it gave its name to several towns and places in Palestine, which would doubtless be generally on or near a hill. They are --

1. Gibeah, a city in the mountain district of Judah, named with Maon and the southern Carmel, Jos 15:57, and compare 1Ch 2:49, etc.

2. Gibeah of Benjamin, first appears in the tragical story of the Levite and his concubine. Jdg 19:20. It was then a "city," with the usual open street or square, Jdg 19:15; Jdg 19:17; Jdg 19:20, and containing 700 "chosen men," Jdg 20:15, probably the same whose skill as slingers is preserved in the next verse.

In many particulars, Gibeah agrees very closely with Tuleil-el-Ful, a conspicuous eminence just four mlles north of Jerusalem, to the right of the road. We next meet with Glbeah of Benjamin, during the Philistine wars of Saul and Jonathan. 1Sa 13:15-16. It now bears its full title. As "Gibeah of Benjamin," this place is referred to in 2Sa 23:29, (compare 1Ch 11:31, and as "Gibeah," it is mentioned by Hosea, Hos 5:8; Hos 9:9; Hos 10:9, but it does not again appear in the history. It is, however, almost without doubt identical with Gibeah, 3.

3. Gibeah of Saul. This is not mentioned as Saul’s city, till after his anointing, 1Sa 10:26, when is said to have gone "home" to Gibeah. In the subsequent narrative, the town bears its full name. 1Sa 11:4.

4. Gibeah in Kirjath-jearim was no doubt a hill in that city, and the place in which the Ark remained, from the time of its return by the Philistines, till its removal by David. 2Sa 6:3-4. Compare 1Sa 7:1-2.

5. Gibeah in the field, named only in Jdg 20:31, as the place to which one of the "highways" led from Gibeah of Benjamin. It is probably the same as Geba. The "meadows of Gaba" (Authorized Version, Gibeah), Jdg 20:33, have no connection with the "field," the Hebrew word being entirely different.

From a root gabah, "round", gibbos; a "hill", less than a "mountain," har. Applied to the bore rounded hills of central Palestine.

1. A city in the mountain region of Judah, S.E. of Hebron, named with Maon and southern Carmel (Jos 15:55; Jos 15:57; 1Ch 2:49).

2. GIBEATH, a town of Benjamin, among the last next Jerusalem (Jos 18:28), possibly the "Gibeah of Saul," only that the latter was close to Gibeon and Ramah, five miles N. of Jerusalem, and if Saul’s Gibeah were meant we should expect it mentioned with those two towns in Jos 18:25. "Gibeah of Saul" occurs 1Sa 10:26; 1Sa 11:4; 1Sa 15:34; 2Sa 21:6; Isa 10:29. Now Tuleil el ful, "the hill of the beans" (a conical peak commanding an extensive view, about an hour from Jerusalem, on the road to Er-Ram, with a large heap of stones on the top, the ruins of a town built of unhewn stones), called by Josephus (B. J., 5:2, section 1) Gabath saoule, 30 stadia from Jerusalem, chosen retributively, as being Saul’s residence, for the hanging of his seven sons "before the Lord" (i.e. as in the presence of Him the righteous Judge who appointed the retributive justice, 2Sa 21:14 ff; 2Sa 21:9), by the Gibeonites in revenge for his attempt to slay them in violation of the covenant.

It is the Gibeah of Benjamin destroyed by the other tribes under the Judges (Judges 19; 20) for the flagrant abomination perpetrated there. It was then a "city" with the usual open "street" or square, having its "700 chosen men," probably the same as the "left handed men who could sling stones at an hair breadth and not miss" (Jdg 20:15-16). The Levite left Bethlehem at "the tent pitching time of day" (Jdg 19:9, margin), about three in the afternoon. At five he would "come over against Jehus," and at seven would be four miles N. of Jerusalem on the Shechem (Nablus) road toward mount Ephraim. Ramah and Gibeah were now near; Gibeah nearest. The suddenness of sunset in that region made him "turn aside" hither for the night, where the tragedy of the concubine ensued.

The track N. of Gibeah branches into two, one leading to Bethel the "house of God," the other to "Gibeah ("Geba") in the field" sadeh, "cultivated ground"), now Jeba, below which at the base of the hill from whence Gibeah is named was the cave (Syriac, the Hebrew "treeless meadows" will mean not their place of ambush but the open ground across which they advanced to the town) of Gibeah "where the liers in wait hid" (Jdg 20:31-33, margin). "Gibeah of Benjamin" was occupied by Jonathan with 1,000 chosen men, three miles in the S. rear of the Philistine camp at Geba on the S. side of the wady Suweinit (1Sa 13:2). Saul was in their front at Michmash, holding also mount Bethel on the N. side of the wady Suweinit.

Jonathan smote the garrison at Geba, and the Philistines in consequence gathering a vast host drove Saul’s little army before them out of Bethel and Michmash down the eastern passes to Gilgal near Jericho, in the Jordan valley; took Michmash, Saul’s former quarters, and sent out plunderers N.,W., and E. Jonathan however held a force in Gibeah (1Sa 14:2) where Saul, Samuel, and Ahiah the priest with the ephod joined him from Gilgal (1Sa 13:7).

Then followed the gallant stealthy assault of the Philistine garrison by Jonathan and his armor-bearer, the first knowledge of which was conveyed to Saul by his watchmen in Gibeah, who at dawn saw "the multitude melting away and beating down one another." Saul first called the muster roll to discover the absentees; next he consulted the oracle of God; but when the noise in the Philistine host increased, with irreverent impatience (Isa 28:16) he desired the priest to stop the consultation, and put himself at the head of the people who, now that the Philistines fled, flocked to him from all their hiding places in Mount Ephraim.

(Heb. Gibah’, גִּבַ ה, a hill, as the word is sometimes rendered; likewise the Sept., which usually has Γαβαά, but in Joshua 18 Γαβαάθ; Josephus Γαβαθή, Ant. 6:4, 6), the name of three cities, all doubtless situated on hills. The term is derived, according to Geseneius (Thes. pages 259, 260), from a root, גָּכִ , nignifying to be round or humped (compare the Latin gibbus, Eng. gibbous; the Arabic jebel, a mountain, and the German gipfel). It is employed in the Heb. Bible to denote a "hill," that is, an eminence of less considerable height and extent than a "mountain," the term for which is הִר, har. For the distinction between the two terms, see Psa 148:9; Pro 8:25; Isa 2:2; Isa 40:4, etc. In the historical books gibeah is commonly applied to the hald, rounded hells of Central Palestine, especially in the neighborhood of Jerusalem (Stanley, Palest. App. § 25). There is no lack of the corresponsding name among the villages of Central Palestine. Several of these are merely mentioned as appellatives:

(1.) The "bill of the foreskins" (Jos 5:3), between the Jordan and Jericho; it derives its name from the circumcision which took place there, and the vicinity seems afterwards to heave received the name of GILGAL SEE GILGAL (q.v.).

(2.) "The hill" of Kiajath-jearim, a place in which the ark remained from the time of its return by the Philistines till its removal by David (2Sa 6:3-4; comp. 1Sa 7:1-2). SEE KIRJATH-JEARIM.

(3.) The hill of Moreh (Jdg 7:1). SEE MOREH

(4.) The hill of God — Gibeah ha-Elohim (1Sa 10:5); one of the places in the route of Saul, which is so difficult to trace. In 1Sa 10:10; 1Sa 10:13 it is apparently called "the bill," and "the high place." SEE ELOHIM.

(5.) The hill of Hachilah (1Sa 23:19; 1Sa 26:1). SEE HACIHILAH.

(6.) The hill of Ammah (2Sa 2:24). SEE AMAMAH.

(7.) The hill of Gareb (Jer 31:39). SEE GAREB. — Smith, s.v.

1. GIBEAH, OF BENJAMIN is historically the most important of the places bearing this name. It is called "Gibeah of Beenjanmin" (1Sa 13:15; 2Sa 23:29) and "Gibeah of Saul" (1Sa 11:4; Isa 10:19; λόφος Σαούλου, Josephus, War, 5:2, 1); also "Gibeah of God," rendered hill of God (1Sa 10:5); and GIBEATH (Jos 18:28, where it is enumerated among the last group of the towns of Benjamin, next to Jerusalem). This last name (גִּבַ ת, which frequently appears elsewhere in the original), being the form of GIBEAH in the construct state, has been joined by some to the following name, i.e., "Gibeah of Kirjath-jearim" (Schwarz, Phys. Descrip. of Palestine, page 132); but these two cities are evidently counted separately in the text. Others regard "Gibeah" here as a mere appellative denoting some hill near Kirjath-jearim (compare 1Sa 7:1-2). This city is often mentioned in Scripture (Hos 5:8; Hos 9:9; Hos 10:9; 1Sa 10:26). It was the scene of the atrocious crime which involved in its consequences almost the entire extirpation of the tribe of Benjamin (Jdg 19:12-30; Jdg 20:14). It soon recovered from that eventful siege and sack. It was the birth-place of Saul, and continued to be his residence after he became king (1Sa 10:26; 1Sa 11:4; 1Sa 15:33; 1Sa 23:19; 1Sa 26:1); and it was doubtless on account of this its intimate connection with Saul that the Gibeonites hanged up here his seven descendants (2Sa 21:6). An erroneous translation of the name has led to the misapprehension that this was the scene of Jonathan’s romantic exploits against the Philistines (1 Samuel 14). SEE GEBA.

Like Bethel, it seems to have been reckoned among the ancient sanctuaries of Palestine (1Sa 10:5-6; 1Sa 15:34; 1Sa 23:19; 1Sa 26:1; 2Sa 21:6-10). The inhabitants were called Gibeathites (1Ch 12:3). Josephus locates it twenty (Ant. 5:2, 8) or thirty (War, 5:2, 1, Γαβαθσαούλη) stadia north of Jerusalem. Jerome speaks of Gibeah as, in his time, level with the ground (Ep. 86, ad Eustoch.), and since then it does not appear to have been visited by travelers till recently. Dr. Robinson at first identified it with Jeba, a half-ruined place about five miles north by east of Jerusalem (Researches, 2:114); but he afterwards retracted this position as being that of GEBA (Bibliotheca Sacra, 1844, page 598); and he has, finally fixed upon Tell el-Ful, about four miles north by west of Jerusalem, as the site of Gibeah of Saul (new ed. of Researches, 3:286). Tell el-Ful ("hill of the bean") is a high knoll, with a curiously knobbed and double top, having a large heap of stones upon it. There seems to have originally been here a square tower, fifty-six feet by forty-eight, built of large unhewn stones, and apparently ancient; this has been thrown down, and the stones and rubbish, falling outside, have assumed the form of a large pyramidal mound. No trace of other foundations is to be seen. The spot is sightly, and commands a very extensive view of the country in all directions, especially towards the east. There are no other remains around the hill itself; but a few rods further west, directly upon the great road as it enters the lower plain or valley, there are seen a number of ancient substructions, consisting of large unhewn stones in low massive walls. Probably the ancient city extended down from the hill on this side and included this spot (Robinson, in Researches and Biblioth. Sacra, ut sup.; Stanley’s Palestine, page 210). The ancient road from Jerusalem to Bethel and Shechem passes close along its western base, and Ramah is in full view on another hill two miles further north (Handbook of S. and P. page 325). The narrative of the Levite’s journey is thus made remarkably graphic. He left Bethlehem in the afternoon to go home to Mount Ephraim. Two hours’ travel (six miles) brought him alongside Jerusalem. Evening was now approaching. His servant advised him to lodge in Jebus, but he declined to stop with strangers, and said he would pass on to Gibeah or Ramah. The "sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah," and they resolved to pass the night there (Judges 19). The site of Gibeah was well adapted to form the capital of Israel during the troublous times of Saul, when the whole country was overrun by the hostile bands of the Philistines. It was naturally strong, it was on the very crest of the mountain range, and it commanded a wide view, so that Saul’s watchmen could give timely notice of the approach of the enemy.

2. GIBEAH OF JUDAH, situated in the mountains of that tribe (Jos 15:57, where it is named with Maon and the southern Carmnel; compare 1Ch 2:49), which, under the name of Gabatha (Γαβαθά), Eusebius and Jerome place twelve Roman miles from Eleutheropolis, and state that the grave of the prophet Habakkuk was there to be seen (Onomasticon, s.v. Γαβαάθ, Gabaath; although they there confound it with the Gibeah of Phinehas in Ephraim, and elsewhere [s.v. Κεειλά, Ceila] state that Habakkuk’s tomb was shown in Keilah), or, more probably, one of those by a similar name (Γαβαά, Γαβαθα) lying in the Daroma or near Bethlehem (ib. s.v. Γαβαθών, Gabathon). Dr. Robinson (Researches, 2:327) identifies it with the village of Jebah, which stands upon an isolated hill, in the midst of wady el-Mussur, about ten miles southwest of Jerusalem; but this is too far from the associated names in Joshua, which require a location southeast of Hebron (Kil, Comment. ad loc.), possibly at the ruins on a mound with caves marked as Erfaiyeh on Van de Velde’s Map east of tell Zif. SEE JUDAH.

3. GIBEAH OF PHINEHAS, in Mount Ephraim, where the high-priest Eleazar, son of Aaron, was buried by his son Phinehas (Jos 24:33, where the name is rendered "hill of Phinehas"). Eusebius and Jerome (Onomast. s.v. Γηβενά, Gebin) probably mention this place by the name of Geba (although they incorrectly identify this with the Gebim of Isa 10:31) (s.v. "Gebim"), five Roman miles from Gophna, on the road to Neapolis (Shechem), which was itself fifteen Roman miles north of Jerusalem. Josephus appears also to allude to it (Γαβαθά, Ant. 5:1, 20). Dr. Robinson (Researches, 3:80, note) finds it in a narrow valley called wady el-Jib, the Geeb of Maundrell, lying just midway on the road between Jerusalem and Shechem; the indication of direction in the Onomasticon agrees with the position of the village Jibed (located on that wady), west of the Nablus road, half way between Bethel and Shiloh (Van de Velde, Memoir, p. £15), but the distance still better suits that of the Moslem ruined village Jibia, west of this (Robinson, Researches, 3, Append. page 125; Van de Velde, Map).

Gibeah (gĭb’e-ah), a hill. The name of several towns. 1. Gibeah in the hill-country of Judah. Jos 15:57; now probably Jebah, ten miles north of Hebron. 2. Gibeah of Benjamin, 1Sa 13:2; first mentioned in Jdg 19:1-30; a shameful crime by some of its people nearly destroyed the tribe of Benjamin. Jdg 20:1-48; Jdg 21:1-25. 3. Gibeah of Saul, probably the same as Gibeah of Benjamin. For notices of Gibeah of Saul, see 1Sa 10:26; 1Sa 11:4; 1Sa 15:34; 1Sa 22:6; 1Sa 23:19; Isa 10:29, etc. 4 Gibeah in Kirjath-jearim was no doubt a hill in that city, 2Sa 6:3-4, on which the house of Abinadab stood, where the ark was left. 5. Gibeah in the field, Jdg 20:31; probably the same as Geba. 6. Gibeah-ha-araloth, Jos 5:3, margin. See Gilgal.

[Gib’eah]

1. City in the highlands of Judah. Jos 15:57. Identified with Jeba, 31° 41’ N, 35° 4’ E.

2. Place where Abinadab dwelt, in whose house the ark of God remained until fetched by David. 2Sa 6:3-4; the name is translated ’the hill’ in 1Sa 7:1.

3. City of Benjamin, the native place of Saul. Jdg 19:12-16; Jdg 20:4-43; 1Sa 10:26; 1Sa 14:2; 1Sa 14:5; 1Sa 22:6; 1Sa 23:19; 1Sa 26:1; 2Sa 23:29; 1Ch 11:31; 2Ch 13:2; Hos 5:8; Hos 9:9; Hos 10:9. The same city is called ’GIBEAH OF BENJAMIN,’ 1Sa 13:2; 1Sa 13:15-16; 1Sa 14:16; and ’GIBEAH OF SAUL,’ 1Sa 11:4; 1Sa 15:34; 2Sa 21:6; Isa 10:29; though in some places the district around the city may be included. Not identified [In 1Sa 13:16 and 1Sa 14:5 the Hebrew is GEBA, not GIBEAH: cf. 1Sa 13:3.]

4. GIBEAH IN THE FIELD. Some place to which a division of the highway from No. 3 led. Jdg 20:31. Not identified.

5. GIBEAH OF PHINEHAS, as Jos 24:33 may be translated, ’a hill [that pertained to] Phinehas.’ Identified by some with Awertah, 32° 10’ N, 35° 17’ E.

GIBEAH (Heb. gib’âh, ‘a hill’).—The name, similar in form and meaning to Geba, attached to a place not far from that city. The two have sometimes been confused. It is necessary to note carefully where the word means ‘hill’ and where it is the name of a city. At least two places were so called. 1. A city in the mountains of Judah (Jos 15:57, perhaps also 2Ch 13:2), near Carmel and Ziph, to the S. E. of Hebron, and therefore not to be identified with the modern Jeba‘, 9 miles W. of Bethlehem (Onomast.); site unknown. 2. Gibeah of Benjamin (Jdg 19:12 etc.), the scene of the awful outrage upon the Levite’s concubine, and of the conflict in which the assembled tribes executed such terrible vengeance upon Benjamin. It was the home of Israel’s first king (1Sa 10:26), and was known as ‘Gibeah of Saul’ (1Sa 11:4, Isa 10:29); probably identical with ‘Gibeah of God’ (1Sa 10:5 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ). From the narrative regarding the Levite we learn that Gibeah lay near the N. road from Bethlehem, between Jerusalem and Ramah. It was near the point where the road from Geba joined the highway towards Bethel (Jdg 20:31). Jdg 20:33 affords no guidance: Maareh-geba (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) is only a transliteration of the words as they stand in MT [Note: Massoretic Text.] . A slight emendation of the text makes it read ‘from the west of Gibeah,’ which is probably correct (Moore, Judges, in loc.). Josephus, who calls it ‘Gabaothsaul’ (BJ V. ii. 1), places it 30 stadia N. of Jerusalem. The site most closely agreeing with these conditions is Tuleil el-Fûl, an artificial mound, E. of the road to the N., about 4 miles from Jerusalem. The road to Jeba‘ leads off the main road immediately to the north of the site. Certain remains of ancient buildings there are, but nothing of importance has yet been discovered. As a place of strategic importance, Gibeah formed the base of Saul’s operations against the Philistines (1Sa 13:1-23; 1Sa 14:1-52). There was enacted the tragedy in which seven of Saul’s sons perished, giving occasion for the pathetic vigil of Rizpah. It appears in the description of Sennacherib’s advance from the north (Isa 10:28-32).

W. Ewing.

gib´ē̇-a (גּבעה, gibh‛āh, “hill”): The Hebrew word denotes generally an eminence or hill, in distinction from har, which is used for mountain, or mountain range. It occurs, however, in two instances, as a place-name. Under GEBA (which see) we have seen that Geba, Gibeah, and Gibeon are liable to be confused. This arises from their resemblance in form and meaning.

(1) An unidentified city in the territory of Judah (Jos 15:57). It is named in the group containing Carmel, Ziph and Kain; it is therefore probably to be sought to the Southeast of Hebron. It may be one of the two villages mentioned by Eusebius, Onomasticon (s.v. “Gabathōn”), Gabaa and Gabatha; in the East of the Daroma. It is probably identical with Gibeah mentioned in 2Ch 13:2.

(2) A city described as belonging to Benjamin (Jos 18:28; Jdg 19:14) Gibeah of Benjamin (1Sa 13:2, 1Sa 13:15; 1Sa 14:16), Gibeah of the children of Benjamin (2Sa 23:29), Gibeah of Saul (1Sa 11:4; Isa 10:29), and possibly, also, Gibeah of God (1Sa 10:5 margin); see GIBEATH, 4.

1. History

The narrative in which it first appears is one of extraordinary and tragic interest, casting priceless light on the conditions prevailing in those days when “there was no king in Israel” (Jdg 19ff). A Levite sojourning on the farther side of Mt. Ephraim was deserted by his concubine who returned to her father’s house in Beth-lehem-judah. Thither he went to persuade her to return. Hospitably entertained by her father, he tarried till the afternoon of the fifth day. The evening was nigh when they came over against Jebus - Jerusalem - but, rejecting his servant’s suggestion that they should lodge in this “city of a stranger” - i.e. the Jebusite - the Levite pressed on, and when they were near to Gibeah the sun set. They entered the city and sat down in the street. The laws of hospitality today do not compel the entertainment of strangers who arrive after sunset. But it may have been through disregard of all law that they were left unbefriended. An old man from Mt. Ephraim took pity on them, invited them to his house, and made himself responsible for their necessities. Then follows the horrible story of outrage upon the Levite’s concubine; the way in which he made known his wrongs to Israel; and the terrible revenge exacted from the Benjamites, who would not give up to justice the miscreants of Gibeah.

Gibeah was the home of Saul, the first king of Israel, and thither he returned after his election at Mizpah (1Sa 10:26). From Gibeah he summoned Israel to assemble for the relief of Jabesh-gilead, which was threatened by Nahash the Ammonite (1Sa 11:4). In the wars of Saul with the Philistines, Gibeah seems to have played a conspicuous part (1Sa 13:15). Here were exposed the bodies of the seven sons of Saul, slain by David’s orders, to appease the Gibeonites, furnishing the occasion for Rizpah’s pathetic vigil (2Sa 21:1). Gibeah is mentioned in the description of the Assyrian advance on Jerusalem (Isa 10:29).

2. Identification

The site now generally accepted as that of Gibeah is on Teleil el-Fūl, an artificial mound about 4 miles North of Jerusalem, a short distance East of the high road to Shechem. A little way North of Teleil el-Fūl, the high road bifurcates, one branch turning eastward to Jeba‛, i.e. Geba (which should be read instead of “Gibeah” in Jdg 20:31); the other continuing northward to Bethel. Not far from the parting of the ways, on the road to Jeba‛ lies er-Rām, corresponding to Ramah (Jdg 19:13). At Gibeah, about 30 furlongs from Jerusalem, Titus encamped for the night on his advance against the city from the North Teleil el-Fūl quite satisfactorily suits all the data here indicated.

The words in Jdg 20:33 rendered by the King James Version “the meadows of Gibeah,” the Revised Version (British and American) “Maareh-geba” - simply transliterating - and the Revised Version, margin “the meadow of Geba” (or Gibeah), by a slight emendation of the text, read “from the west of Gibeah,” which is certainly correct.

The town of Gibeah was located in the tribal area of Benjamin (Jos 18:21; Jos 18:28; for map see BENJAMIN). It earned itself a bad reputation during the time of the judges when the men of Gibeah committed a serious crime and the leaders of Benjamin, instead of punishing them, defended them. The other tribes responded with an attack that almost wiped out Benjamin (Judges 19; Judges 20; Jdg 21:1-24; Hos 9:9; Hos 10:9).

Gibeah was also the home town of Saul, Israel’s first king. In spite of Benjamin’s being the smallest tribe in Israel (1Sa 9:21), Gibeah became the administrative centre of Saul’s kingdom (1Sa 10:26; 1Sa 11:4; 1Sa 14:16; 1Sa 15:34; 1Sa 22:6; 1Sa 23:19; 1Sa 26:1).

A place where some men from the

tribe of Benjamin committed a terrible

sin. See Judges 19 and 20.