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GIBEAH

(Heb. giḇʿâ)

1. A city in the hill country of Judah SW of Jerusalem (Josh. 15:57).

2. A town in the hill country of Ephraim (Josh. 24:33), assigned to Aaron’s son Eleazar, who is buried there, and subsequently the inheritance of Phinehas.

3. A Benjaminite city that was particularly prominent during the reign of Saul. The name means “hill” and often was used in place names such as Gibeah of Benjamin (1 Sam. 13:2, 15; 14:16), Gibeath-elohim (“Hill of God”; 10:5), or Gibeah of Saul (11:4; 15:34) as a synonym for Gibeah. The relationship of Gibeah to Geba is difficult to ascertain. Sometimes the two terms are used independently, but they also are used interchangeably (Judg. 19-20; 1 Sam. 13-14; Isa. 10:28-32). The use of both terms in the same passage may reflect different sources, or it may indicate that the terms are synonyms. Many scholars view Gibeah and Geba as referring to the same site.

It was at Gibeah that the Levite’s concubine was raped and murdered by the Benjaminites (Judg. 19-21). The other tribes of Israel responded by killing the inhabitants of Gibeah, as well as devastating the tribe of Benjamin. According to the Deuteronomistic history, Gibeah had recovered by the time of Saul so that it became the headquarters of Saul’s monarchy (1 Sam. 10:26; 11:4). Gibeah’s prominence during this period is illustrated further by the presence of an important cultic site, which featured a bāmâ (“high place”) and a tamarisk tree (1 Sam. 22:6), and a band of prophets that worshipped at it (ch. 10). The Philistines maintained a garrison in the city, which Jonathan defeated (1 Sam. 13:2-3).

After Saul’s death, the city declined in importance; it rarely is mentioned in subsequent biblical texts. In Isa. 10:28-29 it appears along the path of a foreign army marching on Jerusalem, and in Hos. 5:8 it is one of the cities designated for destruction. Gibeah’s cultic site probably was destroyed during the reforms of Josiah in the 7th century (2 Kgs. 23:8).

While several sites have been suggested for the location of Gibeah, two have received more support than any others. Located 5.5 km. (3.4 mi.) N of Jerusalem, Tell el-Fûl (1719.1367) was identified as Gibeah by William F. Albright. A brief excavation was conducted there in 1868 by Charles Warren, but more extensive digging was done in 1922-23 and 1933 by Albright, and in 1964 by Paul Lapp. The remains indicated occupation at various times from the Iron I Age into the Roman period. The lowest stratum was destroyed by fire in the 12th century. The next occupation contains a tower and casemate wall dating to the 11th century, perhaps Saul’s fortress-palace. Although the excavators believed that the remains supported an association with Gibeah, this conclusion has been questioned.

The other major alternative for Gibeah is Jabaʿ (175140), 10 km. (6 mi.) NE of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the site has not been excavated, but a survey yielded Iron II and Persian period sherds. Support for this identification, therefore, is based on geographical and literary descriptions.

See Geba.

Bibliography. P. M. Arnold, Gibeah: The Search for a Biblical City. JSOTSup 79 (Sheffield, 1990); N. L. Lapp, ed., The Third Campaign at Tell el-Ful. AASOR 45 (Cambridge, Mass., 1981); J. M. Miller, “Geba/Gibeon of Benjamin,” VT 25 (1975): 145-66; L. A. Sinclair, “An Archaeological Study of Gibeah (Tell el-Fûl),” AASOR 34-35 (New Haven, 1960): 1-52.

Scott M. Langston

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

GIBEAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)