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GIBEON

(Heb. giḇʿôn)

Section of Iron Age water tunnel at Gibeon (el-Jib, 10th century b.c.e.). Ninety-three steps lead from inside the city wall through the hill to the spring (University Museum, University of Pennsylvania)

A city identified with the ruin under the Arab village of el-Jib, 9 km. (5.5 mi.) NNW of Jerusalem (167139). The identification was confirmed by the discovery of 31 jar handles inscribed with the name Gibeon (gbʿn). The importance of the site lies in its strategic position at the crossroads of the central hill country. It guards the important roads leading eastward up from the coastal plain through the Aijalon Valley via Beth-horon and Kiriath-jearim. From Gibeon roads turn northward toward Bethel and southward toward Jerusalem. Gibeon also lies at the western edge of a relatively large and level plateau in central Benjamin which controlled north-south commerce in the hill country. As such, it was a natural hub of conflict between Israel and Judah.

Gibeon first appears in the Bible as the leader of cities (including Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim) that deceived Joshua and obtained a peace treaty with Israel (Josh. 9). When the ruse is discovered, the Gibeonites are condemned to be “hewers of wood and drawers of water” in Israel forever (Josh. 9:21). The story highlights Gibeon’s central position within the hill country as well as its strategic location guarding the main roads. The king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedek, responds immediately to the threat to his territory and attacks Gibeon. Joshua is then forced into action, marching up from Gilgal and surprising the Jerusalem-led kings by attacking at sunrise and chasing them down the way of Beth-horon — miraculously aided according to the biblical account by hailstones and the sun standing still (Josh. 10:1-14). This same strategic position accounts for Cestius’ pitching his camp at Gibeon on his march to Jerusalem in October 66 c.e. (Josephus BJ 2.515-16; cf. 2.540ff.).

The sacred nature of the site is first encountered in the account of Solomon’s dream (1 Kgs. 3:2-5) on the occasion of his sacrifices at a high place there. The book of Chronicles places the tent of the meeting (2 Chr. 1:3, 13) as well as the tabernacle and the altar of the burnt offering at Gibeon (1 Chr. 16:39; 21:29). The “hill of God” (Gibeath-elohim) mentioned in the Saul narratives is certainly in the general vicinity of Gibeon, and it seems likely that this “hill of God” should be equated with Gibeon. If so, the location of a Philistine garrison there (cf. 1 Sam. 10:5) would explain Saul’s hostility toward the city. A famine in Israel was thought to be retribution for Saul’s killing of the Gibeonites in violation of Joshua’s treaty; Saul’s sons were consequently executed at Gibeon in order to stay the famine (2 Sam. 21:1-14). Gibeon was also the home of Hananiah, the false prophet (Jer. 28:1). In the postexilic period, the men of Gibeon assisted in rebuilding the temple (Neh. 3:7-8).

Excavations at the site have unearthed a sophisticated water system including a huge circular pool hewn out of stone. This is undoubtedly what is referred to as the “pool of Gibeon” in biblical literature. The pool at Gibeon becomes a focal point for conflict during the civil war which followed the death of Saul. Joab and Amasa’s men first meet there in a contest (2 Sam. 2:12-17); later Joab slays Amasa at the “large stone that is in Gibeon” (2 Sam. 20:8). In the early 6th century “the great pool that is in Gibeon” is mentioned as the place where Johanan came to apprehend Ishmael and the Judeans after they had slain the Babylonian governor Gedaliah (Jer. 41:11-18).

According to archaeological evidence uncovered in excavations by James Pritchard in the late 1950s, occupation of the site began in the early 2nd millennium (Middle Bronze Age). The site declined in the late 2nd millennium (Late Bronze Age), and only scant evidence from tombs attests settlement in this period. The transition to the Iron Age in the 12th century witnessed the construction of a large wall 3.2–3.4 m. (10-11 ft.) wide encircling the site. The site reached its zenith in the 7th century, when it became an industrial center for the production and distribution of wine.

William Schniedewind

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GIBEON

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)