Gibeah

Gibeah (/ˈɡɪbiə/; Hebrew: גִּבְעָה Giv'a; Hebrew: גִּבְעַת Giveath) is one of several place names appearing in several books of the Hebrew Bible. In one instance, it is generally identified with Tell el-Fūl (Arabic for "mound of fava beans"),[1] a hill in the northern reaches of modern Jerusalem, on the outskirts of the Pisgat Ze'ev and Shuafat neighborhoods.[2][3] However, this identification was challenged by Israel Finkelstein in 2011.[4] In another instance, Conder identifies the Palestinian village of Jab'a with the biblical town of Gibeah,[5] mentioned in Joshua 15:57, although this later identification places Gibeah to the south of Jerusalem.

Not to be confused with Gibeon (ancient city).

Etymology

ḳbꜥw[6][7]
in hieroglyphs

Gibeah is mentioned as Qeb'ou in the Annals of Thutmose III (cover 1458-1438 BCE) at the Amun Temple of Karnak.[6]

Gibeah may be a variation of the Hebrew word meaning "hill". Other names include Gibeah of God (גִּבְעַת הָאֱלֹהִים‎, Give'at-elohim; see 1 Samuel 10:5), Gibeah of Benjamin (גִּבְעַת בִּנְיָמִין‎, Give'at Binyamin) for it is in the territory of the Tribe of Benjamin (1 Samuel 13:2, 13:15, 14:16), and Gibeah of Saul (גִּבְעַת שָׁאוּל‎, Give'at Sha'ul), where biblical King Saul lived (1 Samuel 11:4, 15:34; Isaiah 10:29). According to 1st-century historian Josephus, the Gibeah of Saul (Gabaothsaul) was located about 30 stadia north of Jerusalem, which would have roughly corresponded with the location of Tell el-Fūl.[8]

Geography

Gibeah is believed to be located along the Central Benjamin Plateau, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Jerusalem along the watershed ridge at 2,754 feet (839 m) above sea level. According to Josephus, there was a certain Gabao situated 50 stadia from Jerusalem, as one ascended by Bethoron, and which is thought by some scholars to be the modern el-Jib, 5 or 6 miles northwest of Jerusalem.[9] Alternatively, Gibeah may have been where Jaba' now stands (9.12 kilometres (5.67 mi)), a view held by biblical scholar Edward Robinson.[10]

The 10th-century lexicographer, David ben Abraham al-Fasi identified el-Jib with the ancient city Gibeon, which view was corroborated also by the Hebrew Lexicon compiled by Wilhelm Gesenius and Frants Buhl ("now al-Ǧīb").[11]

According to C. Umhau Wolf, Gabao (Hebrew: גבע) near er-Ram should be identified with the Gibeah of Saul (Hebrew: גבעת שאול).[12] According to Joshua 21:17, the cities of Gibeon and Geba (Gabao) were alotted to the Levites out of the tribal inheritance of Benjamin. Josephus places the village by the name of Gibeon forty stadia distant from Jerusalem.[13]

In the Hebrew Bible

History
Unfinished Royal Palace of King Hussein of Jordan at Tell el-Ful.
Royal Palace of King Hussein, view from the roof
  • The 10th Roman Legion camped here in their assault on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. - Josephus, War of the Jews
  • King Hussein of Jordan began construction on his royal palace at Tell el-Ful, but construction was halted when the Six-Day War broke out. Since Israel won the war, King Hussein's palace was never finished and now all that remains is the skeleton of the building.

Archaeology

The site was first excavated in 1868 by Charles Warren, while C.R. Conder described the remains in 1874. William F. Albright led his first excavation from 1922 to 1923, and returned for a second season in 1923. His work was published in 1960. P.W. Lapp conducted a six-week salvage excavation in 1964. According to Kenneth Kitchen, "Upon this strategic point was found an Iron I occupation replaced (at an interval) by a fortress ("I"), subsequently refurbished ("II"), and then later in disuse. The oldest level may reflect the Gibeah of Judg 19-20. The excavations by Albright, checked by Lapp, would favor the view that it was Saul who built the first fortress, later repaired by him or David. The first fort (quadrangular) had at least one rectangular corner-tower at its southwest angle; it may have had others at the other corners, but no traces were detected."[14]

See also
  • History of Ancient Israel and Judah

References
  1. Nancy Lapp, Ful, Tell el-, Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East (1997).
  2. LaMar C. Berrett, Discovering the World of the Bible
  3. H.B. Tristram, The Land of Israel: A Journal of Travels in Palestine, London 1865, p. 169
  4. Israel Finkelstein (2011). "Tell el-Ful revisited: The Assyrian and Hellenistic periods (with a new identification)". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 143 (2): 106–118. doi:10.1179/003103211x12971861556918.
  5. H.B. Tristram, Bible Places: or, The Topography of the Holy Land: a Succinct Account of All the Places, Rivers, and Mountains…, London 1897, p. 83; Conder & Kitchener, SWP (vol. 3), London 1883, p. 53.
  6. Gauthier, Henri (1928). Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques. 5. p. 169.
  7. Wallis Budge, E. A. (1920). An Egyptian hieroglyphic dictionary: with an index of English words, king list and geological list with indexes, list of hieroglyphic characters, Coptic and Semitic alphabets, etc. II. John Murray. p. 1043.
  8. Josephus, The Jewish War 5.2.1. (5.47)
  9. Freedman, D.N., ed. (1992), "Gabao", Anchor Bible Dictionary, 2, New York (cf. Josephus, The Jewish War 2.19.1)
  10. Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster. p. 122 (2nd appendix).
  11. Solomon Skoss, The Hebrew-Arabic Dictionary of the Bible known as Kitab Jami al-Alfaz (Agron) of David ben Abraham Al-Fasi, the Karaite (New Haven: Yale 1936), introd. p. xxxviii.
  12. C. Umhau Wolf (1971), The Onomasticon of Eusebius of Pamphili, § 335 (d). This view is based on the premise that Gabatha of Saul (I Samuel 10:26) was known in Eusebius' time, and if it had been Tell al Ful, as claimed by historical geographers, they are still left to explain why no Byzantine remains were found at the site.
  13. Josephus, Antiquities 7.11.7
  14. Kenneth Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), p. 97.

Further reading
  • Albright, W.F. (1971). The Archaeology of Palestine
  • Arnold, P. (1992). "Gibeah", Anchor Bible Dictionary
  • Lapp, N. (1997). "Tell el-Ful", Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East
  • Regev, Eyal (1999). "Josephus on Gibeah: Versions of a Toponym". The Jewish Quarterly Review. University of Pennsylvania Press. 89 (3/4): 351–359. JSTOR 1455028.
  • Sinclair, L.A. (1960). An Archaeological Study of Gibeah
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.