Gibeah
31°49′24″N035°13′52″E/ 31.82333°N 35.23111°E
Gibeah(/ˈɡɪbiə/;Hebrew:גִּבְעָהGīḇəʿā;Hebrew:גִּבְעַתGīḇəʿaṯ) is the name of three places mentioned in theHebrew Bible,in the tribes ofBenjamin,Judah,andEphraimrespectively.[1]
Gibeah of Benjamin,alsoGibeah of Saul,is the most commonly mentioned of the places. In theBook of Judges,it is the main setting to the story of theBenjaminite War.Later, in theBook of Samuel,it is mentioned as the first capital of the unitedKingdom of Israelunder kingSaul.During theFirst Jewish–Roman War,Titusestablished a camp nearby in the "Valley of Thorns", before proceeding tobesiege Jerusalem.
Gibeah of Benjamin is generally identified withTell el-Fūlin northernJerusalem.[2]
Etymology
[edit]Gibeah is a Hebrew word meaning "hill" (Hebrew:גִּבְעָה,romanized:Giv'ah).[1]
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Gibeah of Benjamin
[edit]Biblical narrative
[edit]Gibeah in the tribe of Benjamin was the location of the infamous rape of theLevite's concubine,and the resulting Battle of Gibeah (Judges 19–21). Israel’s first king, KingSaul,reigned here for 22 years (1 Samuel 8–31). According to PEF explorerC.R. Conder,the name may have applied to a district as well as to a town, since the neighboring town ofRamahis said to have been "in Gibeah."[5]
It is mentioned several times in later prophetic writings.[6]Also known as Gibeat (Joshua 18:28). The name "Gibeah of God" (גִּבְעַת הָאֱלֹהִים,Give'at-elohim)[7]may also refer to this Gibeah.
Perhaps to avoid confusion with other places named Gibeah, this location is also called "Gibeah of Benjamin" (גִּבְעַת בִּנְיָמִין,Give'at Binyamin)[8]and "Gibeah of Saul" (גִּבְעַת שָׁאוּל,Give'at Sha'ul).[9]The latter name is also used by the modern neighborhoodGivat Shaul,which however is located in a different location.
In extra-biblical sources
[edit]According toJosephus,the10th Roman Legionled byTituscamped in the "Valley of Thorns" (Acanthon Aulon) nearGabaothsaulbefore theirsiege of Jerusalemin 70 CE.[10][11]This valley is identified with the contemporary Wâdi Beit Hanina.[12]
Identification with Tell el-Ful
[edit]This Gibeah is generally identified withTell el-Fūl(Arabic:تلّ الفول,lit. 'mound offavabeans'),[13]a hill in the northern reaches of modernJerusalem,on the outskirts of thePisgat Ze'evandShuafatneighborhoods.[14][15]This location is 3 miles (4.8 km) north of ancient Jerusalem, along the watershed ridge at 2,754 feet (839 m)above sea level.According toJosephus,Gabaothsaul was located about 30stadianorth of Jerusalem, which would have roughly corresponded with the location ofTell el-Fūl.[10]
KingHussein of Jordanbegan construction on hisroyal palaceat Tell el-Ful, but construction was halted when theSix-Day Warbroke out. Since Israel won the war, King Hussein's palace was never finished and now all that remains is the skeleton of the building.
Alternatively, Gibeah may have been whereJaba'now stands (9.12 kilometres (5.67 mi) north of Jerusalem), a view held by biblical scholarEdward Robinson[16]and C. Umhau Wolf.[17]However, Jaba is now widely identified with the biblical city ofGeba.[18][19]
Israel Finkelsteinalso challenged the identification withTell el-Fūl.[20]
Archaeology
[edit]Tell el-Ful was first excavated in 1868 byCharles Warren,while C.R. Conder described the remains in 1874.William F. Albrightled 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-weeksalvage excavationin 1964. According to Kenneth Kitchen, "Upon this strategic point was found anIron Ioccupation replaced (at an interval) by a fortress ( "I" ), subsequently refurbished ( "II" ), and then later in disuse. The oldest level may reflect the Gibeah ofJudges 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. "[21]
The site was once more inhabited around the start of theHellenistic period,and its wall was once more in service. The citadel underwent repairs as well in the second century BCE. At the end of the second century BCE, the site was abandoned.[22]
Gibeah of Judah and Ephraim
[edit]Gibeah of Judah was a city in the tribal inheritance of Judah (Joshua 15:57); cities mentioned in nearby verses includedZanoahandHalhul.C. R. Conderidentifies this Gibeah withJab'a.[23]
Gibeah of Ephraim was a city in the tribal inheritance of Ephraim, "the Gibeah ofPhinehas"(Joshua 24:33);Eleazar,the son ofAaron,was buried here. PossiblyAwarta.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abDictionary - AlHaTorah.org
- ^Aharoni, Y.(1979).The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography(2 ed.). Philadelphia: Westminster Press. p. 435.ISBN0664242669.OCLC6250553.(original Hebrew edition: 'Land of Israel in Biblical Times - Historical Geography',Bialik Institute,Jerusalem (1962))
- ^Gauthier, Henri (1928).Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques.Vol. 5. p. 169.
- ^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.Vol. II.John Murray.p.1043.
- ^Conder, C.R.(1879).Tent Work in Palestine. A Record of Discovery and Adventure.Vol. 2. London: Richard Bentley & Son (published for the Committee of thePEF). p.111.OCLC23589738.
- ^Hosea 5:8,9:9,10:9andIsaiah 10:29
- ^1 Samuel 10:5
- ^1 Samuel 13:2, 13:15,14:16
- ^1 Samuel 11:4,15:34;Isaiah 10:29
- ^abJosephus,The Jewish War5.2.1. (5.47)
- ^Rogers, Guy MacLean (2021).For the Freedom of Zion: the Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66-74 CE.New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 293.ISBN978-0-300-24813-5.
- ^Avi-Yonah, Michael (1976)."Gazetteer of Roman Palestine".Qedem.5:25.ISSN0333-5844.
- ^Nancy Lapp,Ful, Tell el-,Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East (1997).
- ^LaMar C. Berrett,Discovering the World of the Bible
- ^H.B. Tristram,The Land of Israel: A Journal of Travels in Palestine,London 1865, p.169
- ^Robinson, E.;Smith, E.(1841).Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838.Vol. 3. Boston:Crocker & Brewster.p. 122 (2nd appendix).
- ^C. Umhau Wolf (1971),The Onomasticon of Eusebius of Pamphili,§ 335 (d). This view is based on the premise thatGabatha of Saul(I Samuel 10:26) was known in Eusebius' time, and if it had beenTell al Ful,as claimed by historical geographers, they are still left to explain why no Byzantine remains were found at the site.
- ^Guerin, 1869, pp.67-69
- ^Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p.9
- ^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.
- ^Kenneth Kitchen,On the Reliability of the Old Testament(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), p. 97.
- ^Halpern-Zylberstein, Marie-Christine (1990-03-22), Davies, W. D.; Finkelstein, Louis (eds.),"The Archeology of Hellenistic Palestine",The Cambridge History of Judaism(1 ed.), Cambridge University Press,doi:10.1017/chol9780521219297.002,ISBN978-0-521-21929-7,retrieved2023-03-19
- ^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.
Further reading
[edit]
- 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.89(3/4). University of Pennsylvania Press: 351–359.JSTOR1455028.
- Sinclair, L.A. (1960).An Archaeological Study of Gibeah
