Gibeah
Encyclopedia
Gibeah is a biblical site identified by archaeologists as a hill in Jerusalem, on the outskirts of the Pisgat Ze'ev
neighborhood, known as Tell el-Ful.
and Gibeah of Saul (גִּבְעַת שָׁאוּל) where lived biblical King Saul
.
, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Jerusalem along the Watershed Ridge at 2754 feet (839.4 m) above sea level.
, 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."
Pisgat Ze'ev
Pisgat Ze'ev , is an Israeli settlement and a residential neighborhood with a population of 50,000 located in northern East Jerusalem. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, although the Israeli government disputes this...
neighborhood, known as Tell el-Ful.
Etymology
Gibeah may be a variation of the Hebrew word meaning “hill,” other names include Gibeah of God (גִּבְעַת הָאֱלֹהִים) Gibeah of Benjamin (גִּבְעַת בִּנְיָמִין) for it is in the territory of the Tribe of BenjaminTribe of Benjamin
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Benjamin בִּנְיָמִין was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BCE, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes...
and Gibeah of Saul (גִּבְעַת שָׁאוּל) where lived biblical King Saul
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
.
Geography
Gibeah is believed to be located along the Central Benjamin PlateauTribe of Benjamin
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Benjamin בִּנְיָמִין was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BCE, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes...
, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Jerusalem along the Watershed Ridge at 2754 feet (839.4 m) above sea level.
History
- Benjamin allotment - Joshua 18:28
- AwartaAwartaAwarta is a Palestinian town located southeast of Nablus, in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 5,623 inhabitants in 2007...
is the Gibeah of PhinehasPhinehas-Biblical figures:*Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the High Priest*Phinehas, son of the High Priest Eli. He was a priest at Shiloh, and died when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant-Other :*Pinchas, the 41st weekly Torah portion....
and the burial place of his father, EleazarEleazarEleazar , was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second Kohen Gadol - succeeding his father Aaron. He was a nephew of Moses.-Life:...
, the son of AaronAaronIn the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...
- Joshua 24:33 - The Turning Out of the Concubine of Gibeah, and the Battle of GibeahBattle of GibeahThe Battle of Gibeah is an episode in the Book of Judges. The battle was triggered by an incident of gross inhospitality on part of the Tribe of Benjamin, in which a concubine belonging to a man from the Tribe of Levi was raped to death by a rowdy mob, after the Levite had offered his concubine to...
- (Israelite Civil War) - Judges 19-21 - Israel’s first king, King Saul, reigned from Gibeah for 38 years - 1 Samuel 8-31
- Prophetic mention during the period of the Divided Kingdom - Hosea 5:8, 9:9, 10:9; Isaiah 10:29
- 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 PalaceRoyal Palace, Tell el-FulThe Royal Palace at Tell el-ful stands near Beit Hanina, atop a hill named Tell el-Ful . It was intended to be a summer residence for King Hussein of Jordan, who had controlled Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank by annexing the territory after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
in Tel el-Ful, but construction was halted when the Six-Day WarSix-Day WarThe Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
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 WarrenCharles Warren
General Sir Charles Warren, GCMG, KCB, FRS was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of Temple Mount...
, while C.R. Conder described the remains in 1874. William F. Albright
William F. Albright
William Foxwell Albright was an American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist and expert on ceramics. From the early twentieth century until his death, he was the dean of biblical archaeologists and the universally acknowledged founder of the Biblical archaeology movement...
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
Rescue archaeology
Rescue archaeology, sometimes called "preventive" or "salvage" archaeology, is archaeological survey and excavation carried out in areas threatened by, or revealed by, construction or other development...
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."
Further reading
- P. Arnold, Gibeah, Anchor Bible Dictionary (1992).
- N. Lapp, Tel el-Ful, Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East (1997).
- L. A. Sinclair, An Archaeological Study of Gibeah (1960).
- W. F. Albright, The Archeology of Palestine (1971).