("hill" or "height")
1. A city of the Benjamites which lay on both sides of the main highway along the watershed that linked the land of Judah and Jerusalem to the hills of Ephraim (Judg 19:11-13). The Book of Judges ends with the story of a fraternal war between Benjamin and the other Israelite tribes following the rape of the concubine of a Levite at the hands of the people of Gibeah, or "Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin", during which Gibeah was destroyed. While the story reflects the general situation in the period of the Judges (cf Judg 21:25) the historical circumstances of the war remain obscure.
Saul came from Gibeah and I Samuel 10:26 states that Saul went home to Gibeah immediately after he was proclaimed king. Messengers were sent from Jabesh Gilead to Gibeah of Saul (I Sam 11:4).
During the Philistine hegemony a Philistine garrison was stationed at Geba (I Sam 13:3), also known as Gibeath-Elohim ("the hill of God") (I Sam 10:5). It was assaulted by Jonathan, son of Saul, during the early part of his father's reign, and served to signal the Israelite revolt against the Philistines in the central hill country. Geba-Gibeath-Elohim is variously identified with Gibeah and Gibeon. After his military victory over the Philistines, Saul made Gibeah his capital and its name became Gibeah-Saul (I Sam 15:34).
Ithai, the son of Ribai, from Gibeah of the Benjamites was one of David's warriors (II Sam 23:29; I Chr 11:31), and according to I Chronicles 12:3, Ahiezer and Joash, the sons of Shemaah of Gibeah were among those of Saul's kinsmen who joined David in Ziklag. Micaiah, the daughter of Uriel, who was the mother of Abijah, king of Judah, was from Gibeah (II Chr 13:2). Isaiah envisioned Gibeah-Saul standing in the path of the Assyrian army's advance from the north on Jerusalem during Sennacherib's campaign in 701 B. C. (Is 10:29).
Little is known about Gibeah from later periods. According to Jerome, Gibeah was "a town destroyed to the ground".
There is virtual agreement that Gibeah of Saul (or Gibeah-Saul) is to be located at Tell el-Ful, 3 miles (5 km) north of Jerusalem. Archeological excavations have revealed a series of superimposed fortresses, beginning in the 11th century B.C. In all, five major periods of occupation were discovered.
2. A city in the hill country of Judah (Josh 15:57; cf I Chr 2:49), whose suggested location has been proposed as el-Jeba, 7� miles (12 km) southwest of Bethlehem; however, it should probably be sought in the Judean Hills south of Beth Zur and Hebron.
Concordance
Josh 15:57. Judg 19:12-16; 20:4-5, 9-10,13-15, 19-21,25, 29-31, 34,36-37, 43. I Sam 10:26; 11:4; 13:2, 15-16; 14:2, 5,16; 15:34; 22:6; 23:19; 26:1. II Sam 21:6; 23:29. I Chr 11:31. II Chr 13:2. Is 10:29. Hos 5:8; 9:9; 10:9
