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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

GIBEAH

1. Town in the hill country of Judah (Jos 15:57). Its exact location is uncertain. Gibeah is listed as being among other towns located in the section of Judah southeast of Hebron and probably was in the fertile plateau containing Maon, Ziph, and Carmel.

2. Town in the province of Benjamin, also called “Gibeah of Saul” (1 Sm 11:4; 15:34; Is 10:29), and its inhabitants are called Gibeathites (1 Chr 12:3). It is first mentioned in the description of the territory assigned to Benjamin (Jos 18:28, KJB “Gibeath”) and comes to prominence in the biblical narrative as a result of the atrocity recounted in Judges 19–21 of the Levite and his concubine.

Gibeah was also noted as the home of Saul (1 Sm 10:26). After his anointing as king of Israel, Saul returned to Gibeah, which probably remained his home and his capital (10:26; 22:6; 23:19).

The site of ancient Gibeah has been generally identified as the modern Tell el-Ful. The OT references place Gibeah north of Jerusalem, between Jerusalem and Ramah, and situated near the primary south-north road through the hill country (Jgs 19:11-19). Tell el-Ful is about three and a half miles (5.6 kilometers) north of Jerusalem and is situated on one of the highest areas in that mountain range. Excavations reveal that an early Israelite village was there about the 12th century BC and was destroyed by fire. Probably during the 11th century a stone fortress was built, and its corner tower is still evident. It probably was the citadel of Saul and his royal residence. A second fortress was built about 1000 BC but fell into disuse when David established the Israelite capital at Jerusalem. It then served as an outpost for the capital city. The tower was alternately destroyed and rebuilt through the centuries until its final destruction in the war between Antiochus III and Ptolemy V. Josephus wrote that a village existed at the site of Gibeah during the Roman period, but it finally ceased to exist with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70).

3. Town in the hills of Ephraim that was given to Phinehas, son of Eleazar. It was the burial site of Eleazar (Jos 24:33). An addition to the Septuagint indicates that Phinehas was also buried here. Its exact location is unknown, and several sites have been suggested: Nibi Saleh, about six miles (9.7 kilometers) northwest of Jifna; Jibia, four miles (6.5 kilometers) northwest of Jifna; et-Tell, northeast of Jifna and south of Sinjil; and Awertah, near Shechem.

4. Gibeath-elohim (1 Sm 10:5, rsv; KJB “hill of God”; NLT “Gibeah of God”). At this site Samuel, following Saul’s anointing as king, predicted that Saul would meet a company of prophets and would prophesy with them. This was to be a sign of God’s selection of Saul as Israel’s king. Some have suggested that this is the same place as Gibeah of Benjamin, the home of Saul, but the context suggests that Saul reached this place before he arrived at his home.

5. Hill near Kiriath-jearim, where the ark of the covenant was housed by Abinadab after its return from the Philistines and until it was moved by David to the house of Obed-edom (2 Sm 6:1-4).