Gibeon #34

Gibeon was an important city in the hill country of Benjamin, about six miles (10 km) northwest of Jerusalem. Joshua 10:2 describes it as “a great city, like one of the royal cities,” larger than Ai, with mighty warriors. Its people, called Hivites, are best remembered for the trick they played on Israel in the days of Joshua, and the city figures again in the stories of David and Solomon.

Biblical Significance

After Israel’s victories at Jericho and Ai, the Gibeonites send envoys to Joshua at Gilgal wearing worn-out clothes and carrying dry, moldy bread and patched wineskins, pretending to have come from a distant country. Israel’s leaders sample their provisions but do not ask the Lord, and they make a treaty with them (Joshua 9:3-15). Three days later the deception comes to light, but the oath stands. The Gibeonites are made woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord (Joshua 9:16-27).

Israel’s promise soon has consequences. When five Amorite kings attack Gibeon for making peace with Israel, the Gibeonites appeal to Joshua, who marches all night from Gilgal and routs the coalition. The Lord sends large hailstones, and the sun and moon stand still while Israel completes the victory (Joshua 10:1-14).

Gibeon appears again in the age of the monarchy. At its pool, the men of Abner and Joab meet in a deadly contest (2 Samuel 2:12-17). Long afterward, David learns that a famine came because Saul had put Gibeonites to death in violation of the ancient oath, and he makes amends (2 Samuel 21:1-9). During David’s reign the tabernacle and the bronze altar were at the high place in Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29). Early in his reign, Solomon offers a thousand burnt offerings there, and the Lord appears to him in a dream and invites him to ask for whatever he wishes. Solomon asks for an understanding mind to govern the people, and the Lord grants it (1 Kings 3:3-15).

Today

Gibeon is generally identified with el-Jib, a village in the West Bank northwest of Jerusalem, and the name has survived in the Arabic form. The identification was confirmed when James B. Pritchard excavated the site between 1956 and 1962 and found a number of jar handles inscribed with the name gb’n, “Gibeon,” in ancient Hebrew script.

The most striking find is a great rock-cut pool, about 37 feet (11 m) in diameter and nearly as deep, with a spiral stairway leading down to a tunnel and water chamber below. Many scholars connect this feature with the “pool of Gibeon” of 2 Samuel 2:13, although the dating of the structure is debated. Pritchard also uncovered extensive Iron Age wine-making installations, including cellars and storage jars, which suggest that wine was a major product of the city.