Gibeon | Ancient City, Biblical City (2024)

FAQs

Gibeon | Ancient City, Biblical City? ›

Gibeon (Hebrew: גִּבְעוֹן‎, Gīḇəʻōn; Greek: Γαβαων, Gabaōn) was a Canaanite and later an Israelite city, which was located north of Jerusalem. According to Joshua 11:19, the pre-Israelite-conquest inhabitants, the Gibeonites, were Hivites; according to 2 Samuel 21:2, they were Amorites.

Gibeon was the seat of an ancient sanctuary, called in 1 Kings 3:4 "the great high place." Here, according to 2 Chronicles 1:3, was the tabernacle made in the wilderness--but see 1 Kings 8:4.

Gibeon was an ancient settlement 5½ miles / 9 km north west of Jerusalem and only 1 mile / 1.5 km north of the hilltop settlement of Mizpah. It was one of the cities of Canaan conquered by the Israelites shortly after the destruction of Jericho in c. 1406 BC (see Joshua 9:1-27).

Gibeon, important town of ancient Palestine, located northwest of Jerusalem. Its inhabitants submitted voluntarily to Joshua at the time of the Israelite conquest of Canaan (Josh.

Story Overview:

People in the town of Gibeon were afraid Joshua's nearby army would overpower them. They pretended to be from a faraway place and tricked Joshua and his army into promising to keep them safe. When the Israelites later heard that the Gibeonites were neighbours, they knew they had been tricked.

After the Ark was captured by the Philistines, King Saul moved the tabernacle to Nob, near his home town of Gibeah, but after he massacred the priests there (1 Samuel 21–22), it was moved to Gibeon, a Yahwist hill-shrine (1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chronicles 1:2–6, 13).

A high, illumined state of consciousness, that high point in the silence which man reaches when he realizes his unity with God. Gibeon, the high point in spiritual consciousness, is called a place of sacrifice because it is here that man lets go of personal ideas and desires, and seeks only the presence of God.

In Joshua 9:15, it is written that Joshua 'made peace' with the Gibeonites, seal- ing with them a covenant 'to let them live'. Making peace by treaty has obvi- ously many precedents in Biblical and extra-Biblical sources.

Bringing his army to Gibeon's defense, Joshua raises his arm, urging God to halt the sun's movement and give his forces more time to fight by daylight. God not only stopped the sun but also unleashed a storm of hail and fire on the enemy, helping the Israelites to victory.

The name Gibeon literally means Hill Town (NOBSE Study Bible Name List) or High Hill (Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names).

Why was Solomon in Gibeon? ›

Solomon went to Gibeon to make a sacrifice to God. Solomon had a night dream. Gibeon stands in Benjamite territory. The Hivite people of Gibeon tricked Joshua into a covenant (Joshua 9:3-10:15).

"Come up and help me attack Gibeon," he said, "because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites." Then the five kings of the Amorites--the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon--joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.

Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

(Now the Gibeonites are not Israelites; they are instead part of the Amorites. Although the Israelites had sworn to them [protection], Saul attempted to wipe them out in his zeal for the Israelites and Judah.)

By 1600 BCE, the Amorite period of Mesopotamia had come to a close, and by 600 BCE, they were not referenced at all outside of ancient literature. As for who the Amorites are today, it is most likely that people in modern-day Syria are genetically closest to the historical Amorites.

Gibeon in British English

(ˈɡɪbɪən ) noun. an ancient town of Palestine: the excavated site thought to be its remains lies about 9 kilometres (6 miles) northwest of Jerusalem.

The Gibeonites deceived Israel into thinking that they were from another land, and the Israelites covenanted with them to preserve them in keeping with the permission God gave to Israel to enter into treaties with peoples outside the land of Canaan (Josh 9:14–15).

There are two quick lessons we can re-learn from the Gibeonite deception in Chapter 9: Don't lean on your own understanding. Trust in the Lord. Lean into God's strength, believing that His promises are trustworthy, that He'll make your paths straight, and that He'll have the final victory (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Bringing his army to Gibeon's defense, Joshua raises his arm, urging God to halt the sun's movement and give his forces more time to fight by daylight. God not only stopped the sun but also unleashed a storm of hail and fire on the enemy, helping the Israelites to victory.