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Gibe-ah: a word employed in the Bible to denote a hill. Like most words of this kind it gave its name to several towns and places in Palestine, which would doubtless be generally on or near a hill. They are --
1. Gibeah, a city in the mountain district of Judah, named with Maon and the southern Carmel, Jos 15:57 and comp. 1Chr 2:49 etc.
2. Gibeah of Benjamin first appears in the tragical story of the Levite and his concubine. Jud 19:20 It was then a "city," with the usual open street or square, Jud 19:15,17,20 and containing 700 "chosen men," ch. Jud 20:15 probably the same whose skill as slingers is preserved in the next verse. In many particulars Gibeah agrees very closely with Tuleil-el-Ful, a conspicuous eminence just four mlles north of Jerusalem, to the right of the road. We next meet with Glbeah of Benjamin during the Philistine wars of Saul and Jonathan. 1Sa 13:15,16 It now bears its full title. As "Gibeah of Benjamin" this place is referred to in 2Sa 23:29 (comp. 1Chr 11:31 ), and as "Gibeah" it is mentioned by Hosea, Ho 5:8; 9:9; 10:9 but it does not again appear in the history. It is, however, almost without doubt identical with
3. Gibeah of Saul. This is not mentioned as Saul's city till after his anointing, 1Sa 10:26 when is said to have gone "home" to Gibeah. In the subsequent narrative the town bears its full name. ch 1Sa 11:4
4. Gibeah in Kirjath-jearim was no doubt a hill in that city, and the place in which the ark remained from the time of its return by the Philistines till its removal by David. 2Sa 6:3,4 comp. 1Sam 7:1,2
5. Gibeah in the field, named only in Jud 20:31 as the place to which one of the "highways" led from Gibeah of Benjamin. It is probably the same as Geba. The "meadows of Gaba" (Authorized Version Gibeah), Jud 20:33 have no connection with the "field," the Hebrew word being entirely different.
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