גִּבְעוֹן | |
 | |
  Shown within the West Bank | |
| Location | Al Jib |
|---|---|
| Region | West Bank |
| Coordinates | 31°50′51″N35°11′00″E / 31.847451°N 35.183351°E /31.847451; 35.183351 |
| History | |
| Periods | Bronze Age,Iron Age,Hellenistic Period,Roman Period |
| Cultures | Canaanite,Israelite |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1956–1962 |
| Archaeologists | James B. Pritchard |
| Condition | In ruins |
Gibeon (Hebrew:גִּבְעוֹן,romanized: Giḇəʻōn;Ancient Greek:Γαβαων,romanized: Gabaōn)[1] was aCanaanite and later anIsraelite city, which was located north ofJerusalem. According toJoshua 11:19, the pre-Israelite-conquest inhabitants, the Gibeonites, wereHivites; according to2 Samuel 21:2, they wereAmorites. The remains of Gibeon are located in the southern portion of thePalestinian village ofal-Jib inArea C of theWest Bank.
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After the destruction ofJericho andAi, theHivite people of Gibeon sent ambassadors to trickJoshua and the Israelites into making a treaty with them. According to thewriter of thebook of Deuteronomy (Deut 7:1–2;20:16–20), the Israelites were commanded to destroy all non-Israelite Canaanites in the land. The Gibeonites presented themselves as ambassadors from a distant, powerful land. Without consulting God (Joshua 9:14), the Israelites entered into acovenant or peace treaty with the Gibeonites. The Israelites soon found out that the Gibeonites were actually their neighbors—living within three days' walk of them (Joshua 9:17)—andJoshua realised that he had been deceived. He kept the letter of his covenant with the Gibeonites, however, to let them live in exchange for their servitude: they were assigned as woodcutters and water carriers and condemned (orcursed) to work forever in these trades (Joshua 9:3–27). TheologianJohn Gill suggests that this curse was a particular example ofNoah's curse on Canaan.[2]
In retaliation for allying with the Israelites, the city was later besieged by a coalition of five other Amorite kings led byAdonizedek, king ofJerusalem, along withHoham ofHebron,Piram ofJarmuth,Japhia ofLachish, andDebir ofEglon. The Gibeonites appealed to Joshua, who led the subsequent victory over the Amorites amid miraculous circumstances, including deadly hailstones and the suspension of the movement of the Sun and Moon, until the Amorites were completely defeated (Joshua 10:1–15).[3]
In theBook of Joshua, ancient Gibeon is described as "a large city, like one of the royal cities" located in the tribal territory ofBenjamin (Joshua 18:25). It was given as aLevitical city (Joshua 21:17).
In the firstBook of Chronicles,Jeiel is mentioned as the "father of Gibeon" and is an ancestor ofKing Saul.[4]
Following the capture of theArk of the Covenant by the Philistines, the remaining part of theTabernacle was moved fromShiloh to the "greathigh place" in Gibeon (1 Samuel 4:1–22,1 Chronicles 21:29).
2 Samuel 21:2 indicates that KingSaul pursued the Gibeonites and sought to kill them off "in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah" (2 Samuel 21:5). His anger at the Gibeonites[5] was not personal hatred, but was induced by zeal for the welfare of the Israelites.[6] Following Saul's death, fighting between the soldiers ofJoab and those ofAbner took place beside thePool of Gibeon (2 Samuel 2:12). In this area, KingDavid conquered thePhilistines (2 Samuel 5:25 and1 Chronicles 14:16).
David then became the king of theUnited Monarchy. Much later, after the death of his rebellious sonAbsalom and his restoration to the throne, the kingdom of Israel was visited by a three-year drought, which led David to ask God what was wrong. The drought was then revealed to be divine judgement against King Saul's decision to completely exterminate the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1), in his "zeal for Israel and Judah". The blame for thisgenocide is also attributed toSaul's family. This event is not itself recorded in the biblical narrative,[7] although Gill refers to a Jewish tradition linking this slaughter to the slaughter of the priests atNob (1 Samuel 22:6–19).[8] The culpability of Saul's family in the genocide could also imply that it wasn't a singular event. David asked the surviving Gibeonites what he could offer to make amends. In retribution, they asked for seven of Saul's male descendants to be given to them to kill, seven signalling the sign of completion. David handed overArmoni and Mephibosheth, two of the sons ofSaul and the five sons ofMerab (Saul's daughter) to the Gibeonites, who hanged them. He saved Jonathan's son, also calledMephibosheth, from this peril because of his covenant withJonathan (2 Samuel 21:1–9).Amasa was also killed here (2 Samuel 20:8).
On his accession to kingship, King David's sonSolomon met with all of the kingdom of Israel's leaders at Gibeon and offered 1,000burnt offerings (1 Kings 3:4,2 Chronicles 1:6). On this occasion, God appeared to him in a dream (1 Kings 3:5) and granted himwisdom (1 Kings 3:12,2 Chronicles 1:7–12).
Hananiah, son of Azzur, came from this city (Jeremiah 28:1).
After the exile of the Israelites toBabylon, Gibeon belonged toJudea.[9] Gibeon is mentioned in theBook of Nehemiah as one of the towns resettled by the Jewish exiles returning from theBabylonian captivity and who helped to construct the walls of Jerusalem during the reign ofArtaxerxes I (Xerxes).[10][11] Nehemiah further records that those returnees were the very descendants of the people who had formerly resided in the town before their banishment from the country, who had all returned to live in their former places of residence.[12]
1 Chronicles 16:39 suggests that worship before the tabernacle at Gibeon continued alongside worship in Jerusalem after David brought the Ark of the Covenant back there, although "nothing ... is said of this in the Books of Samuel".[13] Theologian Hans-Peter Mathys notes, "no other OT book mentions a regular (sacrificial) cult in Gibeon. Its historical authenticity is sometimes supported by the argument that1 Kings 3:3 ("Solomon ... went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place; a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar") confirms its existence and speaks out against it. These four verses, though, were more likely conceived by the Chronicler, [who] ... is at pains to portray an uninterrupted and legitimate (sacrificial) cult spanning the entire period from the desert era (with its tabernacle), including the LORD's residence at Gibeon, right up to Solomon's establishment of thetemple in Jerusalem."[14]
In regard to the Gibeonites and the killing of seven descendants of King Saul: According to theBabylonian Talmud:[15] "...As to the nethinim,[16] however, let them be summoned and we shall pacify them. Immediately[17] the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them … 'What shall I do for you? and wherewith should I make atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord'? And the Gibeonites said to him: 'It is no matter of silver or gold between us and Saul, or his house,' neither is it for us [to put] any man etc. … Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us and we will hang them up unto the Lord etc.'[18] He tried to pacify them but they would not be pacified. Thereupon he said to them: This nation[19] is distinguished by three characteristics: They are merciful, bashful and benevolent. 'Merciful', for it is written, And shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee.[20] 'Bashful', for it is written, That His fear may be before you.[21] 'Benevolent', for it is written, That he may command his children and his household etc.[22] Only he who cultivates these three characteristics is fit to join this nation. But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore into Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.[23] Why just these? — R. Huna replied: They[24] were made to pass before the Holy Ark. He whom the Ark retained [was condemned] to death and he whom the Ark did not retain was saved alive.
R. Hana b. Kattina raised an objection: But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul![25] — He did not allow him to pass.[26] Was there favouritism then! — In fact he did let him pass and it retained him, but he invoked on his behalf divine mercy and it released him. But here, too, favouritism is involved!,[27] — The fact, however, is that he invoked divine mercy that the Ark should not retain him. But, surely, it is written, The fathers shall not be pit to death for the children etc.![28] — R. Hiyya b. Abba replied in the name of R. Johanan: It is better that a letter be rooted out of the Torah than that the Divine name shall be publicly profaned.[29]And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water was poured upon them from heaven; and she suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on then by day, nor the beast of the field by night.[30] But, surely, it is written, His body shall not remain all night upon the tree![31] — R. Johanan replied in the name of R. Simeon b. Jehozadak: It is proper that a letter be rooted out of the Torah so that thereby the heavenly name shall be publicly hallowed. For passers-by were enquiring, 'What kind of men are these?' — 'These are royal princes' — 'And what have they done?' — 'They laid their hands upon unattached[32] strangers' — Then they exclaimed: 'There is no nation in existence which one ought to join as much as this one. If [the punishment of] royal princes was so great. how much more that of common people; and if such [was the justice done for] unattached proselytes, how much more so for Israelites
A hundred and fifty thousand men immediately joined Israel; as it is said, And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bore burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountain.[33] Might not these have been Israelites? — This cannot be assumed, for it is written, But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondservants.[34] But that[35] might have represented mere public service![36] — [The deduction,] however, [is made] from the following: And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the Land of Israel, etc. And they were found a hundred and fifty thousand etc. And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountains.[37]
Was it David, however, who issued the decree of prohibition against the nethinim? Moses, surely, issued that decree, for it is written, from the hewer of thy wood to the drawer of thy water![38] — Moses issued a decree against that generation only[39] while David issued a decree against all generations.
But Joshua, in fact, issued the decree against them, for it is written, And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord![40] — Joshua made his decree for the period during which the Sanctuary was in existence[41] while David made his decree for the time during which the Sanctuary was not in existence.
InRabbinic Judaism, the alleged descendants of the Gibeonites, known asNatinim, are treated differently from ordinary Jews. They may not, for example, marry a Jew by birth. However, a Natin may marryMamzerim andGerim.[42] The men of Gibeon, with Melatiah the Gibeonite at their head, repaired a piece of the wall of Jerusalem near the old gate on the west side of the city (Nehemiah 3:7), while the Nethinim dwelt at Ophel on the east side (Nehemiah 3:26). At the time of Nehemiah and Ezra, they were fully integrated into the Judean community, and were signatories to the former's covenant. Several centuries later, their status had declined rapidly.[43] In the 10 genealogical classes (yuhasin) set forth in theMishnah, they are ranked aboveshetukim (people of whose paternity is unknown) andassufim (foundlings)[44] but beneathmamzerim, the offspring of illicit unions, and were prohibited from marrying Israellites of good standing,[43] though intermarriage between the last four classes, which included freed slaves,[45] was permitted.[46] A child of such illicit unions was defined as anatin.[47] Whereas the Biblical prohibitions against intermarriage with theMoabites,Ammonites,Egyptians andEdomites only applied for a certain number of generations or did not apply at all to their daughters, the ban on marriage with Mamzerim and Nethinim was deemed "perpetual and applies both to males and females".[48]
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| ḳbꜣꜥꜣnꜣ[49][50] inhieroglyphs | ||||||||||
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| Era:3rd Intermediate Period (1069–664 BC) | ||||||||||
The earliest known mention of Gibeon in an extra-biblical source is in a list of cities on the wall of the Amun temple atKarnak, celebrating the invasion of Israel by Egyptian PharaohShoshenq I (945–924 BCE).[49][51]Josephus placed Gibeon at 40 furlongs fromJerusalem.[52]The 10th-century lexicographerDavid ben Abraham al-Fasi, identifiedal-Jib with the ancient city Gibeon, which view was corroborated also by the Hebrew Lexicon compiled byWilhelm Gesenius and Frants Buhl ("nowal-Ǧīb").[53] The first identification of al-Jib with the ancientCanaanite city of Gibeon was made by Frantz Ferdinand von Troilo in 1666, and later adopted byEdward Robinson in 1838 in hisBiblical Researches in Palestine. Later discovery of theAl Jib jar handles added weight to this identification.[54] The remains of Gibeon were excavated in six expeditions from 1956 to 1962, led by theUniversity of Pennsylvania archaeologistJames B. Pritchard.[3][55][56]
Gibeon was founded in theEarly Bronze Age (EB, c. 3300– 2000 BCE),[57] for the excavators discovered 14 EB storage jars beneath the foundations of the Iron Age wall. Other EB remains were discovered at the top of thetell, but the stratigraphy had been destroyed by British gunfire during theFirst World War. It is probable that there was a defensive wall, but this has not yet been found. Tombs cut into the rock on the east site of the hill contained EB jars and bowls, formed first by hand and then finished on a slow wheel. The Early Bronze city was destroyed by fire, but no date has been determined for this destruction.
Permanent settlements in Gibeon appeared in Middle Bronze Age I-II. Many jar handles were stamped with the word gb ̨n(Gibeon).[58]
No trace of a Late Bronze age city has been found.[59] Only seven tombs are known from the period, but they nevertheless point to a degree of sophistication, as they contained importedCypriote ware and local potters attempted to copyMycenaean and Cypriote pottery. It would appear that some, at least, of these tombs had been cut during earlier periods and were being reused.[55][56] Pritchard suggested that somewhere in an area not touched by his four-year dig, remains of the Bronze Age "great city" from the Book of Joshua might still be found.[3]
Gibeon flourished during the late Iron Age II, when the city had large fortifications, a large wine industry and an advanced water system. To the east of the tell, a lavish cemetery of the same period was discovered.[60]
During the earlyIron Age, a massive wall was constructed around the crown of the hill and a huge pool wascut in the living rock just inside the wall. In a first phase it was cut with a diameter of 11.8 m to a depth of 10.8 m, with a spiral staircase of 79 steps cut into the walls of the pool, and in a second phase a tunnel was added that continues downwards to a water chamber 24 m below the level of the city. It is possible, but cannot be proven, that this structure is the "pool of Gibeon" of2 Samuel 2:13. Later in the Iron Age, another tunnel of 93 steps was constructed to a better water source[dubious –discuss] below the city starting from a point near the pool. A second access point to this source from the base of the hill is still in use today.[3][55]
The flat and fertile land with many springs which surrounds it gave rise to a flourishing economy, attested to in the large number of ancient jars and wine cellars discovered there. The jars could hold 45 litres of wine each and 66 wine cellars two meters deep and dug out of rock have been unearthed in Jib.[61]
In the 8th and 7th century BCE there was a considerable wine industry there; cellars with room for 95,000 liters of wine have been found. Impressive among these finds are sixty-three wine cellars. Hebrew inscriptions of גבען (GBʻN) on the handles of wine storage jars, most of which were excavated from a large pool matching the biblical description, made the identification of Gibeon secure and a landmark product ofbiblical archaeology. Pritchard published articles on their production of wine, the Hebrew inscriptions, the rock-cut wine cellars, and the well engineered water conduits that supplied the city water.[citation needed]
From the 6th to the beginning of the 1st century BCE, there is scant evidence of occupation. Potsherds and coinage from the LateHellenistic andHasmonean periods, dating toAntiochus III's andJohn Hyrcanus' reigns, were discovered at the site. During the Roman period there was considerable building, includingstepped baths and water conduits.[3][55]
Gibeon was possibly a dependency of Jerusalem, and was probably not fortified at the time.
Eusebius, in hisOnomasticon, mentions Gibeon (Gabaon) as formerly being inhabited by the Gibeonites, who were aHivite nation, and that their village was located about 4 milestones to the west of Bethel, near Ramah.[62] The 10th-century lexicographer,David ben Abraham al-Fasi identifiedal-Ǧīb" (nowal-Jib) with the ancient city Gibeon, which view was accepted byFrants Buhl and by otherhistorical geographers[63] and described as such in the Hebrew Lexicon compiled byWilhelm Gesenius,[64] and proved by Hebrew inscriptions unearthed in 1956.[55]
At a nearby ruin, built on the southern slope of a ridge at the western side of theal-Jib highland, archaeologists discovered aHellenistic-Second Temple period dwelling, in which were found a plasteredritual bath with three descending staircases and an industrial zone withlime kilns.[65]
During the early phases of theFirst Jewish–Roman War, the Roman governor of Syria (63-65),Cestius Gallus, camped in Gibeon while en route to Jerusalem and again during his retreat.[66]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)The el-Jib = Gibeon equation, first suggested by VON TROILO in 1666 and later adopted by POCOCKE (1738), ROBINSON (1838), ALBRIGHT (1924), ABEL (1934), and others, was strongly contested during the thirty years before the discovery of the jar handles, principally on the basis of information preserved in the Onomasticon of Eusebius.
Executive Committee of the Editorial Board; Jacobs, Joseph (1905)."Nethinim". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 233.
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