Reference: Gibeah
Hastings
The name, similar in form and meaning to Geba, attached to a place not far from that city. The two have sometimes been confused. It is necessary to note carefully where the word means 'hill' and where it is the name of a city. At least two places were so called. 1. A city in the mountains of Judah (Jos 15:57, perhaps also 2Ch 13:2), near Carmel and Ziph, to the S. E. of Hebron, and therefore not to be identified with the modern Jeba', 9 miles W. of Bethlehem (Onomast.); site unknown. 2. Gibeah of Benjamin (Jg 19:12 etc.), the scene of the awful outrage upon the Levite's concubine, and of the conflict in which the assembled tribes executed such terrible vengeance upon Benjamin. It was the home of Israel's first king (1Sa 10:26), and was known as 'Gibeah of Saul' (1Sa 11:4; Isa 10:29); probably identical with 'Gibeah of God' (1Sa 10:5 Revised Version margin). From the narrative regarding the Levite we learn that Gibeah lay near the N. road from Bethlehem, between Jerusalem and Ramah. It was near the point where the road from Geba joined the highway towards Bethel (Jg 20:31). Jg 20:33 affords no guidance: Maareh-geba (RV) is only a transliteration of the words as they stand in Massoretic Text. A slight emendation of the text makes it read 'from the west of Gibeah,' which is probably correct (Moore, Judges, in loc.). Josephus, who calls it 'Gabaothsaul' (BJ V. ii. 1), places it 30 stadia N. of Jerusalem. The site most closely agreeing with these conditions is Tuleil el-F