Reference: Mizpah
Easton
or Miz'peh, watch-tower; the look-out. (1.) A place in Gilead, so named by Laban, who overtook Jacob at this spot (Ge 31:49) on his return to Palestine from Padan-aram. Here Jacob and Laban set up their memorial cairn of stones. It is the same as Ramath-mizpeh (Jos 13:26).
(2.) A town in Gilead, where Jephthah resided, and where he assumed the command of the Israelites in a time of national danger. Here he made his rash vow; and here his daughter submitted to her mysterious fate (Jg 10:17; 11:11,34). It may be the same as Ramoth-Gilead (Jos 20:8), but it is more likely that it is identical with the foregoing, the Mizpeh of Ge 31:23,25,48-49.
(3.) Another place in Gilead, at the foot of Mount Hermon, inhabited by Hivites (Jos 11:3,8). The name in Hebrew here has the article before it, "the Mizpeh," "the watch-tower." The modern village of Metullah, meaning also "the look-out," probably occupies the site so called.
(4.) A town of Moab to which David removed his parents for safety during his persecution by Saul (1Sa 22:3). This was probably the citadel known as Kir-Moab, now Kerak. While David resided here he was visited by the prophet Gad, here mentioned for the first time, who was probably sent by Samuel to bid him leave the land of Moab and betake himself to the land of Judah. He accordingly removed to the forest of Hareth (q.v.), on the edge of the mountain chain of Hebron.
(5.) A city of Benjamin, "the watch-tower", where the people were accustomed to meet in great national emergencies (Jos 18:26; Jg 20:1,3; 21:1,5; 1Sa 7:5-16). It has been supposed to be the same as Nob (1Sa 21:1; 22:9-19). It was some 4 miles north-west of Jerusalem, and was situated on the loftiest hill in the neighbourhood, some 600 feet above the plain of Gibeon. This village has the modern name of Neby Samwil (Illustration: Neby Samwil), i.e., the prophet Samuel, from a tradition that Samuel's tomb is here. (See Nob.)
Samuel inaugurated the reformation that characterized his time by convening a great assembly of all Israel at Mizpeh, now the politico-religious centre of the nation. There, in deep humiliation on account of their sins, they renewed their vows and entered again into covenant with the God of their fathers. It was a period of great religious awakening and of revived national life. The Philistines heard of this assembly, and came up against Israel. The Hebrews charged the Philistine host with great fury, and they were totally routed. Samuel commemorated this signal victory by erecting a memorial-stone, which he called "Ebenezer" (q.v.), saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us" (1Sa 7:7-12).
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And he will take his brethren with him, and pursue after him a way of seven days: and he will overtake him in Mount Gilead.
And Laban will overtake Jacob. And Jacob pitched his tent in the mount; and Laban pitched with his brethren in Mount Gilead.
And Laban will say, This heap a witness between me and between thee this day, for this its name was called Gilead: And watchtower: for he said Jehovah will watch between me and between thee when we shall be concealed a man from his Mend.
And watchtower: for he said Jehovah will watch between me and between thee when we shall be concealed a man from his Mend.
The Canaanite from the sun-rising and from the sea, and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountain, and the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
And Jehovah will give them into the hand of Israel, and they will smite them, and they will pursue them, even to great Zidon, and even to Misrephoth-Maim, and even to the valley of Mizpeh from the sunrising; and he will smite them till none was left to them escaping.
And from Heshbon even to Ramath-Mizpeh, and Betonim; and from the two camps even to the bound to Debir;
And from beyond Jordan of Jericho from the sunrising, they gave Bezer in the desert in the plain from the tribe of Reuben and Ramoth, in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh.
And the sons of Ammon will be called together, and they will encamp in Gilead. And the sons of Israel will assemble together and encamp in Mizpeh.
And Jephthah will go with the old men of Gilead, and the people will set him over them for head and for chief: and Jephthah will speak all his words before Jehovah in Mizpeh.
And Jephthah will come to Mizpeh to his house, and behold, his daughter will come forth to his meeting with drums and with lutes: and she the only begotten; not to him beside her, son nor daughter.
And all the sons of Israel will go forth, and the assembly will be gathered together as one man, from Dan even to the Well of the Oath, and the land of Gilead to Jehovah to Mizpeh.
And the sons of Benjamin will hear that the sons of Israel went up to Mizpeh. And the sons of Israel will say, Speak ye; how was this evil?
And the men of Israel sware in Mizpeh, saying, A man from us shall not give his daughter to Benjamin for wife.
And the sons of Israel will say, Who from all the tribes of Israel that went not up in the gathering to Jehovah? For there was a great oath against him who went not up to Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, Dying, he shall die.
And Philisteim will hear that the sons of Israel were gathered. together to Mizpeh, and the princes of Philisteim will go up against Israel And the sons of Israel will hear, and be afraid of the face of Philisteim. And the sons of Israel will say to Samuel, Thou wilt not keep silence from us, crying to Jehovah our God, and he will save us from the hand of Philisteim. read more. And Samuel will take one fat lamb and bring up a burnt-offering wholly to Jehovah: and Samuel will cry to Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah will answer him. And Samuel will be bringing up the burnt-offering, and Philisteim drew near to war against Israel: and Jehovah will thunder with a great voice in that day upon Philisteim and he will discomfit them; and they will be smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel will go forth out of Mizpeh and they will pursue Philisteim, and they will strike them even from beneath to the House of Pasture. And Samuel will take one stone and set between Mizpeh and between Shen, and he will call its name the Stone of Help; and he will say, Till now Jehovah helped us.
And David will come to Nob to Abimelech the priest: and Abimelech will tremble to meet David, and he will say to him, Wherefore thou thyself alone and no man with thee?
And David will go from thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he will say to the king of Moab, My father will come forth now, and my mother with you, till I shall know what God will do to me.
And Doeg the Edomite will answer, and he being set over the servants of Saul, and he will say, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob to Ahimelech, son of Ahitub. And he will ask for him in Jehovah, and he gave to him provision, and the sword of Goliah the rover he gave to him. read more. And the king will send to call Ahimelech, son of Ahitub the priest, and all his father's house, the priests which are in Nob: and all of them will come to the king. And Saul will say, Hear now, son of Ahitub. And he will say, Behold me, my lord. And Saul will say to him, Why were ye bound together against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in thy giving to him bread and a sword, and asking for him in God to rise up against me, to lie in wait as this day? And Ahimelech will answer the king and say, And who among all thy servants faithful as David, and son-in-law of the king, and he departed at hearing thee, and honored in thy house? This day did I begin to ask for him in God? far be it to me. The king shall not put upon his servant upon all the house of my father: for thy servant knew not a word upon all this, small or great And the king will say, Dying, thou shalt die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house. And the king will say to the runners standing by him, Turn about and kill the priests of Jehovah, for their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not uncover his ear. And the king's servants would not stretch forth their hand to fall upon the priests of Jehovah. And the king will say to Doeg, Turn thou about, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite will turn about, and he will fall upon the priests and kill in that day eighty and five men lifting up a linen ephod. And Nob the city of the priests. he struck with the mouth of the sword, from man and even to woman, from child and even to suckling, and ox, and ass, and sheep, with the mouth of the sword.
Fausets
Hebrew "the Mizpah," generally a "watchtower". Mizpeh (masculine) expresses rather the town; Mizpah (feminine) the district (Jos 11:8,8).
1. In Gilead E. of Jordan. The name Laban gave to Galeed, the "heap of witness," the memorial of his covenant with Jacob, and the boundary landmark between them (Ge 31:48-49,52), "for he said, Jehovah watch between me and thee when we are absent one from another." (See GALEED.) Herein he adopts Jacoh's language (Hebrew) and religion (Jehovah's worship). In Ho 5:1, "ye house of the king, ye have been a snare on Mizpah and a net spread upon Tabor," the sense is, Ye ought to have been "watchers" guarding Israel from evil, but ye have been as hunters entrapping them into it. Mizpah in the E. and Tabor in the W. include the high places of the whole kingdom in which the rulers set up idol altars. Here Israel assembled to choose a leader in its "misery" when Ammon, having oppressed eastern Palestine, was threatening also to attack Judah and Ephraim W. of Jordan.
Jephthah passed Mizpah on his way from Gilead to fight Ammon (Jg 10:16-17; 11:29). Here on the hallowed ground he "uttered all his words before Jehovah in the Mizpah." Thenceforth his home was there; and at Mizpah the sad meeting with his daughter took place (Jg 11:34). Seemingly identical with Ramoth Gilead, or Ramath ("high place") Mizpeh (Jos 13:26); now es Salt, or else Mizpah is the Mount Jebel Osha, to the N.W. Here too Israel met, as being the ancient sanctuary, to determine what was to be done after the outrage perpetrated at Gibeah (Jg 20:1,3; 21:1,5,8).
2. Mizpeh Moab, where the Moabite king lived when David entrusted his parents to him (1Sa 22:3). Possibly Kir Moab, now Kerak, S.E. of the Dead Sea. More probably a mountain fastness on the high land bounding the Arboth Moab on the E. of the Dead Sea; on the mountains Abarim or Pisgah (De 34:1), which David could easily reach from Bethlehem by crossing the Jordan near its entrance into the Dead Sea. Mount Pisgah was the most commanding eminence in Moab, and contained the sanctuary Nebo, of which part was called Zophim (derived from the same root as Mizpeh).
3. The land of Mizpah, the abode of the Hivites, "under Hermon," who joined Jabin against Joshua (Jos 11:8). To "the valley of Mizpah eastward" Joshua chased Jabin's conquered hosts (Jos 11:8). The valley is probably part of the great hollow, Coelo-Syria, now Buka'a (Am 1:5, margin), containing Baalbek; near which on the N. is the hill Haush tell Safiyeh.
4. Mizpah of Benjamin (Jos 18:26). Fortified by Asa against the invasions of northern Israel (1Ki 15:22). The residence and scene of Gedaliah's murder (Jer 40:7-10; 41:1-2), At Mizpah Israel repented at Samuel's call (1Sa 7:5-6), and "drew water and poured it out before the Lord," pleading symbolically their misery, powerlessness, and prostration by the Philistines, that so God might strengthen them. An act of deepest humiliation and confession of misery, the result of sin. (Ps 22:14; 58:7; 2Sa 14:14; Isa 40:29-30; 2Co 12:9-10; La 2:19, "pour out thine heart like water before the face of Jehovah.") Here Samuel appointed Saul king (1Ki 10:17-25). Mizpah with Bethel and Gilgal were the three cities which Samuel as judge visited on circuit.
Men of Mizpah on the return from Babylon helped in rebuilding the wall; "the ruler of the district of Mizpah" and "the ruler of Mizpah" took part in it (Ne 3:7,15,19). Judas Maccabeus (1Ma 3:44) assembled the Jews at Maspha, as being "aforetime a place of prayer over against (implying Mizpah was in full sight of) Jerusalem." Josephus (Ant. 11:8, section 5; B. J. v. 2-3; 2:19, section 4; 5:2-3) mentions Sapha (a corruption of Maspha, Mizpah) as the place of Alexander's meeting Jaddua the high priest; and elsewhere calls it Scopus, i.e. the look-out place, from whence on the broad ridge (the continuation of Olivet), seven stadia N. of the city, one gains the first view of Jerusalem. The Septuagint twice renders Mizpah skopia. Nebi Samwil, on the W. bound of Benjamin toward the Philistines, with whom Israel was about to war (1Sa 7:5-6), Robinson identifies with Mizpah.
But it is five miles off, though in view of the Sakhrah of the temple and the Church of the Sepulchre; and this is at variance with 1 Maccabees, "over against Jerusalem." Moreover it is out of the way of the pilgrims from Samaria to Jerusalem, murdered by Ishmael; whereas Scopus is in the direct road (Jer 41:7). Sennacherib at Nob first caught the full view of "the house of Zion and hill of Jerusalem"; Nob therefore is probably Mizpah. Condor (Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement, January, 1875) identifies Nob with Nebi Samwil, the Arabs mistaking Nob "high place" for Nebi "prophet." Nebi Samwil is so near Gibeon that it must have been the high place visited by Solomon; the view from it is splendid. Traces of the outer court of the tabernacle are yet discoverable, and a curious rock cut approach. (but, see NOB.)
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And Laban will say, This heap a witness between me and between thee this day, for this its name was called Gilead: And watchtower: for he said Jehovah will watch between me and between thee when we shall be concealed a man from his Mend.
A witness this heap, and a witness the pillar, if I will not pass over this heap to thee, and thou shalt not pass over to me, this heap and this pillar for evil.
And Moses will go up from the desert of Moab to mount Nebo, the head of Pisgah, which is upon the face of Jericho: and Jehovah will cause him to see all the land of Gilead, even to Dan.
And Jehovah will give them into the hand of Israel, and they will smite them, and they will pursue them, even to great Zidon, and even to Misrephoth-Maim, and even to the valley of Mizpeh from the sunrising; and he will smite them till none was left to them escaping.
And Jehovah will give them into the hand of Israel, and they will smite them, and they will pursue them, even to great Zidon, and even to Misrephoth-Maim, and even to the valley of Mizpeh from the sunrising; and he will smite them till none was left to them escaping.
And Jehovah will give them into the hand of Israel, and they will smite them, and they will pursue them, even to great Zidon, and even to Misrephoth-Maim, and even to the valley of Mizpeh from the sunrising; and he will smite them till none was left to them escaping.
And Jehovah will give them into the hand of Israel, and they will smite them, and they will pursue them, even to great Zidon, and even to Misrephoth-Maim, and even to the valley of Mizpeh from the sunrising; and he will smite them till none was left to them escaping.
And from Heshbon even to Ramath-Mizpeh, and Betonim; and from the two camps even to the bound to Debir;
And they will remove the strange gods from the midst of them, and they will serve Jehovah: and his soul will be shortened for the labor of Israel. And the sons of Ammon will be called together, and they will encamp in Gilead. And the sons of Israel will assemble together and encamp in Mizpeh.
And the spirit of Jehovah will be upon Jephthah, and he will pass through Gilead and Manasseh, and he will pass through Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the sons of Ammon.
And Jephthah will come to Mizpeh to his house, and behold, his daughter will come forth to his meeting with drums and with lutes: and she the only begotten; not to him beside her, son nor daughter.
And all the sons of Israel will go forth, and the assembly will be gathered together as one man, from Dan even to the Well of the Oath, and the land of Gilead to Jehovah to Mizpeh.
And the sons of Benjamin will hear that the sons of Israel went up to Mizpeh. And the sons of Israel will say, Speak ye; how was this evil?
And the men of Israel sware in Mizpeh, saying, A man from us shall not give his daughter to Benjamin for wife.
And the sons of Israel will say, Who from all the tribes of Israel that went not up in the gathering to Jehovah? For there was a great oath against him who went not up to Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, Dying, he shall die.
And they will say, What one from the tribes of Israel who came not up to Jehovah to Mizpeh? And behold, not a man came from the camp of Jabesh-Gilead to the gathering.
And Samuel will say, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you to Jehovah.
And Samuel will say, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you to Jehovah. And they will gather together to Mizpeh, and draw water and pour out before Jehovah; and they will fast in that day and say there, We sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel will judge the sons of Israel in Mizpeh.
And they will gather together to Mizpeh, and draw water and pour out before Jehovah; and they will fast in that day and say there, We sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel will judge the sons of Israel in Mizpeh.
And David will go from thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he will say to the king of Moab, My father will come forth now, and my mother with you, till I shall know what God will do to me.
And three hundred shields of beaten gold; three parts of gold will come up upon the one shield: and the king will give them to the house of the forest of Lebanon. And the king will make a great ivory throne, and overlaid it with pure gold. read more. Six steps to the throne, and the head rounded to the throne from its back parts: and hands hence and thence upon the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the hands. And twelve lions standing there upon the six steps, hence and thence: there was not made thus to all the kingdoms. And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon, gold, and every vessel of the house of the forest of Lebanon, gold shut up; nothing silver: it was not reckoned in the days of Solomon for any thing. for a ship of Tharshish to the king in the sea with the ship of Hiram: one for three years will come, a ship of Tharshish lifting up gold and silver and ivory and apes and peacocks. And king Solomon will be magnified above all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth are seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God gave in his heart And they were bringing each his gifts, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and garments and weapons and spices, horses, and mules, the word of a year in a year.
And king Asa caused all Judah to hear; none free: and they will lift up the stones of Ramah and its woods which Baasha built, and king Asa will build with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpeh.
And upon their band held fast Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and Mizpeh to the throne of the prefect beyond the river.
And the gate of the fountain Shallum son of Colhozeh, ruler of the circuit of Mizpeh, held fast; he will build it and cover it, and set, it up, its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and the walls of the pool of Shiloh by the king's garden, and even to the steps going down from the city of David.
And upon his hand held fast Ezer son of Joshua, chief of Mizpeh, the second measure from before the going up of the weapons of the corner.
I was poured out as water, and all my bones were sundered; my heart was as wax being melted in the midst of my bowels.
They shall melt away as water shall go about to them: he will bend his arrow, they shall be as cut off.
He gave power to the faint; and to the not strong he will increase strength. And the boys shall be faint and weary, and the young men faltering, shall become feeble
And all the chiefs of the armies which were in the field, they and their men will hear, for the king of Babel appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land, and that he committed to him the men and the women and children and the poor of the land from whom they were not carried away captive to Babel. And they will come to Gedaliah to Mizpeh, and Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan, sons of Kareah, and Seraiah, son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maachathite, they and their men. read more. And Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, will swear to them and to their men, saying, Ye shall not fear serving the Chaldeans: dwell in the land and serve the king of Babel, and it shall be well to you. And I, behold me dwelling in Mizpeh to stand before the Chaldeans who will come to us: and ye, gather ye Wine, and the fruit harvest, and oil, and put in your vessels, and dwell in your cities which ye took
And it will be in the seventh month, came Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, from the seed of the kingdom, and the chiefs of the king, and ten men with him, to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, to Mizpeh, and there will they eat bread together in Mizpeh. And Ishmael son of Nethaniah will rise, and the ten men which were with him, and they will strike Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, with the sword, and he will kill him whom the king of Babel appointed over the land.
And it will be as they came to the midst of the city, Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, will slaughter them to the midst of the pit, he and the men that were with him.
Arise, cry aloud in the night: at the head of the watches pour out thy heart as water before the face of Jehovah: lift up thy hands to him for the soul of thy young children fainting with hunger in the head of all the streets.
Hear this ye priests, and attend, ye house of Israel, and give ear, ye house of the king; for the judgment is to you, because ye were a snare to the watch tower and a net stretched out upon Tabor.
And I broke the bar of Damascus, and I cut off the inhabitants of the valleys of vanity, and him taking hold of the rod of the house of delight: and the people of Aram were carried away captive to a walled place said Jehovah.
Morish
Miz'pah Mizpeh. Miz'peh
1. The place where Jacob and Laban parted, after making a covenant and raising a heap of stones as a witness of the covenant and as a landmark between them. It was on the east of the Jordan, somewhere in Gilead. Ge 31:49; Jg 10:17; 11:11,29,34. It is probably the place mentioned in Jg 20:1,3; 21:1,5,8. Some suppose it to be identical with RAMATH-MIZPEH in Jos 13:26; and this to be the same as RAMOTH-GILEAD. Others judge these to be all different places and that No. 1 is identified with Suf, 32 18' N, 35 50' E.
2. LAND OF MIZPEH, the resort of the Hivites, who joined with Jabin to attack Joshua. It was 'under Hermon,' and therefore in the north of Palestine, Jos 11:3; this is possibly the same as
3. VALLEY OF MIZPEH to which Joshua chased the allies. Jos 11:8. Probably the extensive valley on the east of Mount Lebanon.
4. Town in the lowlands of Judah. Jos 15:38. Not identified.
5. City of Moab, where David placed his parents for safety. 1Sa 22:3. Not identified.
6. City of Benjamin, in the vicinity of Ramah and Gibeon. Jos 18:26. It was the city to which Samuel gathered the people, as 'to the Lord,' and where he judged Israel, and where also he presented Saul to them as their king. 1Sa 7:5-16; 10:17. The city was rebuilt by Asa king of Judah, and, after the destruction of Jerusalem, Gedaliah the governor established himself there. 1Ki 15:22; 25/23/type/juliasmith'>2Ki 25:23,25; 2Ch 16:6; Jer 40:6-15; 41:1-16; Ho 5:1. Probably the same place is alluded to in Ne 3:7,15,19. Identified by some with Neby Samwil, 31 50' N, 35 10' E.
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And watchtower: for he said Jehovah will watch between me and between thee when we shall be concealed a man from his Mend.
The Canaanite from the sun-rising and from the sea, and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountain, and the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
And Jehovah will give them into the hand of Israel, and they will smite them, and they will pursue them, even to great Zidon, and even to Misrephoth-Maim, and even to the valley of Mizpeh from the sunrising; and he will smite them till none was left to them escaping.
And from Heshbon even to Ramath-Mizpeh, and Betonim; and from the two camps even to the bound to Debir;
And the sons of Ammon will be called together, and they will encamp in Gilead. And the sons of Israel will assemble together and encamp in Mizpeh.
And Jephthah will go with the old men of Gilead, and the people will set him over them for head and for chief: and Jephthah will speak all his words before Jehovah in Mizpeh.
And the spirit of Jehovah will be upon Jephthah, and he will pass through Gilead and Manasseh, and he will pass through Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the sons of Ammon.
And Jephthah will come to Mizpeh to his house, and behold, his daughter will come forth to his meeting with drums and with lutes: and she the only begotten; not to him beside her, son nor daughter.
And all the sons of Israel will go forth, and the assembly will be gathered together as one man, from Dan even to the Well of the Oath, and the land of Gilead to Jehovah to Mizpeh.
And the sons of Benjamin will hear that the sons of Israel went up to Mizpeh. And the sons of Israel will say, Speak ye; how was this evil?
And the men of Israel sware in Mizpeh, saying, A man from us shall not give his daughter to Benjamin for wife.
And the sons of Israel will say, Who from all the tribes of Israel that went not up in the gathering to Jehovah? For there was a great oath against him who went not up to Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, Dying, he shall die.
And they will say, What one from the tribes of Israel who came not up to Jehovah to Mizpeh? And behold, not a man came from the camp of Jabesh-Gilead to the gathering.
And Samuel will say, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you to Jehovah. And they will gather together to Mizpeh, and draw water and pour out before Jehovah; and they will fast in that day and say there, We sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel will judge the sons of Israel in Mizpeh. read more. And Philisteim will hear that the sons of Israel were gathered. together to Mizpeh, and the princes of Philisteim will go up against Israel And the sons of Israel will hear, and be afraid of the face of Philisteim. And the sons of Israel will say to Samuel, Thou wilt not keep silence from us, crying to Jehovah our God, and he will save us from the hand of Philisteim. And Samuel will take one fat lamb and bring up a burnt-offering wholly to Jehovah: and Samuel will cry to Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah will answer him. And Samuel will be bringing up the burnt-offering, and Philisteim drew near to war against Israel: and Jehovah will thunder with a great voice in that day upon Philisteim and he will discomfit them; and they will be smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel will go forth out of Mizpeh and they will pursue Philisteim, and they will strike them even from beneath to the House of Pasture. And Samuel will take one stone and set between Mizpeh and between Shen, and he will call its name the Stone of Help; and he will say, Till now Jehovah helped us. And Philisteim will be subdued, and they will no more add to come into the bound of Israel: and the hand of Jehovah will be against Philisteim all the days of Samuel And the cities that Philisteim took from Israel will be turned back to Israel, from Ekron, even to Gath; and their bound Israel will deliver from the hand of Philisteim: and peace will be between Israel and between the Amorite. And Samuel will judge Israel all the days of his life. And he went as often as from year to year, and be turned about the House of God, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and he judged Israel in all these places.
And Samuel will convoke the people together to Jehovah at Mizpeh;
And David will go from thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he will say to the king of Moab, My father will come forth now, and my mother with you, till I shall know what God will do to me.
And king Asa caused all Judah to hear; none free: and they will lift up the stones of Ramah and its woods which Baasha built, and king Asa will build with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpeh.
And upon their band held fast Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and Mizpeh to the throne of the prefect beyond the river.
And the gate of the fountain Shallum son of Colhozeh, ruler of the circuit of Mizpeh, held fast; he will build it and cover it, and set, it up, its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and the walls of the pool of Shiloh by the king's garden, and even to the steps going down from the city of David.
And upon his hand held fast Ezer son of Joshua, chief of Mizpeh, the second measure from before the going up of the weapons of the corner.
And Jeremiah will go to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, to Mizpeh, and he will dwell with him in the midst of the people being left in the land. And all the chiefs of the armies which were in the field, they and their men will hear, for the king of Babel appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land, and that he committed to him the men and the women and children and the poor of the land from whom they were not carried away captive to Babel. read more. And they will come to Gedaliah to Mizpeh, and Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan, sons of Kareah, and Seraiah, son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maachathite, they and their men. And Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, will swear to them and to their men, saying, Ye shall not fear serving the Chaldeans: dwell in the land and serve the king of Babel, and it shall be well to you. And I, behold me dwelling in Mizpeh to stand before the Chaldeans who will come to us: and ye, gather ye Wine, and the fruit harvest, and oil, and put in your vessels, and dwell in your cities which ye took And also all the Jews which are in Moab, and among the sons of Ammon, and in Edom, and in the lands, heard that the king of Babel gave a remnant to Judah, and that he appointed over them Gedaliah son of Alukam, son of Shaphan. And all the Jews from all the places where they were thrust out there will turn back, and they will come to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, to Mizpeh, and they will gather wine and the fruit harvest exceeding much. Johanan son of Kareah, and all the chiefs of the armies which were in the field came to Gedaliah to Mizpeh. And they will say to him, Knowing, wilt thou know that Baalis, king of the sons of Ammon sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to strike thee in soul? And Gedaliah son of Ahikam believed not in them. And Johanan son of Kareah said to Gedaliah in Mizpeh, in secret, saying, I will go now and strike Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know: wherefore shall he strike the soul, and all the Jews gathered to thee be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish?
And it will be in the seventh month, came Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, from the seed of the kingdom, and the chiefs of the king, and ten men with him, to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, to Mizpeh, and there will they eat bread together in Mizpeh. And Ishmael son of Nethaniah will rise, and the ten men which were with him, and they will strike Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, with the sword, and he will kill him whom the king of Babel appointed over the land. read more. And all the Jews which were with him with Gedaliah in Mizpeh, and the Chaldeans which were. found there with the men of war, Ishmael smote. And it will be in the second day of killing Gedaliah, and not a man knew. And men will come from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Shomeron, eighty men, shaving the beard, and their garments rent, and cutting themselves, and a gift and frankincense in their hand, to bring to the house of Jehovah. And Ishmael son of Nethaniah came forth to meet them from Mizpeh; he went going and weeping: and it will be as he fell in with them, and he will say to them, Come to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam. And it will be as they came to the midst of the city, Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, will slaughter them to the midst of the pit, he and the men that were with him. And ten men were found among them, and they will say to Ishmael, Thou shalt not slay us: for there is to us treasures in the field, wheat and barley and oil and honey. And he will desist and kill them not in the midst of their brethren. And the pit where Ishmael cast there all the corpses of the men whom he struck by the hand of Gedaliah was that which king Asa made from the face of Baasha king of Israel: Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the wounded. And Ishmael will carry away captive all the remnant of the people which were in Mizpeh, the king's daughters and all the people being left in Mizpeh, which Nebuzaradan chief of the cooks committed to Gedaliah son of Ahikam: and Ishmael son of Nethaniah will carry them captive, and he will depart to pass over to the sons of Ammon. And Johanan son of Kareah will hear, and all the chiefs of the armies which were with him, all the evil which Ishmael son of Nethaniah did. And they will take all the men and go to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and they will find him at the many waters which are in the hill. And it will be as all the people that were with Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah, and all the chiefs of the army which are with him, they will rejoice And all the people which Ishmael carried away captive from Mizpeh will turn about and turn back and go to Johanan son of Kareah. And Ishmael son of Nethaniah escaped with eight men from the face of Johanan, and he went to the sons of Ammon. And Johanan son of Kareah will take, and all the captains of the armies which were with him, all the remnant whom he turned back from Ishmael son of Nethaniah from Mizpeh, after he struck Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the strong men of war, and the women and children, and the eunuchs which he turned back from the hill.
Hear this ye priests, and attend, ye house of Israel, and give ear, ye house of the king; for the judgment is to you, because ye were a snare to the watch tower and a net stretched out upon Tabor.
Smith
Miz'pah
and Miz'peh (a watch-tower), the name of several places in Palestine.
1. The earliest of all, in order of the narrative, is the heap of stones piled up by Jacob and Laban,
on Mount Gilead, ver.
to serve both as a witness to the covenant then entered into and as a landmark of the boundary between them. ver.
On this natural watch-tower did the children of Israel assemble for the choice of a leader to resist the children of Ammon.
There the fatal meeting took place between Jephthah and his daughter on his return from the war. ch.
It seems most probable that the "Mizpeh-gilead" which is mentioned here, and here only, is the same as the "ham-Mizpah" of the other parts of the narrative; and both are probably identical with the Ramath-mizpeh and Ramoth-gilead, so famous in the later history.
2. A second Mizpeh, on the east of Jordan, was the Mizpeh-moab, where the king of that nation was living when David committed his parents to his care.
3. A third was "the land of Mizpeh," or more accurately "of Mizpah," the residence of the Hivites who joined the northern confederacy against Israel, headed by Jabin king of Hazor.
No other mention is found of this district in the Bible, unless it be identical with --
4. The valley of Mizpeh, to which the discomfited hosts of the same confederacy were chased by Joshua,
perhaps identical with the great country of Coele-Syria.
5. Mizpeh, a city of Judah,
in the district of the Shefelah or maritime lowland.
6. Mizpeh, in Joshua and Samuel; elsewhere Mizpah, a "city" of Benjamin, not far from Jerusalem.
Jos 18:26; 1Ki 15:22; 2Ch 16:6; Ne 3:7
It was one of the places fortified by Asa against the incursions of the kings of northern Israel,
1Ki 15:22; 2Ch 16:6; Jer 41:10
and after the destruction of Jerusalem it became the residence of the superintendent appointed by the king of Babylon,
etc., and the scene of his murder and of the romantic incidents connected with the name of Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. It was one of the three holy cities which Samuel visited in turn as judge of the people,
the other two being Bethel and Gilgal. With the conquest of Jerusalem and the establishment there of the ark, the sanctity of Mizpah, or at least its reputation, seems to have declined. From Mizpah the city or the temple was visible. These conditions are satisfied by the position of Scopus, the broad ridge which forms the continuation of the Mount of Olives to the north and cast, from which the traveller gains, like Titus, his first view, and takes his last farewell, of the domes, walls and towers of the holy city.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Laban will overtake Jacob. And Jacob pitched his tent in the mount; and Laban pitched with his brethren in Mount Gilead.
And Laban will say, This heap a witness between me and between thee this day, for this its name was called Gilead:
A witness this heap, and a witness the pillar, if I will not pass over this heap to thee, and thou shalt not pass over to me, this heap and this pillar for evil.
The Canaanite from the sun-rising and from the sea, and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountain, and the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
And Jehovah will give them into the hand of Israel, and they will smite them, and they will pursue them, even to great Zidon, and even to Misrephoth-Maim, and even to the valley of Mizpeh from the sunrising; and he will smite them till none was left to them escaping.
And the sons of Ammon will be called together, and they will encamp in Gilead. And the sons of Israel will assemble together and encamp in Mizpeh.
And Jephthah will come to Mizpeh to his house, and behold, his daughter will come forth to his meeting with drums and with lutes: and she the only begotten; not to him beside her, son nor daughter.
And they will gather together to Mizpeh, and draw water and pour out before Jehovah; and they will fast in that day and say there, We sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel will judge the sons of Israel in Mizpeh.
And he went as often as from year to year, and be turned about the House of God, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and he judged Israel in all these places.
And king Asa caused all Judah to hear; none free: and they will lift up the stones of Ramah and its woods which Baasha built, and king Asa will build with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpeh.
And upon their band held fast Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and Mizpeh to the throne of the prefect beyond the river.
And all the chiefs of the armies which were in the field, they and their men will hear, for the king of Babel appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land, and that he committed to him the men and the women and children and the poor of the land from whom they were not carried away captive to Babel.
And Ishmael will carry away captive all the remnant of the people which were in Mizpeh, the king's daughters and all the people being left in Mizpeh, which Nebuzaradan chief of the cooks committed to Gedaliah son of Ahikam: and Ishmael son of Nethaniah will carry them captive, and he will depart to pass over to the sons of Ammon.
Watsons
MIZPAH, or MIZPEH, a city of the tribe of Benjamin, situated in a plain, about eighteen miles west of Jerusalem. Here Samuel dwelt; and here he called Israel together, to observe a solemn fast for their sins, and to supplicate God for his assistance against the Philistines; after which they sallied out on their enemies, already discomfited by the thunders of heaven, and gave them a total defeat, 1 Samuel 7. Here, also, Saul was anointed king, 1Sa 10:17-25. It appears that between this and the time of Asa, king of Judah, Mizpeh had suffered probably in some of the intervening wars, as we are told that Asa built it with the stones and timber of Ramah, 1Ki 15:22. There was another Mizpeh in Gilead; on the spot where Jacob set up the pillar or heap of stones, to commemorate the covenant there made between him and Laban, Ge 31:49. (See Gilead.) There was also a third Mizpeh, in the land of Moab, where David placed his father and mother, while he remained in his retreat at Adullam, 1Sa 22:3. It is to be observed, that Mizpeh implies a beacon or watch tower, a pillar or heap of commemoration; and at all the places bearing this name, it is probable that a single pillar, or a rude pile, was erected as the witness and the record of some particular event. These, subsequently, became altars and places of convocation on public occasions, religious and civil.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And watchtower: for he said Jehovah will watch between me and between thee when we shall be concealed a man from his Mend.
And Samuel will convoke the people together to Jehovah at Mizpeh; And he will say to the sons of Israel, Thus spake Jehovah the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I will deliver you out of the hand of Egypt, and out of the hand of all kingdoms pressing you. read more. And ye this day rejected your God who himself saves you from all your evils and your straits; and ye will say to him, That thou shalt put a king over us. And now stand ye before Jehovah by your tribes and by your thousands. And Samuel will cause all the tribes of Israel to come near, and the tribe of Benjamin will be taken. And he will cause the tribe of Benjamin to come near by his families, and the family of Matri will be taken, and Saul son of Kish will be taken: and they will seek and he was not found. And they will ask yet of Jehovah, Will the man yet come hither? And Jehovah will say, Behold, he hid himself among the vessels. And they will run and and take him from thence, and he will stand in the midst of the people; and he will be high above all the people,. from his shoulders and above. And Samuel will say to all the people, See whom Jehovah chose to him, for none like him among all the people. And all the people will shout and say, The king shall live. And Samuel will speak to the people the judgment of the kingdom; and he will write in a book and put before Jehovah. And Samuel will send away all the people, a man to his house.
And David will go from thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he will say to the king of Moab, My father will come forth now, and my mother with you, till I shall know what God will do to me.
And king Asa caused all Judah to hear; none free: and they will lift up the stones of Ramah and its woods which Baasha built, and king Asa will build with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpeh.