Geba

From BibleEncyclopedia.Net

The hill, (2 Samuel 5:25; 1 Chronicles 14:16, “Gibeon”]; 2 Kings 23:8; Nehemiah 11:31), a Levitical city of Benjamin (1 Kings 15:22; 1 Samuel 13:16; 1 Samuel 14:5, wrongly “Gibeah” in the A.V.), on the north border of Judah near Gibeah (Isaiah 10:29; Joshua 18:24, Joshua 18:28). “From Geba to Beersheba” expressed the whole extent of the kingdom of Judah, just as “from Dan to Beersheba” described the whole length of Palestine (2 Kings 23:8). It has been identified with Gaba ([[Joshua 18:24]; Ezra 2:26; Nehemiah 7:30), now Jeb'a, about 5 1/2 miles north of Jerusalem.

gē´ba (גּבע, gebha‛, “hill”):

(1) A town on the Northeast boundary of the territory of Benjamin (Joshua 18:24), given to the Levites (Joshua 21:17; 1 Chronicles 6:60). It stood on the northern frontier of the kingdom of Judah, Geba and Beersheba marking respectively the northern and southern limits (2 Kings 23:8). In 2 Samuel 5:25 “Geba” should be altered to “Gibeon,” which stands in the corresponding passage, 1 Chronicles 14:16. In Judges 20:10, Judges 20:33; 1 Samuel 13:3, 1 Samuel 13:16, the Hebrew reads “Geba,” the translation “Gibeah” being due to confusion of the two names. From 1 Samuel 14:5 we gather that Geba stood to the South of the great gorge, Wādy Suweinīt, commanding the pass at Michmash. This was the scene of Jonathan's daring enterprise against the Philistines, when, accompanied by his armor-bearer, he accomplished an apparently impossible feat, climbing the rocky steeps of the gorge to the North and putting the enemy to flight. There can be no doubt that the modern village of Jeba‛ occupies the ancient site. It stands to the South of Wādy Suweinīt, looking toward Michmash - modern Mukhmās - with Seneh, the crag on the southern lip of the gorge, in front of it. The distance from Jerusalem is about 6 miles. It was fortified by Asa with materials that his enemy Baasha had used to fortify Ramah against him (1 Kings 15:22). It is named by Isaiah in his description of the terrifying march of the Assyrians upon Jerusalem from the North (Isaiah 10:28). It appears among the cities which were reoccupied by Israel after the Exile (Ezra 2:26, etc.; Nehemiah 11:31).

(2) (Γαιβαί, Gaibaí): Between a fortress so named and Scythopolis (Beisān), Holofernes pitched his camp (Judith 3:10). On the high road that runs through Jenīn, and down the Vale of Jezreel to Beisān, about 2 miles to the South of Sanūr, stands the village of Jeba‛, with which this fortress may be identified.