Gibeah

A traveller and his household look for a bed for the night, and choose Gibeah in Benjamin because it is one of their own people’s towns. What follows in Judges 19 is among the darkest stories in the Bible, a terrible crime by men of the town that leaves the whole land shaken, and those who saw it say “no such deed done nor seen.” It was remembered for generations; Hosea 9:9 warns of people who have corrupted themselves “as in the days of Gibeah.” Gibeah is also where Saul made his home (1 Samuel 10:26). Read Judges 19 slowly, and with care.

23 verses

Judges

Judges 19:12

And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.

Judges 19:13

And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah.

Judges 19:14

And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.

Judges 19:15

And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.

Judges 19:16

And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.

Judges 19:17

And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?

Judges 19:18

And he said unto him, We are passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me to house.

Judges 19:19

Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing.

Judges 19:20

And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.

Judges 19:21

So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.

Judges 19:22

Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.

Judges 19:23

And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.

Judges 19:24

Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.

Judges 19:25

But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

Judges 19:26

Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.

Judges 19:27

And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.

Judges 19:28

And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.

Judges 19:29

And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

Judges 19:30

And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.

1 Samuel

1 Samuel 7:1

And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.

1 Samuel 10:26

And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.

1 Samuel 15:34

Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.

Hosea

Hosea 9:9

They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

A hill or hill-town, “of Benjamin” (1 Sam. 13:15), better known as “Gibeah of Saul” (11:4; Isa. 10:29). It was here that the terrible outrage was committed on the Levite’s concubine which led to the almost utter extirpation of the tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 19; 20), only six hundred men surviving after a succession of disastrous battles. This was the birthplace of Saul, and continued to be his residence after he became king (1 Sam. 10:26; 11:4; 15:34). It was reckoned among the ancient sanctuaries of Palestine (10:26; 15:34; 23:19; 26:1; 2 Sam. 21:6-10), and hence it is called “Gibeah of God” (1 Sam. 10:5, R.V. marg.). It has been identified with the modern Tell el-Ful (i.e., “hill of the bean”), about 3 miles north of Jerusalem.

Read the full entry

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

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, (Joshua 15:57) and comp. 1Chr 2:49 etc.

(2.) Gibeah of Benjamin first appears in the tragical story of the Levite and his concubine. (Judges 19:20) It was then a "city," with the usual open street or square, (Judges 19:15,17,20) and containing 700 "chosen men," ch. (Judges 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. (1 Samuel 13:15,16) It now bears its full title. As "Gibeah of Benjamin" this place is referred to in (2 Samuel 23:29) (comp. 1Chr 11:31), and as "Gibeah" it is mentioned by Hosea, (Hosea 5:8; 9:9; 10:9) but it does not again appear in the history. It is, however, almost without doubt identical with

Read the full entry

(3.) Gibeah of Saul. This is not mentioned as Saul’s city till after his anointing, (1 Samuel 10:26) when is said to have gone "home" to Gibeah. In the subsequent narrative the town bears its full name. ch (1 Samuel 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. (2 Samuel 6:3,4) comp. 1Sam 7:1,2

(5.) Gibeah in the field, named only in (Judges 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), (Judges 20:33) have no connection with the "field," the Hebrew word being entirely different.

Based on Nave's Topical Bible by Orville J. Nave (1896). Dictionary entries from Easton's Bible Dictionary and Smith's Bible Dictionary. Public domain. KJV scripture text, public domain.