Gibeon

Related Category: Biblical Proper Names

(gĭb´ēən), ancient town, 5 mi (8 km) NNW of Jerusalem. The Book of Joshua relates that its inhabitants established a treaty with the invading Israelites, resulting in their servitude to Israel. According to legend, the sun stood still in Gibeon while Israel battled the Amorites. Modern excavations there have discovered a water system, perhaps referred to in the Books of Second Samuel and Jeremiah. See Gibbar.

See studies by J. B. Pritchard (1962, 1964) and J. Blenkinsopp (1972).