Geba (; ; ; , lit. "the hill") was a city mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Kohanic and Levitical city (, ) located in the geographical territory of the
Tribe of Benjamin
According to the Torah, the Tribe of Benjamin () was one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The tribe was descended from Benjamin, the youngest son of the Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch Jacob (later given the name Israel) and his wife Rachel. In the ...
Gibeah
Gibeah (; ''Gīḇəʿā''; ''Gīḇəʿaṯ'') is the name of three places mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in the tribes of Tribe of Benjamin, Benjamin, Tribe of Judah, Judah, and Tribe of Ephraim, Ephraim respectively.
Gibeah of Benjamin, als ...
(; , ).
During the wars in the time of
Saul
Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...
, Geba was held as a garrison by the
Philistines
Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia.
There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...
(), but they were ejected by Jonathan.
During the reigns of Asa, king of Judah and Baasha, king of
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, Geba was one of two cities that Asa built up from the stones Baasha had used to fortify Ramah (; ).
Location
According to
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...
, "Gabao" was located 50 stadia from Jerusalem, as one ascended by Bethoron. Geba has been identified with Jeba', about 5½ miles north of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...