What do you think?
Rate this book
Gibeah: The Search for a Biblical City
This work is a cross-disciplinary study of Israel's first 'capital city' from topographical, archaeological, historical, and literary perspectives. Challenging William F. Albright's claim that the ancient city is to be identified with Tell el-Ful, the book develops the case for a location instead at modern Jeba, 9 km north-east of Jerusalem, a site-change that bears important consequences for several scholarly theories relating to Gibeah. Among these are the inquest into the historicity and literary composition of the story of the 'Outrage of Gibeah' (Judg. 19-21) and the origins and nature of Saul's kingship (1 Sam. 9-15). Both of these texts are treated thoroughly as preparation for a concluding investigation into the meaning of the prophet Hosea's references to Israel's sins 'in the days of Gibeah'.
- GenresChristian
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1990
2 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 6, 2017
I bought this book for a single purpose - and it didn't provide the answer that I was looking for. My question: is the road to Gibeah the same road as that to Emmaus?
By the end of the book, I didn't really mind that the evidence provided in the volume was conflicting. It does contain the statement that a fourth century pilgrim by the name of Paula paused at Gibeah on her ascent from Emmaus to Jerusalem, thereby suggesting that Gibeah is on the road to Emmaus. The weight of other evidence seemed to be against this identification of Gibeah's location, however.
One of the most memorable parts of the book was the photograph (not well reproduced, but enough to give the idea) and the description of the Cave of the Pomegranate. The Arab legend that its capacity is such that it can hide 600 men accords well with the refuge of the Rock of Rimmon mentioned at the end of the Book of Judges. The close proximity of this cave to Gibeah was a surprise because Judges gives the impression it's far away - although, only because I imagined the wilderness was far away, not a couple of kilometres down the road and over a cliff.
All in all fascinating! But, if like me, you want the answer to the Emmaus question, try The Emmaus Mystery: Discovering Evidence for the Risen Christ which unveils a complex answer to its relationship to Gibeah of Saul.
By the end of the book, I didn't really mind that the evidence provided in the volume was conflicting. It does contain the statement that a fourth century pilgrim by the name of Paula paused at Gibeah on her ascent from Emmaus to Jerusalem, thereby suggesting that Gibeah is on the road to Emmaus. The weight of other evidence seemed to be against this identification of Gibeah's location, however.
One of the most memorable parts of the book was the photograph (not well reproduced, but enough to give the idea) and the description of the Cave of the Pomegranate. The Arab legend that its capacity is such that it can hide 600 men accords well with the refuge of the Rock of Rimmon mentioned at the end of the Book of Judges. The close proximity of this cave to Gibeah was a surprise because Judges gives the impression it's far away - although, only because I imagined the wilderness was far away, not a couple of kilometres down the road and over a cliff.
All in all fascinating! But, if like me, you want the answer to the Emmaus question, try The Emmaus Mystery: Discovering Evidence for the Risen Christ which unveils a complex answer to its relationship to Gibeah of Saul.
Displaying 1 of 1 review