In the Hebrew Bible Jabesh-Gilead is mentioned in the
Book of Judges, in the first and second
Books of Samuel, and in the
Book of Chronicles.
Benjaminite War Jabesh is mentioned in the biblical episode of the
Levite's concubine, also known as the Benjamite War, during which eleven tribes of Israel had massacred the
Tribe of Benjamin. The eleven tribes relented from wiping out the whole tribe, and decided that they needed to find wives for the 600 remaining Benjaminite men since all other people in Benjamin had been killed. However, they had taken an oath not to give their daughters to a Benjaminite, so they found the one city in Israel that had not joined the fight: Jabesh. The city's inhabitants were executed under the
Herem except for 400 virgins. They brought back 400 virgins from Jabesh and gave them to the men on Rimmon Rock ().
Nahash of Ammon Jabesh-Gilead is a central setting of . After
Saul is
anointed by
Samuel,
Nahash of Ammon attacks Jabesh-Gilead. Having subjected the town to a
siege, its inhabitants sought terms for
surrender, but were told by Nahash that they had a choice of death by sword or having their right eyes gouged out. The population obtained seven days' grace from Nahash, during which they would be allowed to seek help from the Israelites, after which they would have to submit to the terms of surrender. The town's inhabitants sought help from the people of Israel, sending messengers throughout the whole territory, and
Saul responded by raising an army which decisively defeated Nahash and his cohorts at
Bezek. After the war is over, the Israelites assemble at
Gilgal to renew Saul's kingship over
Israel.
Saul's Death After Saul
falls on his sword during the
Battle of Gilboa, the victorious Philistines recover his body as well as those of his three sons who also died in the battle, decapitate them and display them on the wall of
Beit She'an. At night, the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead retrieve the bodies, showing their devotion to the rescuer of the city. Following a funeral pyre, the bones of Saul and his sons were buried under the
tamarisk tree in Jabesh (, ). When David learns it was the men of Jabesh-Gilead who had brought Saul to a honorable burial, he sent messengers to bless them "And David sent messengers to the men of Yavesh-Gilad, and said to them: ‘May you be blessed of Hashem, that you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and buried him.’”(). Later, David takes the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan from Jabesh and buries them in
Zela, in the tomb of
Saul's father ().
House of Shallum In the
Books of Kings (, )
Shallum of Israel's father is identified as
Jabesh. However, the passage may instead mention a
toponym, identifying that Shallum was "the son" of a city called Jabesh. In this view, Shallum may have originated from Jabesh-Gilead.
Later years In his
Antiquities of the Jews (c. 93–94 CE),
Josephus describes Jabesh Gilead as a metropolis in the Transjordan. In the early-4th century CE, Greek scholar
Eusebius mentioned "Iabeis Galaad" in his
Onomasticon as a "village beyond the Jordan located on the mountains six miles from the city of
Pella on the road to
Gerasa." ==Identification==