Hebrew word · H1393

גִּבְעֹנִי

hagiv'onim

Gibeonite

The people of Gibeon (modern el-Jib, about 9 km north-west of Jerusalem) and its allied towns of Chephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim. Verse 2 calls them 'a remnant of the Amorites' (Joshua 9:7 calls them Hivites).

Appears 8 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Group of giv.on (גִּבְעוֹן "Gibeon" H1391)

§ Gibeonite = "little hill: hilly"

an inhabitant of Gibeon

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Samuel 21:1

Range of meaning

The people of Gibeon (modern el-Jib, about 9 km north-west of Jerusalem) and its allied towns of Chephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim. Verse 2 calls them 'a remnant of the Amorites' (Joshua 9:7 calls them Hivites).

Against the English

No translation problem. A modern reader may simply not know who they were or why killing them mattered.

Used elsewhere in the period

Joshua 9: the Gibeonites tricked Israel into a treaty, but Israel's leaders 'swore to them by Yahweh, the God of Israel' (9:15, 19). Even after the trick was discovered the oath stood, and they became woodcutters and water-carriers for the sanctuary (9:21–27). Joshua 10 shows Israel going to war to defend them. Gibeon later had a major sanctuary (1 Kings 3:4–5).

From the study of 2 Samuel 21:2

Range of meaning

Inhabitants of Gibeon (modern el-Jib, about 9 km northwest of Jerusalem). The term also covers its confederate towns Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim (Josh 9:17).

Against the English

No real drift. English readers simply may not know who they were.

Used elsewhere in the period

Joshua 9: the Gibeonites trick Israel into a treaty and are made 'woodcutters and water-carriers for the house of God' (9:27). Gibeon later held a major high place (1 Kgs 3:4). Excavations at el-Jib found a large rock-cut pool and jar handles inscribed 'gb'n'.

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 6

  1. 2 Samuel 21:1 הַגִּבְעֹנִֽים׃ the Gibeonites

    During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”

    Here: The non-Israelite people of Gibeon and its allied towns. Israel had sworn by Yahweh's name to let them live (Joshua 9). Killing them broke an oath that God himself guaranteed.

  2. 2 Samuel 21:2 לַגִּבְעֹנִ֖ים וְהַגִּבְעֹנִ֞ים <to> the Gibeonites, and the Gibeonites

    At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.)

    Here: The people of Gibeon and its allied towns (Joshua 9:17), a non-Israelite enclave in Benjamin bound to Israel by an ancient sworn treaty.

  3. 2 Samuel 21:3 הַגִּבְעֹנִ֔ים the Gibeonites

    So David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends so that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?”

  4. 2 Samuel 21:4 הַגִּבְעֹנִ֗ים the Gibeonites

    The Gibeonites said to him, “We need no silver or gold from Saul or his house, nor should you put to death anyone in Israel for us.” “Whatever you ask, I will do for you,” he replied.

    Here: People of Gibeon and its allied towns: a non-Israelite (Amorite, v. 2) enclave that Israel had sworn by YHWH to spare (Joshua 9). They speak as one wronged group, the injured party in a blood case.

  5. 2 Samuel 21:9 הַגִּבְעֹנִ֗ים the Gibeonites

    And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the LORD. So all seven of them fell together; they were put to death in the first days of the harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 12:4 הַגִּבְעוֹנִ֛י the Gibeonite

    Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad the Gederathite;

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 3:7 הַגִּבְעֹנִ֗י the Gibeonite

    Next to them, repairs were made by Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who were under the authority of the governor of the region west of the Euphrates.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.