GIBEON (GIV'ON)

the supposed site of ancient Gibeon, courtesy, BiblePlaces.com

Gibeon, or Giv’on, located to the north of Jerusalem, was one of the four cities of the Hivites, as is mentioned in the Biblical text. It later became a city in the Israelite territory of Benjamin. Today, all that remains of this Biblical city are a cluster of ancient ruins atop a tel. At present, the site is bordered, westward, by the Arab settlement of al-Jib and by the Jewish community of Giv’on HeHadasha (New Giv’on).

After the destruction of Jericho and Ai, the people of Gibeon sent ambassadors to trick Joshua and the Israelites into making a treaty with them. The Gibeonites presented themselves as ambassadors from a distant, powerful land. Without consulting the high priests, Israel entered into a mutual pact with them but Joshua then realized he had been deceived. In response, he cursed and enslaved them as woodcutters and water-carriers (Joshua 9:3-27). That it was not wholly in the possession of the Israelites, even during the time of King David and after, is shown by II Sam. Ch. 21. After the end of the Babylonian Captivity and the return of the Jews, Gibeon came within the borders of Judea. Josephus described the site as forty furlongs distant from Jerusalem, but in the course of the Roman occupation, Gibeon lay abandoned.

the Israeli village of Giv'on Hadasha,
courtesy Wikipedia

In 1895, Jews began to return to the area, led by Yemenite Jews, and they established the village Giv’on HeHadasha nearby the ancient city’s ruins. They, later, left the area but it was again resettled in 1924. This new community was expelled by Arabs as a result of the Arab riots of 1929. It was resettled for a final time in 1977 by members of the organization Gush Emunim. It eventually absorbed many Jewish emigrants from the former Soviet Union, as well as many Sabras.

Today, Giv’on Hadasha continues to grow and develop, and presently includes the neighborhoods of Nahlat Banim, Dromit, Hazayit, Giv’on Mizrah, and Ginv’on Maarav. The town contains three gardens – Rosh HaGiv’a, Zima, and Pini – the synagogues Chayei Adam and Yisa Bracha, the Alon Community Club, a toy store, and a tool store.