Bible Dictionary: Gebal

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Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Gebal

bound; limit

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Gebal

(mountain), a maritime town of Phoenicia, near Tyre, (Ezekiel 27:9) known by the Greeks as Byblus. It is called Jebail by the Arabs, thus reviving the old biblical name.

ATS Bible Dictionary

Gebal

1. The Gebalene of the Romans, was a district of Idumea, called also at the present day Djebal, signifying mountains. It is the northern part of the range of mountains skirting the eastern side of the great valley El-Arabah, which runs from the Dead Sea to the Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea, Psalm 83:7.

2. A seaport and district of Phoenicia north of Beyroot, called Byblos by the Greeks, now Jebail; population, 2,000. The inhabitants were called Giblites, and are denoted in the Hebrew word rendered "stone-squarer" in 1 Kings 5:18. Their land and all Lebanon were assigned to the Israelites, but never fully possessed, Joshua 13:5. It was an important place, Ezekiel 27:9, and the seat of the worship of Thammuz.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

A line (or natural boundary, as a mountain range).

(1.) A tract in the land of Edom south of the Dead Sea (Psalm 83:7); now called Djebal.

(2.) A Phoenician city, not far from the sea coast, to the north of Beyrout (Ezek. 27:9); called by the Greeks Byblos. Now Jibeil. Mentioned in the Amarna tablets.

An important Phoenician text, referring to the temple of Baalath, on a monument of Yehu-melek, its king (probably B.C. 600), has been discovered.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

GEBAL

ge'-bal (gebhal, "border"; Bublos, and Biblos; Byblus, modern Jebeil):

(1) An ancient Phoenician city, situated on a bluff of the foothills of Lebanon, overlooking the Mediterranean. It was one of the principal seaports of Phoenicia, and had a small but good harbor for small ships. It lies in lat. 34 degrees 8', nearly, and about 4 miles North of the river Adonis (Nahr Ibrahim). It was regarded as a holy city by the ancients. Philo mentions the tradition that it was founded by Kronos, and was sacred to the worship of Beltis and, later, of Adonis, whose rites were celebrated yearly at the river of the same name and at its source in the mountain, at Apheca (see TAMMUZ). Gebal was the center of quite an extensive district, extending from the Eleutherus on the North to the Tamyras on the South, a distance of 60 or 70 miles along the coast. It is mentioned by Jos (13:5) as the land of the Gebalites (which see) (the King James Version "Giblites"), and the Gebalites are also mentioned in 1 Kings 5:18 (Hebrew 32) as aiding in the construction of Solomon's temple. The "elders" and the "wise men" of Gebal are among the workmen employed on Tyrian ships (Ezekiel 27:9 the American Revised Version, margin). The earliest mention of Gebal found in history is in the Tell el-Amarna Letters, which were composed in the first half of the 14th century B.C. It had become, in connection with all Phoenicia, a dependency of Egypt in the days of Thothmes III and was under Egyptian governors, but, in the reign of Amenhotep IV (Ikhnaton), the Hittites and Amorites from the North and Khabiri from the South attacked the territory of Gebal, and its governor wrote letters to Amenhotep, calling for help. There are over 60 of these, describing the desperate condition of the city and of its governor, Ribaddi, who was expelled and took refuge in Beirut, but afterward regained his capital only to be besieged and lose all his dependencies, and finally to fall into the hands of the enemy. Gebal afterward became independent, as is shown by the records of Ramses IX (1442-1423 B.C.) and of Ramses XII, for its king retained the emissaries of the former 17 years in captivity, and treated a trusted agent of the latter with scant civility. Its king at this time was Zakkar-Baal, and kings of Gebal are mentioned in the Assyrian records, one paying tribute to Ashurnazir-pal (circa 887 B.C.) and another to Sennacherib (705-680). The latter king was Uru-melek, and kings of Gebal are mentioned in connection with other Phoenician cities under Persian rule. The city submitted to Alexander the Great without opposition, and furnished a fleet to aid him in the siege of Tyre (332). Strabo refers to it as a town of note in the days of Pompey (xvi.2, 17), and it is frequently mentioned in Phoenician (CIS, 1) and Assyrian inscriptions in the forms Gubal and Gubli (COT, I, 174).

(2) (gebhal; Gobolitis): A district Southeast of the Dead Sea, which is referred to in Psalm 83:7 (Hebrew 8) in connection with Moab, Ammon, Amalek and others, as making a covenant together against Israel (compare 1 Maccabees 5). Robinson (BR, II, 154) found the name Jebal still applied to this region, and Josephus (Ant., II, i, 2) speaks of a Gebalitis as forming part of Idumaea. It is a hilly region, as the modern name signifies, and includes the towns of Shobek and Tolfieh.

H. Porter

Strong's Hebrew

1380. Gebal -- a city in Phoenicia
... 1379, 1380. Gebal. 1381 . a city in Phoenicia. Transliteration: Gebal
Phonetic Spelling: (gheb-al') Short Definition: Gebal. Word ...
/hebrew/1380.htm - 6k

1381. Gebal -- a region South of the Dead Sea
... 1380, 1381. Gebal. 1382 . a region South of the Dead Sea. Transliteration:
Gebal Phonetic Spelling: (gheb-awl') Short Definition: Gebal. ...
/hebrew/1381.htm - 6k

1382. Gibli -- inhab. of Gebal
... Gibli. 1383 . inhab. of Gebal. Transliteration: Gibli Phonetic Spelling:
(ghib-lee') Short Definition: Gebalite. Word Origin from Gebal Definition inhab. ...
/hebrew/1382.htm - 6k

Library

Psalm LXXXIII.
... of doing harm occurs, show themselves. "Gebal," "a vain valley," that is,
humble in pretence. "Amon," "an unquiet people," or "a ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm lxxxiii.htm

A Discourse which was in the Presence of Antoninus Cæsar
... queen of Cyprus, because she fell in love with Tamuz, son of Cuthar king of the
Phoenicians, and left her own kingdom and came and dwelt in Gebal, a fortress ...
//christianbookshelf.org/unknown/the decretals/i a discourse which was.htm

Ezekiel's Discourse
... The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the
ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise. ...
/.../various/select masterpieces of biblical literature/vii ezekiels discourse.htm

The Testament of Levi Concerning the Priesthood and Arrogance.
... 6. And when I came to my father I found a brazen shield; [70] wherefore also the
name of the mountain is Aspis, which is near Gebal, on the right side of Abila ...
/.../iii the testament of levi concerning.htm

Editor's Preface
... should hear the words of his servant, and send ten men of the country of Melukhkha
and twenty men of the country of Egypt to defend the city [of Gebal] for the ...
/.../history of egypt chaldaea syria babylonia and assyria v 1/editors preface.htm

Canaan
... Gebal or Byblos, still farther to the north, had been renowned for its
sanctity from immemorial times. Here stood the sanctuary ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter ii canaan.htm

The Doom of the Antichrist
... together with one consent, they are confederate against Thee: the tabernacles of
Edom and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/the doom of the antichrist.htm

Jehoshaphat
... They are confederate against Thee: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites;
Of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek. . . . ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 15 jehoshaphat.htm

Babylonia and Assyria
... mountains. Other trees came from Dilmun in the Persian Gulf, from Gozan
in Mesopotamia, and from Gubin, which is possibly Gebal. ...
/.../early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter vi babylonia and assyria.htm

A Short Essay Toward the Improvement of Psalmody:
... more unthinking Multitude go on singing in chearful Ignorance wheresoever the Clerk
guides them, a-cross the River Jordan, thro' the Land of Gebal, Ammon and ...
/.../a short essay toward the improvement of psalmody/a short essay toward the.htm

Thesaurus

Gebal (3 Occurrences)
...GEBAL. ... The "elders" and the "wise men" of Gebal are among the workmen employed on
Tyrian ships (Ezekiel 27:9 the American Revised Version, margin). ...
/g/gebal.htm - 11k

Gebalites (2 Occurrences)
... "Giblites"), the inhabitants of Gebal (2). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. GEBALITES.
ge'-bal-its (ha-gibhlim): Inhabitants of GEBAL (which see). ...
/g/gebalites.htm - 8k

Tammuz (1 Occurrence)
... The chief seat of the cult in Syria was Gebal (modern Gebail, Greek Bublos) in
Phoenicia, to the South of which the river Adonis (Nahr Ibrahim) has its mouth ...
/t/tammuz.htm - 10k

Phoenicians
... noted for the famous pass at its mouth, where Egyptian Assyrian and Babylonian kings
engraved their monuments; and a few miles South of Jebail (Gebal) is the ...
/p/phoenicians.htm - 38k

Phoenicia (6 Occurrences)
... noted for the famous pass at its mouth, where Egyptian Assyrian and Babylonian kings
engraved their monuments; and a few miles South of Jebail (Gebal) is the ...
/p/phoenicia.htm - 40k

Geba (22 Occurrences)

/g/geba.htm - 17k

Tyre (59 Occurrences)
... the decline of Egypt, Tyre regained her independence and exercised the hegemony
over most of the Phoenician towns, at least as far North as Gebal (Byblus), as ...
/t/tyre.htm - 45k

Leaks (3 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 27:9 The elders of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee repairing
thy leaks; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee, to ...
/l/leaks.htm - 7k

Gebalite (1 Occurrence)

/g/gebalite.htm - 6k

Watertight (1 Occurrence)
... Ezekiel 27:9 The responsible men of Gebal and its wise men were in you, making your
boards watertight: all the ships of the sea with their seamen were in you ...
/w/watertight.htm - 6k

Bible Concordance

Gebal (3 Occurrences)

1 Kings 5:18 Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites did fashion them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.
(Root in WEB JPS ASV NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 83:7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 27:9 The old men of Gebal and the wise men of it were in you your repairers of ship seams: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to deal in your merchandise.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Gebal

Gebal: A City South of Sidon: Given to Reuben

Gebal: A City South of Sidon: People of, Work for Solomon

Gebal: A City South of Sidon: Shipbuilders In

Gebal: A District Near the Dead Sea

Related Terms

Gebalites (2 Occurrences)

Tammuz (1 Occurrence)

Phoenicians

Phoenicia (6 Occurrences)

Geba (22 Occurrences)