The Pool of Gibeon

Abner's group on one side, Joab's group on the other, and a pool of water between them, at a city called Gibeon.

Scripture: Joab the son of Zeruiah and David’s servants went out, and met them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.

Gibeon was a Canaanite and later an Israelite city, north of Jerusalem. The Book of Joshua describes it as a large city, like one of the royal cities, in the land of Benjamin.

For context, step back. David was king in Hebron over Judah for seven and a half years, and Saul's son Ishbosheth reigned over Israel for two. Two kings, two rival houses.

Abner and Ishbosheth's servants went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. Joab and David's servants met them at the pool, and the two groups sat down on opposite sides.

Abner proposed a contest between young men. Twelve from each side stepped forward, and it turned deadly. The place was named Helkath Hazzurim.

This photograph is titled the Pool of Gibeon. The remains of Gibeon lie in the southern part of the village of al-Jib, in the West Bank's Area C.

So here is the honest picture. The city's general location is given in the sources. Whether this exact pool is the one in the story is not established in my material, so treat the link as indirect.

Gibeon mattered beyond that day. Later, Solomon is said to have addressed Israel's leaders, according to 2 Chronicles 1:2, and went to Gibeon to sacrifice.

He offered a thousand burnt offerings, and the account says God appeared to him in a dream at Gibeon and told him to ask for what he wanted.

A fight that gave a place in Gibeon its name. May the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today. Follow this page to keep digging into what lies beneath the Bible.