Jabesh-Gilead
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Jabesh-Gilead, an ancient town in the territory of the Tribe of Gad. Most scholars believe it to have been located east of the Jordan River, in the vicinity of Wadi Yabes.
See also Jabesh.
The identification of Jabesh Gilead has been studied for a long time. In the 1940s and 50s the American scholar Nelson Glueck devoted special attention to the discussion of whether Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley close to the area where the Wadi el-Yabis (the River Yabis) emerges into the plane of the Jordan Valley, or Tell al-Maqlub, located further east along the Wadi Yabis, was the Biblical site of Jabesh Gilead. Jabesh Gilead is mentioned in the Bible in I Sam. 11:1-13; 31: 10-13; II Sam. 2:5-6; 21:12; I Chron. 10:11-12; Judges 21:8-14. Glueck followed a common practise in the past to discuss the Biblical identity of sites in the “Holy Land”. Jabesh Gilead is mentioned in the Old Testament in connection with King Saul’s and King David’s battles against the Philistines and Ammonites, which may correspond approximately to the 11th or 10th century B.C. In the light of Glueck’s conclusions a positive identification of Tell Abu al-Kharaz with Jabesh Gilead was made. He expresses some valid points, but it became obvious that only distinct archaeological evidence could support his theory. In 1989 the Austrian-Swedish archaeologist Peter M. Fischer started excavations at Tell Abu al-Kharaz and a series of surveys which also included Tell al-Maqlub. The main aim of Fischer’s excavations was to study the occupational sequence of this relatively large tell (hill with occupation). The discoveries at Tell Abu al-Kharaz by Fischer and his team during eleven seasons of excavations include flourishing settlements from the Early, Middle and Late Bronze Ages, viz. from approximately 3200 to 1200 B.C., with far-reaching international contacts. There are also finds from the Iron Age which is the period of the above described Biblical events. Fischer says that Tell Abu al-Kharaz is a good candidate for Jabesh Gilead, however, the present state of research does not allow any definite conclusions.
