Jabesh-Gilead

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Jabesh-Gilead (also Yavesh Gil'ad) is an ancient town referred to in four books of the Old Testament. Some biblical scholars believe it to have been located east of the Jordan River, in the vicinity of Wadi Yabes^[1].

Jabesh Gilead is mentioned in the Bible in the first^[2] ^[3] and second^[4] ^[5] books of Samuel, in the book of Chronicles^[6], and in the Book of Judges^[7]. Jabesh Gilead is primarily mentioned in connection with King Saul's and King David's battles against the Philistines and Ammonites.

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. 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^[who?] that only distinct archaeological evidence could support his theory.