Identifies the site of Gibeath Elohim and combines multiple data sets to better understand 1 Sam 7

What is it about?

This study argues that there is a historically-remembered event preserved in 1 Sam 7:2-17, in which the Philistines and Israelites battle in the central Benjamin Hill Country. The biblical text presents this event in a specific light that makes it fit with what comes before and what comes after it in the book of 1 Samuel, while at the same time preserving a number of historically accurate details as illuminated by the archaeological remains and geographical considerations. When the various types of data are evaluated together, it is possible to reconstruct the battle between the Philistines and Israelites, and it also allows us to identify the site of Gibeath Elohim, which was likely a cultic site/area in or near the site of Mizpah, today identified with Tell en-Nasbeh.

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Why is it important?

This article presents the first archaeologically-driven evaluation of 1 Sam 7. Numerous previous studies on this story approach it from textual and narratological perspectives without discussing the actual archaeological evidence pertinent for understanding any historical context behind the event presented. When the archaeological materials are studied, it becomes clear that the only Philistine presence in the central Hill Country of Israel was at Tell en-Nasbeh (identified with biblical Mizpah), a fact that is important for understanding many of the stories of Saul's rise to power in 1 Sam 7-14. The archaeology also leads us to conclude that the site of Gibeath Elohim, mentioned in the texts, should be identified with Mizpah (Tell en-Nasbeh), and not Gibeah (of Saul) or Geba as has been argued by other scholars.

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