City
Mizpah
MIZ-pah · Modern Commonly identified with Tell en-Nasbeh, West Bank (identification debated, with Nebi Samwil also proposed) · Also called Mizpeh
Mizpah is a city of the biblical world, known today as Commonly identified with Tell en-Nasbeh, West Bank (identification debated, with Nebi Samwil also proposed).
What is known
- Tell en-Nasbeh, excavated by William Badè in the late 1920s-30s, revealed a heavily fortified Iron Age town with a massive city wall and gate complex, consistent with Mizpah's role as a border stronghold of Judah after the fall of the northern kingdom
- Mizpah served as a national assembly point multiple times — for mustering against Benjamin in Judges, for Samuel's judgeship and a decisive victory over the Philistines, and for confirming Saul as king
- After Jerusalem's fall in 586 BC, the Babylonians made Mizpah the administrative seat of Gedaliah, the appointed governor of Judah, briefly making it the most important town in the land
- The name means 'watchtower,' reflecting its role as a lookout and mustering point in the central hill country
History
- Founded
- Occupied from the Iron Age I period; grew into a fortified administrative town by the divided monarchy
- Industry
- Regional assembly and administrative center for the tribal confederation and later the kingdom of Judah
- Coordinates
- 31.9086° N, 35.2214° E
Scripture references
- Judges 20:1-3 — Israel assembles at Mizpah against Benjamin
- Judges 21:1 — Israel's vow at Mizpah
- 1 Samuel 7:5-12 — Samuel gathers Israel at Mizpah; victory over the Philistines
- 1 Samuel 10:17-25 — Saul chosen as king by lot at Mizpah
- 2 Kings 25:22-25 — Gedaliah made governor and assassinated at Mizpah
- Jeremiah 40:6-41:3 — Jeremiah stays with Gedaliah at Mizpah
- Nehemiah 3:7,15,19 — Men of Mizpah help rebuild Jerusalem's walls
On a modern map
Further reading
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