Gibbar
Gibbar is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as El Jib. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Gibbar appears only once in the Old Testament, in Ezra 2:20, in the great list of returning exiles who came back to Judah from Babylon following Cyrus the Great's edict of 538 BC. The text records that ninety-five men of Gibbar returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua in this first wave of restoration. The parallel list in Nehemiah 7:25 substitutes 'Gibeon' for Gibbar, leading many scholars to suggest that the two names may refer to the same location, or that a scribal variation occurred in transmission. If Gibbar is identified with Gibeon — modern El Jib — it would place these returning families among the inhabitants of one of the most historically significant cities of the Benjaminite region. The return from Babylonian exile was a pivotal moment in Israel's redemptive history, fulfilling prophetic promises of restoration (Jeremiah 29:10; Isaiah 44:28), and the enumeration of returning communities including Gibbar's men underscores the careful reconstruction of Israelite communal identity around ancestral land and lineage.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
If Gibbar is identified with Gibeon (El Jib), the archaeological record is relatively rich. Excavations led by James B. Pritchard in the 1950s and 1960s at El Jib uncovered extensive Iron Age remains, including a large water system and dozens of wine storage jars inscribed with the name 'Gibeon' — providing direct epigraphic confirmation of the site's ancient identity. Persian-period remains at the site are less pronounced, though the region was clearly inhabited during the post-exilic period. If Gibbar was a distinct settlement, its location remains unidentified archaeologically.
Verse Appearances (1)
Ezra
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →