Place Old Testament
Jabesh
Also known as -gilead =ESV, KJV; Jabesh, Gilead =NIV
Jabesh-gilead, a town in Gilead known for its loyalty to King Saul. Mentioned in 18 verses across 4 books, first at Judges 21:8.
Why it matters. A town in Gilead, loyal to Saul
- Primary passages
- Location
- 32.380, 35.612 (approximate, within about 2 km)
Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Jabesh
Jabesh, also known as Jabesh-gilead, was a town located in the region of Gilead, east of the Jordan River. The city is first mentioned in the book of Judges, where the inhabitants refused to join the Israelites in fighting against the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 21:8-14). As a result, the town was attacked, and the virgins of Jabesh were given as wives to the surviving Benjamites. Later, during the reign of King Saul, the Ammonites besieged Jabesh, and Saul came to their rescue, defeating the Ammonites and solidifying his position as king (1Sa.11.1-11). After Saul's death, the men of Jabesh bravely retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the Philistines and buried them (1Sa.31.11-13; 1Ch.10.11-12). David later praised the men of Jabesh for their loyalty and kindness to Saul (2Sa.2.4-7). The town's location is uncertain, but it was likely situated in northern Gilead, possibly near modern-day Wadi Yabis in Jordan.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 18 verses across 4 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.