Mount Gilboa
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [1]
gil - bō´a ( הר הגּלבּע , har ha - gilbōa‛ , "Mount of the Gilboa"): Unless we should read "Gilboa" for "Gilead" in Judges 7:3 (see Gilead , 2) this mountain is mentioned in Scripture only in connection with the last conflict of Saul with the Philistines, and his disastrous defeat ( 1 Samuel 28:4; 1 Samuel 31:1 , 1 Samuel 31:8; 2 Samuel 1:6 , 2 Samuel 1:21; 2 Samuel 21:12; 1 Chronicles 10:1 , 1 Chronicles 10:8 ). If Zer‛ı̄n be identical with Jezreel - a point upon which Professor R.A.S. Macalister has recently cast some doubt - S aul must have occupied the slopes on the Northwest side of the mountain, near "the fountain which is in Jezreel" ( 1 Samuel 29:1 ). The Philistines attacked from the plain, and the battle went sore against the men of Israel, who broke and fled; and in the flight Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchi-shua, sons of Saul, were slain. Rather than be taken by his lifelong foes, Saul fell upon his sword and died ( 1 Samuel 31:1 ).
The modern name of the mountain is Jebel Faḳu‛a . It rises on the eastern edge of the plain of Esdraelon, and, running from Zer‛ı̄n to the Southeast, it then sweeps southward to join the Samarian uplands. It presents an imposing appearance from the plain, but the highest point, Sheikh Burḳān , is not more than 1,696 ft. above sea level. In the higher reaches the range is rugged and barren; but vegetation is plentiful on the lower slopes, especially to the West. The Kishon takes its rise on the mountain. Under the northern cliffs rises ‛Ain Jalūd , possibly identical with Harod , Well Of , which see. In Jelbūn , a village on the western declivity, there is perhaps an echo of the old name.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia [2]
A range of hills on the SE. of the Plain of Esdraëlon, in Palestine, attaining a height of 1698 ft.
