5. It was, however, as the site of a bitiiuih, or ' high place,' that G. was especially famous. At this sanctuary, because it was ' the great high place' (n^iis.i n-p:n), Solomon inaugurated his reign by olli'i lug a thousand burnt-olierings, and received the divine blessing in a dream by night (1 K 3"). It is true that, according to 2 Cli V, G. is repre- senteil as containing the ' Tent of Meeting of God ' as well as the brazen altar ; but this statement would seem to have no other foimdation than the liesire of the Chronicler to reconcile the action of the young king and its approval by J" with the en:ic"tiiients of the later priestly legislation (cf. Wellliausen, Proleq* p. 1S2 f.). The earlier history ktiipus nothing oif the presence of the Tent of Milling at G. (according to 1 S 1' 3^ it was already re|ila-',ed by a temple at Shiloli ; 1 S 2--'' is omitted in LXX, and is clearly a later addition ; so Driver, BuJde, Wellhausen, klost.), while 1 K 8"- clearly places it, together with the ark of the covenant, ' in the city of David, which is Zion.'
' Men of G.' are mentioned as among those ' which came up at the Krst,' i.e. who returned from Babylon under Zerubbabel (Neh 7^ ; in the corresponding list of Ezra 2-" Gibbar is probably a mistake), and also as taking part in the repairing of the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah (Nell 3').
Lastly, Gibeon is mentioned by Josei)hus (BJ 11. xix. 1) as the place where Cestius Gallus encamjjed on his march from Antipatris to Jeru- salem, after he had tired the town of Lydda (Am BaifJwpuJc dca/^ds (TTpaToireSei/erat Kara Tiva x^P°^ Valiaui KaXovfiCvov, airexo'^''' ''""' 'lepoffoXu/uuv Ttv-rq- Kovra <rTa5(ous ; elsewhere he puts the distance at 40 stadia). See Robinson, BBF^ pp. 454-57 ; Gu6rin, JucUe, i. pp. 385-91. J. F. SxENNING.
GIDDALTI Cn^-iJ ' I magnify [God]').— A son of
Hem.-ui, 1 Ch 25^- ^'.t
GIDDEL (bnj 'very great').— 1. The eponym of a family of Nethinini, Ezr 2" = Neli 7", called in 1 Es 'S^ Cathua. 2. The eponym of a family of 'Solomon's servants,' Ezr 2=" = Neh 7", called in
1 Es o» Isdael.
GIDEON {f\vii1=fetler, hewer), also called Jerub- baal C-y;-!; Jg' (F^ etc.) and .lerubbeslieth (n^'?";;
2 S 11=1), son of Joash, of the clan of Abiezer in the trilie of Manasseh, a native of ()]ilirah ;* deliverer of Israel from the Midianites (JgG-S). The nomad
• In v.« Jonb 18 read insttwl ot AbMini by Then., WcUh., and Driver, tnit Budde .lifciids the MT. .See JoAB.
t On the extraordiiKiry coi)j;loiiierution of names In this verse and the inference!) that liave been drown therefrom, see Kwald, Uhrbuch. S 274i» ; W. U. Smith, OTJC H.f n., ami notes, <ul loc . In Unupfs Saend likt. of OT (by Kittel), an<l in Knutz»ch'».(lT.
! Site not ldentille<l. Gideon's home must have been near Shcchem (ch. !)), and expose<l to the Midianite Inroads (II").
Arabs of the SjTian and Arabian desert had invaded the central district of Palestine. They must have entered it by the only natural ap- proaches from the Jordan Valley, the Wady Ffir'a, which leads into the neighbourhood of Shechcm, and the Nahr Jalfld, which opens on to the plain of Jezreel. The scene of the invasion and conllict lay in this region. Manasseh and Ephraim were the principal sutlerers ; accordingly a Slanassite is the hero of the deliverance, and Ephraimites take part in completing it (7^-8^).
On one of their marauding expeditions the Midianites had murdered Gideon's brothers at Tabor (8") ; * personal revenge, therefore, was one of the motives which instigated his action (8*'='). National interests, however, were superadded. Ac- cording to one ancient account, Gideon was called by an angel of the Lord to save Israel from the hand of Midian (6""-^). The angel of J", i.e. J" Himself in the form of an angel (vv."-^), appears under the holy tree of Ophrah. He smunions Gideon to the task of deliverance. The meal which is offered to the pUgrini stranger is miracu- louslv consumed, and the angel disappears. Gideon, convinced by the miracle, builds an altar to J"- sli.iloni.t
There follows what seems to be a second version of the call of Gideon (G-^"^-). He is bidden destroy the village altar of Baal, and the sacred post be- side it (ashcrah), erect an altar to J", and oiler a bullock. J The people of Ophrah are incensed at the destruction of their holy place, and threaten Gideon with death. His father rescues him by a witty taunt, which secures for Gideon the name Jerul)baal.S
After tliis Gideon collects the men of his clan Abiezer (v.**), and encamps with them by the spring of Harod, on the S.E. edge of the plain of Jezreel, near the Midianite army (7')-ll He p.ays a night vi.sit to the enemy's camp, and over- hears the telling of a dream, wliicb encoura''ea him to act at once (7^""). He skilfully posts his men under cover of night ; the alarm is given ; the camp is thrown into a panic, and the Midianites break up in flight towards the Jordan (vv."*"-).1I There are clearly two accounts of the subsequent course of events. According to one (7-^-8*), Uideon summons Ephraim to cut oti' the flight of the