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Gibeah

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A Benjaminite town infamous for the gang rape of a Levite’s concubine, sparking civil war.

Detailed Definition
Gibeah (Judges 19–20) represents moral collapse and tribal violence. In poetry, it symbolizes societal decay, the failure of hospitality, and the catastrophic consequences of unchecked evil, often used as a warning against collective sin.
Example
Example in poetry:
Gibeah—Saul’s hometown and site of a Levite’s concubine tragedy—inspires dark poetry: “Gibeah’s sin echoed Sodom, but Israel was the culprit”; A poem on moral collapse: “In those days, there was no king—Gibeah proved it”; In a lament: “Gibeah’s hill once raised a king, but first it buried justice”; Modern verse: “Our Gibeah is the community that tolerates evil in the name of peace.”
Additional Notes
Gibeah (Judges 19–21) is infamous for the gang rape of a Levite’s concubine, sparking a civil war that nearly eradicated Benjamin. The story critiques moral anarchy (“everyone did as they saw fit”). In poetry, Gibeah embodies societal collapse, the vulnerability of the stranger, and the catastrophic cost of unchecked violence and tribal loyalty.
Also Known As
Gibeah of Saul
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