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Mizpah (Tell en-Nasbeh)

Benjamin's gathering place with a great Iron Age wall

Conquest & Judges · city / site, fortification / gate · Accepted by scholars · found 1926

Old photograph of an excavated stone gateway
Photo: Matson Collection · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons — The Iron Age city gate of Tell en-Nasbeh during Badè's excavations.

Found 1926 — William Frederic Badè (Pacific School of Religion), five seasons 1926–35

Where Tell en-Nasbeh, 12 km north of Jerusalem beside Ramallah (West Bank (Palestinian Territories))

Dates from c. 1150–586 BCE (Iron I village; wall c. 9th century BCE) · Iron Age I–II · Judges (assembly at Mizpah), Shmuel (Samuel), Divided Kingdom

Now at Site; finds at the Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology, Berkeley, and the Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem

How Mizpah (Tell en-Nasbeh) was found

Badè excavated almost the entire mound, exposing an Iron I village with silos and collared-rim jars, a massive later wall over 600 m long and up to 4 m thick with towers and an offset gate, and dozens of tombs. Jar handles stamped 'MSP' and the seal of 'Jaazaniah servant of the king' were also found.

What it is

An 8-acre mound on the ridge road between Judah and the northern tribes. The Iron I level shows a farming village; the Iron II wall, built by King Asa according to most scholars (1 Melachim 15:22), made it a fortress on Judah's northern border.

Why it matters for the Bible

Mizpah of Benjamin is where all Israel gathered before the war against Gibeah (Shoftim 20–21), where Shmuel judged and prayed for victory over the Philistines (1 Shmuel 7:5-12), and where Shaul was chosen king (1 Shmuel 10:17). Tell en-Nasbeh is the leading candidate, and its Iron I village fits that period. Its nearly complete excavation makes it one of the best windows into an ordinary Israelite town from Judges to the Babylonian period, when it served as Gedaliah's capital.

The Hebrew word: meets-PAH

מִצְפָּה

מִצְפָּה is pronounced meets-PAH and means watchtower (Strong's H4709).

People this discovery connects to

Places

Events

Assembly of Israel at Mizpah against Benjamin (Judges 20:1) · Samuel's victory and the Ebenezer stone (1 Samuel 7:5-12) · Saul chosen king at Mizpah (1 Samuel 10:17-24)

Mizpah (Tell en-Nasbeh) in Scripture

Joshua 18:26 First mention of Mizpah in Scripture.

Judges 20:1 All Israel assembled 'to YHVH at Mizpah'; Tell en-Nasbeh is the probable site of that assembly.

1 Samuel 7:5-6 Samuel gathered Israel at Mizpah to pray and fast before the Philistine battle.

Questions people ask

What is Mizpah (Tell en-Nasbeh)?
An 8-acre mound on the ridge road between Judah and the northern tribes. The Iron I level shows a farming village; the Iron II wall, built by King Asa according to most scholars (1 Melachim 15:22), made it a fortress on Judah's northern border.

When was Mizpah (Tell en-Nasbeh) discovered?
It was found in 1926 by William Frederic Badè (Pacific School of Religion), five seasons 1926–35, at Tell en-Nasbeh, 12 km north of Jerusalem beside Ramallah.

Where is Mizpah (Tell en-Nasbeh) today?
Site; finds at the Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology, Berkeley, and the Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.

Which Bible verses does Mizpah (Tell en-Nasbeh) relate to?
Joshua 18:26, Judges 20:1, 1 Samuel 7:5-6.

Related discoveries

Sources

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