Jabesh-Gilead

Jabesh-Gilead (Hebrew: יָבֵשׁ גִּלְעָד Yāḇēš Gilʿāḏ), sometimes shortened to Jabesh, was an ancient Israelite town in Gilead, in northwest Jordan.

Jabesh is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible primarily in connection with King Saul's battles against the Ammonites and Philistines.

They brought back 400 virgins from Jabesh and gave them to the men on Rimmon Rock (Judges 21:8–15).Jabesh-Gilead is a central setting of 1 Samuel 11.

Having subjected the town to a siege, its inhabitants sought terms for surrender, but were told by Nahash that they had a choice of death by sword or having their right eyes gouged out.

The town's inhabitants sought help from the people of Israel, sending messengers throughout the whole territory, and Saul responded by raising an army which decisively defeated Nahash and his cohorts at Bezek.

In the early-4th century CE, Greek scholar Eusebius mentioned "Iabeis Galaad" in his Onomasticon as a "village beyond the Jordan located on the mountains six miles from the city of Pella on the road to Gerasa.

The Benjaminites take the virgins of Jabesh-gilead, drawing by Gustave Doré
Jabesh-Gileadites recover the bodies of Saul and his sons, Gustave Doré