Mount Gilboa

Mount Gilboa (Hebrew: הַר הַגִּלְבֹּעַ, romanized: Har hagGīlbōaʿ‍; Arabic: جبل جلبوع Jabal Jalbūʿ or جبل فقوعة Jabal Fuqqāʿa), sometimes referred to as the Mountains of Gilboa, is the name for a mountain range in Israel.

[1] It is possible that it originates from a former, non-Semitic toponym, where gil referred to "mountain," the second part consisting of an unknown element.

[2] In the Hebrew Bible, Saul, Israel's first king, led a charge against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 28:4).

The formation has the shape of a boomerang, extending north from the highlands of Samaria on the West Bank and turning northwest at about half its length, thus separating the southeastern end of the Jezreel Valley to the west, from the Beit She'an and Ein Harod valleys to the east.

[citation needed] In 1976 and 1977, Mount Gilboa was counted to have about 170 plant species, including Pinus halepensis (on the rocky slopes) and Pistacia lentiscus (the shrub layer).

Scenery on Mount Gilboa
Gilboa iris ( Iris haynei )