The town of Gibeah was located in the tribal area of Benjamin (Joshua 18:21; Joshua 18:28; for map see BENJAMIN). It earned itself a bad reputation during the time of the judges when the men of Gibeah committed a serious crime and the leaders of Benjamin, instead of punishing them, defended them. The other tribes responded with an attack that almost wiped out Benjamin (Judges 19; Judges 20; Judges 21:1-24; Hosea 9:9; Hosea 10:9).
Gibeah was also the home town of Saul, Israel’s first king. In spite of Benjamin’s being the smallest tribe in Israel (1 Samuel 9:21), Gibeah became the administrative centre of Saul’s kingdom (1 Samuel 10:26; 1 Samuel 11:4; 1 Samuel 14:16; 1 Samuel 15:34; 1 Samuel 22:6; 1 Samuel 23:19; 1 Samuel 26:1).