MIZPAH OR MIZPEH
A watch tower,
1. A town in Gilead, Hosea 5:1; so named from the stone-heap cast up by Jacob and Laban, Genesis 31:49; supposed by many to be the place mentioned in the history of Jephthah, Judges 10:17; Judges 1:11, Judges 1:11, Judges 1:11.
2. A city of Benjamin, a central gathering-place of the tribes in the period of the judges, Joshua 18:26 Judges 20:1, Judges 1:20; Judges 1:21. Here Samuel sacrificed and judged, and here Saul was designated as king, 1 Samuel 1:7-16; 1 Samuel 1:10. It was fortified by Asa as a defense against Israel, 1 Kings 15:22, was the residence of the governor, under Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 40:6, and was reoccupied after the captivity, Nehemiah 3:19. Its name indicates that it occupied an elevated site, and it was near Ramah; hence Dr. Robinson identifies it with the modern place called Neby Samwil, four or five miles northnorthwest of Jerusalem.
3. A town in the plain of Judah, Joshua 15:38.
4. A valley near Mount Hermon, towards Zidon, Joshua 11:3, Joshua 1:11.