Nadav Na’aman, «Jebusites and Jabeshites in the Saul and David Story-Cycles», Vol. 95 (2014) 481-497
This article re-examines the historical role of the Jebusites in the early monarchical period. The Jebusites, whose name is derived from the verb YBŚ («to be dry»), were a West Semitic pastoral clan that split into two segments, one settling in western Gilead and the other around Jerusalem. The two segments kept their tribal solidarity, as indicated by Saul’s campaign to rescue Jabesh-gilead. The Jebusite stronghold was one of Saul’s power bases, and David took it over. The biased description of David’s conquest influenced the way the Jebusites were presented in the late (Deuteronomistic) biblical historiography and in Israelite cultural memory.
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Jebusites and Jabeshites
in the Saul and David Story-Cycles
I. Jebusite as a Clan Name
The ethnic/gentilic name “Jebusite” appears in almost all lists
of the pre-Israelite nations 1. In many cases it closes the list, prob-
ably due to the fact that according to biblical historiography David
subdued the Jebusites, and hence they were the last group among
the six/seven nations that the Israelites subjugated.
Nearly all references to the Jebusites appear in the gentilic form
(yswby), whereas the place name “Jebus” is mentioned only four
times, always as another name for Jerusalem. Two references to
Jebus appear in the story of the Outrage at Gibeah (Judg 19,10-11)
and two in the Book of Chronicles’ account of David’s conquest of
Jerusalem (1 Chr 11,4-5). All four references are late, dated to the
post-exilic period 2, and must be considered a back-formation of the
group’s name. Historically, the city was never called by this name 3.
The gentilic nature of the name Jebusite is confirmed by its oc-
currence in a context that required a place name. This is evident in
two border descriptions (Josh 15,8a; 18,16b), which delineate the
Judah-Benjamin tribal border as passing “south of the side (@tk) 4
of the Jebusite”, and in a town list (Josh 18,28) that mentions “the
1
For the lists of pre-Israelite nations, see T. ISHIDA, “The Structure and
Historical Implications of the Lists of Pre-Israelite Nations”, Bib 60 (1979)
461-490; E.C. HOSTETTER, “Geographic Distribution of the Pre-Israelite Peo-
ples in Ancient Palestine”, BZ 38 (1994) 81-86, with earlier literature.
2
For a late post-exilic date to the Gibeah story, see W. GROSS, Richter,
übersetzt und ausgelegt (HTKAT; Freiburg 2009) 796-886, esp. 821-822,
877-880, with earlier literature.
3
G. FOHRER, Studien zur alttestamentlichen Theologie und Geschichte
(1949-1966) (BZAW 115; Berlin 1969) 204; HALOT 382b. Contra C.
UEHLINGER, who suggested that Jebusite is a pseudo-ethnonym derived from
the place name Jebus; see “Die ‘Jebusiter’. Geschichtliche Hintergründe eines
problematischen Jubiläums”, Reformatio 45 (1996) 256-263, esp. 261.
4
For the translation “side” rather than “shoulder”, “slope”, see N. NA’A-
MAN, Borders and Districts in Biblical Historiography. Seven Studies in Bib-
lical Geographical Texts (Jerusalem l986) 109 n. 51, with earlier literature.
BIBLICA 95.4 (2014) 481-497
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