The Cities of Mizpah

Preface: There are possibly six different cities or places which are given the name Mizpah.

1. The Hebrew:

a. First of all, we have the fairly rare masculine noun mits^epeh (ה∵צ̣מ) [pronounced mitz^e-PEH], which means watchtower, lookout point, outlook point. This word is only found in Isa. 21:8 II Chron. 20:24 Strong’s #4707 BDB #859. However, the corresponding verb, tsâphâh (הָפָצ) [pronounced tsaw-FAW],is found many times in Scripture. It means to look out, to view, to look about, to spy, to keep watch. Strong’s #6822 BDB #859. Therefore, the meaning of this word is well-established, and such a name would be reasonably given to several places of high altitude (or with a good natural lookout point) over a large amount of land.

b. The proper nouns built upon this are almost identical. The first is mits^epeh (ה∵צ̣מ) [pronounced mitz^e-PEH], and this proper noun is found in Joshua 11:8 15:38 18:26 Judges 11:29 I Sam. 7:5–7 22:3 II Chron. 20:24 Jer. 40:6, 8, 12, 13 41:1. It is transliterated Mizpeh. Strong’s #4708 BDB #859.

c. The second proper noun is mitspâh (הָצ̣מ) [pronounced mitz-PAW], and it is found in Gen. 31:49 Joshua 11:3 Judges 10:17 11:11, 34 20:1, 3 21:1, 5, 8 I Sam. 7:6, 11, 12, 16 10:17 I Kings 15:22 II Kings 25:23, 25 II Chron. 16:6 Neh. 3:7, 15, 19 Jer. 40:10, 15 41:1, 3, 6, 10, 14, 16 Hos. 5:1. It is transliterated Mizpah.

d. I would recommend strongly against making any hard and fast differentiation between the two proper nouns on the basis of one vowel point, seeing as how that vowel point would have been added hundreds of years after the original text was penned.

e. The definite article is used with Mizpah in Gen. 31:49 Judges 10:17 11:11, 34. I doubt that this means that these two references are of the same place.

2. According to ZPEB, there are 6 possible Mizpeh’s, so we will approach it from that viewpoint to begin with the three which would be east of the Jordan:

a. When Jacob and Laban decided to split up (Jacob had worked for Laban for 14 years, married two of his daughters, and was essentially taken advantage of by Laban), they made a heap of stones and gave it several names, one of which was Mizpeh, because, as Jacob said, “May Jehovah watch between you and me when we are absent from one another.” (Gen. 31:49b). The idea was that Laban was a rotten sneak, and there was no telling what Laban might do or concoct while Jacob was not watching him; so the idea was that God would keep an eye on him. There is no indication that this became the name of a city here or that there was a city named that here.

b. Ramath-mizpeh (Joshua 13:26) and Mizpah of Gilead (Judges 11:29):

i. In Joshua 13:26, we find Ramath-mizpeh, which is in northern Gilead.

ii. In the book of Judges, the Ammonites (who are east of the Jordan) gathered for war against the Israelites in Gilead. The Israelites camped in Mizpah. ZPEB supposes that this Mizpah is north of the Jabbok River and my NASB map has it south of the Jabbok River (Gilead is on both sides of the Jabbok). However, if this is the same Mizpeh found in Joshua 13:26, then it would be north of the Jabbok.

iii. Mizpah was Jepthah’s home town. Judges 10:17 11:11, 29–31

c. W. Ewing (the author of the article in ISBE) identifies the previous Mizpah’s as one and the same. He also says that this is the Mizpah which was first taken and then burned by Judas Maccabæus in I Macc. 5:35).

d. There is a third Mizpeh east of the Jordan in Moab. This is where David took his parents when being pursued by Saul (I Sam. 22:3). It is possible that this is another name for Kir of Moab (the capital of Moab). The site of Kir (which is modern Kerak) fits the etymology of mizpeh. It would not be unusual for the Israelites to know this city by one name and for the Moabites to know it by another.

3. Then we have the three Mizpah’s which are west of the Jordan:

a. There is a Mizpah in northern Galilee mentioned in Joshua 11:3 (the land of Mizpeh) and in Joshua 11:8 (the valley of Mizpeh). This is partly where Joshua’s northern campaign took place. It is not even clear if these are the same Mizpeh, and we certainly do not know any more about them than their very general location. J. A. Thompson places this Mizpeh at the foot of Mt. Hermon.

b. There is a Mizpeh mentioned one time in the territory of Judah (Joshua 15:38). Context seems to place this near Lachish (v. 39), so it is assumed that it is near the great fortress of Lachish. Lachish, by the way is roughly even with the middle of the Dead Sea and one-third of the way from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea (which would place Mizpeh pretty close to the border of Israel and Philistia).

c. The most important Mizpeh of Scripture is the Mizpeh of Benjamin (Joshua 18:26), in Central Israel, roughly 10 miles north of Jerusalem.

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The Mizpah of Benjamin
Scripture	Information
Joshua 18:26	Located in Benjamin.
Judges 19:1–21:25	When the Levite’s concubine was abused, Mizpah was a gathering point for the Israelites. Therefore, it was a central location and a meeting place even then (see Judges 20:1 I Sam. 7:5 10:17).
I Sam. 7:2–7	This particular Mizpah appeared to become the new political and/or spiritual center of Israel when Samuel summoned the house of Israel to Mizpah. Prior to this, Samuel had told Israel to remove the idols and to serve Jehovah-God alone.
I Sam. 7:10–14	The Philistines took this gathering of Israel as an offensive action and advanced against Israel. However, God provided Israel with some supernatural help, and He confused the Philistines with horrendous thunder. Israel was able to deploy from Mizpah and push the Philistines all the way below Bethcar.
I Sam. 7:16	Samuel developed a route that he followed each year, going from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah. He acted as a judge over Israel in these three places.
I Sam. 10:17–25	Samuel will gather all of the people of Israel into Mizpah and Israel will ask for Saul to be set as king over them. Again, the gathering here indicates that Mizpah is a political center in Israel.
I Kings 15:22 II Chron. 16:6	Mizpeh had to be in the neighborhood of Ramah and Gibeon, as King Asa used the timber and stones of Ramah (they were the materials used in the fort of Baasha) to fortify Gibeon and Mizpah against any offensive launched by Baasha.
II Kings 25:22–25 Jer. 40:1–41:10	During the time of the deportation, Jeremiah stays in Mizpah with Gedeliah (Gedeliah is a temporary ruler over Judah). This appears to be the Mizpah of Benjamin, although it could be the one in Judah.
Neh. 3:7	Repairs are made on Mizpah when Israelites return to Judah after the deportation. Now, personally, I tend to associate Jerusalem with Judah, although it is originally in Benjamin (Jerusalem is on the Judah-Benjamin border). However, the Mizpah closest to Jerusalem (which is mentioned in this reference and in the reference directly above) is in Benjamin. That Mizpah is much closer to Jerusalem than the Mizpah of Judah. To give a Texan analogy, El Paso, Texas is much closer to Phoenix, Arizona than it is to Houston, Texas.
Neh. 3:15, 19	Some citizens of Mizpeh were responsible for many of the repairs under Nehemiah.
I Macc. 3:46	Mizpeh was used as city for an important assembly under Judas Maccabæus. Mizpeh, in this portion of the Apocrypha, is also called a former place of prayer for Israel.
Possible Modern Location: Nebi Samwil (4 miles northwest of Jerusalem; altitude 2935 ft. and 500 feet above the surrounding area) or Tell en-Nasbeh, which is on top of an isolated hill 8 miles north of Jerusalem. Nebi Samwil is a tall mountain peak which looks down over the Valley of Aijalon, which is the best route between the Mediterranean coast and the Jordan Valley. This is the route that Joshua followed when he conquered southern Palestine. Tell en-Nasbeh apparently lacked natural defensive military features, so that the ancient city here had some of the heaviest walls of any Palestinian fortress because it was so vulnerable to attack. Tell en-Nasbeh was excavated by F. W. Badé and he reports that there was a long line of occupation from the Early Bronze Age to the Maccabe period, with evidence of strong fortification in Asa’s time. There were stamped jar handles found here with the letters MSH and MSP, the latter of which could refer to Mizpah.
The author in ZPEB (M. Abel) preferred the Nebi Samwil location, as it is closer to Jerusalem and it overlooks Gibeon in the Valley of Aijalon, which is in keeping with the Gedeliah story in Jeremiah. In case you are interested, there is more detail under Mizpah in volume 4 of The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Modern locations for some of the other Mizpah’s are found in The New Bible Dictionary; editor J. D. Douglas; p. 833 and in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia; James Orr, Vol. III; p. 2068.

d. ISBE suggests that the use of mizpeh as a masculine noun in II Chron. 20:24 is a mistake and that this is another city known as Mizpeh in Judah. Its location near Tekoa (II Chron. 20:20) precludes this from being identical to the other Mizpeh in Judah (neither of my other two main sources suggested this).

4. It is reasonable to conclude that most of the Biblical references to Mizpah refer to the Mizpah of Benjamin (which territory later became a part of Judah).

Bibliography

1. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon; Hendrickson Publishers; Ⓟ1996; pp. 859.

2. The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament, George Wigram; Hendrickson Publishers, Ⓟ1997; First Printing, Appendix p. (34).

5. The New Bible Dictionary; editor J. D. Douglas; ©Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1962; Ⓟby W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.; pp. 832–833.

It is clear, when examining the sources of many the articles above that they have examined more ancient and better sources. However, there are so many hours in a day, so that, in order for me to do what I need to do, I need to stand upon the shoulders of hundreds of great Christian men who have preceded me.

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