Giloh, also known as Gilo, was a city in Judah and the hometown of Ahithophel, David's counselor who later conspired with Absalom (Joshua 15:51; 2Sa.15.12; 23:34).
Also known as Gilonite · Gilo
Giloh, also referred to as Gilo, was a city located in the hill country of Judah, mentioned in the territorial allotment of the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:51). It is most notably known as the hometown of Ahithophel, a wise counselor who served King David (2Sa.23.34). However, during Absalom's rebellion against David, Ahithophel sided with Absalom and provided him with counsel (2Sa.15.12). Ahithophel's defection was a significant blow to David, given his reputation for wisdom and insight. When Absalom rejected Ahithophel's advice in favor of Hushai's counsel, Ahithophel returned to Giloh and hanged himself, perceiving that Absalom's cause was doomed (2Sa.17.23). Apart from its association with Ahithophel, little else is known about Giloh from the biblical text. Its mention in the narrative of Absalom's rebellion highlights the political and personal turmoil that David faced during his reign.
Approximate location: 31.617, 35.083 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Exile, a city in the south-west part of the hill-country of Judah (Josh. 15:51). It was the native place or residence of the traitor Ahithophel “the Gilonite” (Josh. 15:51; 2 Sam. 15:12), and where he committed suicide (17:23). It has been identified with Kurbet Jala, about 7 miles north of Hebron.
(exile), a town in the mountainous part of Judah, named in the first group with Debir and Eshtemoh, (Joshua 16:51) it was the native place of the famous Ahithophel. (2 Samuel 15:12)
he that rejoices; he that overturns
GI'LOH (exile), a town in the hillcountry of Judah; the home of Ahithophel. Josh 15:51; 2 Sam 15:12; 2 Sam 17:23; perhaps now Beit Jala, a village of 3000 population, about 2 miles northwest of Bethlehem.
GI'LOH (exile), a town in the hillcountry of Judah; the home of Ahithophel. Josh 15:51; 2 Sam 15:12; 2 Sam 17:23; perhaps now Beit Jala, a village of 3000 population, about 2 miles northwest of Bethlehem.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
3 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H1542
Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—eleven cities, along with their villages.
While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, Davidʼs counselor, to come from his hometown of Giloh. So the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalomʼs following kept increasing.
Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maacathite, Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.