The town of Gibeah was located in the tribal area of Benjamin (Josh 18:21,28; 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 (Judg 19:1-21:24; Hosea 9:9; 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 Sam 9:21), Gibeah became the administrative centre of Saul’s kingdom (1 Sam 10:26; 11:4; 14:16; 15:34; 22:6; 23:19; 26:1).