The meaning of Gebalites in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
ge'-bal-its (ha-gibhlim): Inhabitants of GEBAL (which see). According to the present text of Joshua 13:5, "the land of the Gebalites" was given to Israel as part of its future territory. But it was never occupied by the Israelites. Septuagint, however, has a very different reading, indicating an early corruption of the text. Perhaps with many modern scholars it is better to read "to the borders of the Gebalites."
In I Kings 5:18 the King James Version translates this word "stone-squarers," the King James Version margin gives "Giblites," and the Revised Version (British and American) "Gebalites," as workmen who, with the men of Solomon and of Hiram, fashioned the stones for the temple. Here also the text is doubtful, and some by a slight change would read: "and made a border for them" (i.e. for the stones). In Ezekiel 27:9 the men of Gebal are described as the "calkers" of the ships of Tyre and Sidon.
George Rice Hovey
See more on the meaning of Gebalites in the Bible:
Gebalites {Easton's Bible Dictionary}
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