Jerusalem - Surroundings

From Jib a narrow road runs west to the village of El-Qubeiba, a few kilometers away, which many people have believed since the Crusader period to be the Biblical Emmaus, where the risen Christ appeared to two of his disciples (Luke 24,13; but see also Latrun). There is a Franciscan church built in 1901 on the site of an earlier Crusader church.

10km/6mi northwest of Jerusalem (and only a few kilometers north of Nebi Samwil), in the hills of Judaea, is the Arab village of Jib, which is believed to be the Gibeon of the Old Testament. Excavations here brought to light a remarkable water supply system, with a large circular cistern of the Canaanite period and a tunnel linking it with a nearby underground spring.

On the road to Ramallah, 5km/3mi north of Jerusalem, is the hill of Givat Shaul (839m/2753ft), the site of Gibeath in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18,28). 1km/0.75mi south is the Biblical Zuph (now Shufat), home of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 9,5-6), where Samuel anointed Saul as first king of the Jews (1 Samuel 10,1).