What is…
Gebal

also known as: Gobel, Gubli (Assyrian), Gebeil, Jbeil, Jebeil (modern), Jbeil (modern) or Jubayl (Arabic), Byblos, Kebny (Egyptian)

Hebrew: גְּבַל —transliteration: Gbal

This is a name of an ancient place north of Israel. Gebal was a Phoenician city and surrounding region. It is located in modern Lebanon.

It was not far from the Mediterranean seacoast, about 26 miles (42 km) north of Beirut, Lebanon. It is one of the world’s oldest post-Flood cities.

The Greeks called it Byblos.

It is first mentioned in Psalm 83:7. Later, the prophet Ezekiel mentions its men as being master shipbuilders (Ezekiel 27:9). “One of the oldest Egyptian words for an oceangoing boat was ‘Byblos ship’.”

The city is also mentioned in the Amarna tablets.

Over the centuries, the city was conquered by various cultures, including Egypt, Phoenicia, Assyria, Persia, Greeks, and Romans. As a result, many archaeological finds have been made in Gebal/Byblos.

Various false gods were worshipped here, including Cronus (aka El), nearest equivalent to the Canaanite Baal. In later years, a temple of Resheph was built here (a god associated with war and plagues, originally worshiped in Ebla).