Dictionary of the Bible
JABESH, JABESH-GILEAD.—A city which first appears in the story of the restoration of the Benjamites (Jdg 21:1-25). Probably it bad not fully recovered from this blow when it was almost forced to submit to the disgraceful terms of Nahash the Ammonite (1Sa 11:1-15). In gratitude for Saul’s relief of the city, the Inhabitants rescued his body from maltreatment by the Philistines (1Sa 31:11-13)—an act which earned them the commendation of David (2Sa 2:4).
According to the Onomasticon, the site is 6 Roman miles from Pella. The name seems to be preserved in Yabis, a wady tributary to the Jordan, which runs down at the south part of trans-Jordanic Manasseh. The site itself, however, is not yet identified with certainty.
R. A. S. Macalister.