A watch tower,

1. A town in Gilead, Hosea 5:1; so named from the stone-heap cast up by Jacob and Laban, Genesis 31:49; supposed by many to be the place mentioned in the history of Jephthah, Judges 10:17 11:11,29,34 .

2. A city of Benjamin, a central gathering-place of the tribes in the period of the judges, Joshua 18:26 Judges 20:1,3 21:1 . Here Samuel sacrificed and judged, and here Saul was designated as king, 1 Samuel 7:5-16 10:17 . It was fortified by Asa as a defense against Israel, 1 Kings 15:22 , was the residence of the governor, under Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 40:6 , and was reoccupied after the captivity, Nehemiah 3:19 . Its name indicates that it occupied an elevated site, and it was near Ramah; hence Dr. Robinson identifies it with the modern place called Neby Samwil, four or five miles northnorthwest of Jerusalem.

3. A town in the plain of Judah, Joshua 15:38 .

4. A valley near Mount Hermon, towards Zidon, Joshua 11:3,8 .