The pool of Gibeon
Gibeon is identified by inscribed jar handles from the site itself, and it has a great pool of the kind 2 Samuel and Jeremiah both mention.
Fakapapau'i 'e he keliFeitu'u kuo keliIron Age
A shaft eleven metres across cut straight down through bedrock with a spiral stair around its wall, and a tunnel continuing to the water table. Jar handles from the site are stamped "Gibeon", confirming the identification. 2 Samuel sets a confrontation between Joab's men and Abner's "by the pool of Gibeon".
And they met together by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side.
- Na'e 'ilo'i
- El-Jib (Gibeon), West Bank, 1956 — James Pritchard's excavation
- 'Oku tauhi 'i
- In place
- Na'e a'u mai fēfē kiate kitautolu
- Na'e keli hake, pe 'oku kei tu'u 'i he potu na'e langa ai.
Ko e me'a 'oku ne fakahā
Whether the biblical "pool" is this shaft or a separate reservoir on the site is discussed; both are there.
Founga hono ngāue'aki 'e he kau hisitōlia
The stamped handles make Gibeon one of the securely identified biblical towns.
'I he Folofola
Fekau'aki mo
Ngaahi ma'u'anga fakamatala
- Pritchard, Gibeon: Where the Sun Stood Still (1962)
'Oku 'i he lea faka-Pilitānia 'a e ngaahi fakamatala ko 'eni he taimi ni. 'E muimui mai 'a e liliu.