A Hebrew name meaning, “watchtower” (also spelled "Mizpeh"). Mizpah designates at least six different locations mentioned in the Old Testament and Apocrypha (a set of ancient texts not included in the Hebrew Bible but accepted by some Christian groups).
A place in Gilead where Jacob and Laban made a covenant (Genesis 31:49). They set up a heap of stones to mark the borders between their territories.
A place referred to as “the land of Mizpah” (Joshua 11:3) or the “valley of Mizpah” (Joshua 11:8). It was near Mount Hermon and the Hivites lived there.
A town in Judah near Lachish referred to in Joshua 15:38.
A place in the tribal area of Benjamin (Joshua 18:26). The Israelites gathered here to war against the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 20:1; 21:1). This was after the men of Gibeah had abused and killed the concubine of a visiting Levite. It was here that Samuel called all Israel together to pray for victory over the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:5–8). Later, Samuel called for an assembly at Mizpah to declare Saul as king to the people. Here he also instructed the people and king in the ways of the kingdom (10:17–25).
In the time of King Asa, Mizpah was a fortified town on the border between Israel and Judah (1 Kings 15:22). After the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, Mizpah became the residence of Gedaliah the governor (2 Kings 25:23–24; Jeremiah 40:10). Ishmael of the “royal seed” killed Gedaliah there (Jeremiah 41:3). Two days later, Ishmael murdered a group of travelers who were going to Jerusalem. These people were bringing their offerings to the ruined temple. He threw their bodies into a cistern that Asa had constructed centuries earlier.
In the period between the Old Testament and New Testament, Mizpah continued to be an important religious center. Judas Maccabeus called the people together at Mizpah, “because Israel formerly had a place of prayer in Mizpah” (1 Maccabees 3:46).
The home of Jephthah. From here he led the Israelites in battle against the Ammonites. He returned here to carry out his vow (Judges 10–11). It is possible that this is the same place as the Ramath-mizpeh of Joshua 13:26. Many identify it with Khirbat Jal’ad, south of the Jabbok.
A town in Moab to which David fled from Saul (1 Samuel 22:3).