Gur-baal

Gur-baal is named once, as the dwelling place of an Arabian population whom Uzziah of Judah subdued during the wars summarized in 2 Chronicles 26.

An Arabian settlement in Uzziah's wars

The Chronicler reports the divine help given to Uzziah on his southern and western frontiers: "And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Meunim" (2Ch 26:7). Gur-baal stands in apposition to a specific Arabian group — the Arabians "who dwelt in Gur-baal" — and is paired in the same sentence with the Meunim and with Philistia. The surrounding verses tie the campaign to Uzziah's breaking down of the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod (2Ch 26:6) and to tribute received from the Meunites whose name spread "even to the entrance of Egypt" (2Ch 26:8), placing Gur-baal in the broad southern arc where Judah's frontier met Philistine and Arabian territory.