Ibleam

Ibleam is a Manassite city sitting in the territories of Issachar and Asher, paired in the early lists with Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, and Megiddo as the cities Manasseh held but could not at first dispossess. Centuries later it reappears as the place near which Ahaziah of Judah is mortally wounded.

A Manassite City Among Issachar and Asher

The allotment record for Manasseh notes the cities held outside the tribal boundaries proper: "And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, the third height" (Jos 17:11). Ibleam stands second in the list, between Beth-shean and Dor.

Manasseh's Failure to Dispossess

The same set of cities reappears in the Judges summary of incomplete conquest: "And Manasseh did not drive out [the inhabitants of] Beth-shean and its towns, nor [of] Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites determined to dwell in that land" (Judg 1:27). Ibleam is named with the four other key cities Manasseh failed to clear; the Canaanites stayed in place.

The Death of Ahaziah Near Ibleam

In the violence following Jehu's coup, Ibleam supplies the geography of Ahaziah's wounding. "But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, \"Him too. Kill him.\" [This happened] in the chariot at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there" (2 Ki 9:27). The fatal blow is struck on the ascent of Gur, located by Ibleam; Ahaziah then carries on to Megiddo and dies there. Ibleam thus marks the location of the strike, with Megiddo — also in Manasseh's failed-conquest list — marking the place of death.