Byblos (
??ß???) is the
Greek name of the
Phoenician city
Gebal (earlier
Gubla). It is a Mediterranean city in the
Mount Lebanon Governorate of present-day
Lebanon under the current
Arabic name of
Jbeil (????
Gubayl) and was also referred to as
Gibelet during the
Crusades. It is believed to have been founded around 5000 BC, and according to fragments attributed to the semi-legendary pre-
Trojan war Phoenician historian
Sanchuniathon, it was built by
Cronus as the first city in Phoenicia.
[1] Today it is believed by many to be
the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world.
It is mentioned in the Bible in 1&_160;Kings 518, referring to the nationality of the builders of Solomon's Temple, and also in Ezekiel 279, referring to the riches of Tyre.
The Phoenician city of Gebal was named Byblos by the Greeks, because it was through Gebal that papyrus B?ß??? (bublos; Egyptian papyrus) was imported into Greece. Hence the English word Bible is derived from byblos as "the (papyrus) book." [2] The present day city is now known by the Arabic name Jubayl or Jbeil (????), a direct descendant of the Canaanite name.
Byblos (Greek) or Gebal (Phoenician) is located on the Mediterranean coast of present-day Lebanon, about 26 miles (42 kilometers) north of Beirut. It is attractive to archaeologists because of the successive layers of debris resulting from centuries of human habitation.
