In the 11th century B.C.E., Gibeon and its vicinity witnessed a conflict between the army of Ish-bosheth under the command of Abner and that of David under the leadership of Joab. Initially, doubtless to settle the issue as to who should be king over all Israel, a combat with 12 men from each side was staged. But this decided nothing, for each warrior transfixed his opponent with the sword so that all 24 perished. Thereafter, fierce fighting erupted, with Abner losing 18 times as many men as Joab. All together there were 380 casualties, including Joab’s brother Asahel, killed by Abner. (2Sa 2:12-31) In revenge over Asahel, Joab later murdered Abner. (2Sa 3:27, 30) Sometime after this, near the great stone in Gibeon, Joab also killed his own cousin, Amasa, a nephew of David, whom David had appointed army chieftain.—2Sa 20:8-10.
Throughout the centuries, the original Gibeonites continued to exist as a people, although King Saul schemed to destroy them. The Gibeonites, however, patiently waited on Jehovah to reveal the injustice. This he did by means of a three-year famine in David’s reign. Upon inquiring of Jehovah and learning that bloodguilt was involved, David interviewed the Gibeonites to ascertain what should be done to make atonement. The Gibeonites rightly answered that it was not “a matter of silver or gold,” because, according to the Law, no ransom could be accepted for a murderer. (Nu 35:30, 31) They also recognized that they could not put a man to death without legal authorization. Therefore, not until David’s further questioning did they request that seven “sons” of Saul be handed over to them. The fact that bloodguilt was upon both Saul and his household suggests that, although Saul probably took the lead in the murderous action, the “sons” of Saul may directly or indirectly have shared in it. (2Sa 21:1-9) In that event this would not be a case of sons dying for the sins of their fathers (De 24:16) but would involve the administration of retributive justice in harmony with the law “soul will be for soul.”—De 19:21.