In the center of the contemporary Arab village of El Gib, located in the valley north of Nabi Samwill, are the remains of the Biblical village of Gibeon. According to the Biblical account, Gibeon was an important city at the time of Joshua’s conquest, whose men made excellent soldiers. Its people decided that they preferred peace to battle, and instead of fighting the incoming Israelites, they forged an alliance with them.

When the Amorite kings of Canaan heard what the Gibeonites had done, they were alarmed. Said one "Come up and help me attack Gibeon. . .because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites." So the five Amorite kings joined forces, moved their troops into position and assaulted the city. Besieged for help, Joshua ascended from Jericho and attacked the Amorite Kings, chasing them down to the valley of Ayalon and then praying to Lord in front of all his people: "’O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon. ’So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day" [Joshua 10: 12-13].

One of the most sophisticated water systems from the Biblical period was constructed in ancient Gibeon. The vertical shaft descends to the depth of nearly 30 meters, directly to the water level of the local underground spring. This allowed plentiful quantities of water for the residents within the walls of the city. The project was apparently carried out about 1100 years before the time of Jesus and is witness to ingenuity of the people of Gibeon.