Coordinates: 33°07′33″N 35°26′34″E / 33.12583°N 35.44278°E / 33.12583; 35.44278

Bint Jbeil (Arabic: بنت جبيل‎) is the second largest town in the Nabatiye Governorate in Southern Lebanon.

The town has an estimated population of 30,000. Its exact population is unknown, because Lebanon has not conducted a population census since 1932.

History

The area around Bint Jbeil has been inhabited for millennia. Archaeologists have suggested that the ancient fortified city of En-hazor, which the Book of Joshua describes as having been occupied by the Biblical Tribe of Naphtali, was located in the vicinity.

According to some historians, the name of the town is derived from a Yemeni name. They argue that the name is linked to Yemeni tribes that immigrated to the Levant centuries ago from Yemeni towns such as Jibla, Jabalan Al Ardaba, and Jabalan Al Raymah, or the two territories of the Jubail lowland and Jubail highland. Other historians claim that the founders of Bint Jbeil were the Phoenicians, who came from the northern Lebanese town of Jbeil (Byblos); they may have been Shia Muslims escaping the Seljuk occupation of Byblos. Bint Jbeil literally means 'Daughter of Byblos.'