Neby Samwil is probably to be identified with the Biblical Mizpah of Benjamin. It was some 4 miles north-west of Jerusalem, and situated on the loftiest hill in the vicinity, some 600 feet above the plain of Gibeon. Furthermore, Judas Machabeus, preparing for war with the Syrians, gathered his men "to Maspha, over against Jerusalem: for in Maspha was a place of prayer heretofore in Israel".