Gebal

Gebal is a toponym and linguistic root in Semitic languages that denotes mountains or elevated terrain. The form is often transliterated as Gebal, Jebel, or Gabal, reflecting Arabic jabal and Hebrew gebel that mean "mountain." The term is commonly used in place names across the Middle East and North Africa, and appears in biblical and classical geography as a generic reference to mountainous locations.

Notable examples include Gebel Barkal in Sudan (also spelled Jebel Barkal), a sacred mountain site near Karima that centers Kushite and Napatan history and is a UNESCO World Heritage site; Gebel el-Silsila near Aswan, Egypt, a sandstone quarry complex connected to ancient temples along the Nile; and Gebel Uweinat (Jebel Uweinat), a remote mountain on the Egypt–Libya border known for prehistoric rock art and mineral resources.

As a toponym, Gebal is not a single place but a common element in many mountain-related names in the Middle East and North Africa. In scholarly and historical contexts the form is encountered in philology, cartography, and archaeology. Related forms include Jebel and Gabal.