Geber

Geber (meaning: manly, strong) was the name of one or possibly two of Solomon's twelve district governors responsible for providing food for the royal household on a monthly rotation. Ben-Geber (son of Geber) administered the Transjordanian districts of Ramoth-gilead, Argob in Bashan, and the surrounding territories — a large and resource-rich region that included sixty great fortified cities (1 Kings 4:19). A second officer named simply Geber administered the land of Gilead (1 Kings 4:13), though some scholars consider these the same individual.

Solomon's system of twelve administrative districts, each governed by an appointed official responsible for one month's royal provisions, represented a significant administrative advance over the tribal confederation of the period of the Judges. The Transjordanian district managed by Geber or Ben-Geber was particularly extensive, encompassing the former kingdoms of Sihon the Amorite and Og of Bashan — territories Israel had conquered before crossing the Jordan. The preservation of these administrative names in 1 Kings reflects the careful record-keeping of the Solomonic bureaucracy.