Gebal is one of the ancient enemies of Israel named in the confederacy of Psalm 83:5-8, listed after the Ishmaelites, Moab, and the Hagarites and before Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, and Tyre. This Gebal is a region of Idumea and is often confused with the Phoenician city of Gebal, or Byblos. Its people descended from Esau, so Descendants of Esau actually appear three times on the list: Edom itself, Amalek, and Gebal. Gebal and Amalek are tribes that became distinguished from the bulk of the Edomites, evidently striking out on their own and eventually establishing their own identities. Like the other nations in the list, Gebal belongs to the peoples who perpetually rose up against Israel and Judah, and who are counted among the major players in the Middle East today, in the Arab or Muslim world opposed to Israel and the West.

The Gebal named in Psalm 83:7 among the confederacy of Israel's ancient enemies is not the Phoenician city in modern Lebanon, later renamed Byblos, as many mistakenly believe. It is a tribe of Edomites that became separated from the rest of Edom and took the tribal name Gebal. Edom thus appears three times in the psalm's list: as Edom itself, as Gebal, and as Amalek, the other separated Edomite tribe. Edom stands first in the list, and the psalmist makes clear that those who are enemies of Israel are enemies of God as well. Little is known of the Gebalites or what they did, whereas the Amalekites became a constant thorn in Israel's side. Because Gebal is Edomite, it shares in the hatred of Jacob that Esau's descendants nourished from generation to generation, and in the judgment God pronounced on Edom for it.

Gebal is one of the nations in the confederacy against God's people listed in Psalm 83:5-8, alongside Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, the Hagrites, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, Tyre, and Assyria. Gebal belongs to Esau's line. Teman, the firstborn son of Eliphaz and grandson of Esau (Genesis 36), is the father of those called Gebal in Psalm 83, and Gebal is the geographic region where Teman and his tribe settled. Gebal and Amalek, both members of Esau's family, became separately known because they had to be distinguished from one another and did not remain together with the rest of the Edomites. Even so, they were evidently closely allied throughout much of their history. Prophecies against Esau that speak of Teman therefore may refer to this particular branch of the family. Like the other nations on the list, Gebal is among the perpetual enemies of Israel and Judah, and it is counted among the major Arab-Islamic players of the Middle East today. Together these nations make up the end-time confederacy that is likely the king of the South of Daniel 11:40, which God will take down with a whirlwind and tempest.