Nabi Samwil
| an-Nabi Samwil | |
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| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | النبي صموئيل |
| • Also spelled | an-Nebi Samwil (official) an-Nabi Samuil (unofficial) |
The village site in the early 20th century
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 an-Nabi Samwil
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| Coordinates: 31°49′57.84″N 35°10′48.54″E / 31.8327333°N 35.1801500°ECoordinates: 31°49′57.84″N 35°10′48.54″E / 31.8327333°N 35.1801500°E | |
| Palestine grid | 167/137 |
| Governorate | Jerusalem |
| Government | |
| • Type | Local Development Committee |
| Area | |
| • Jurisdiction | 1,592 dunams (1.6 km2 or 0.6 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 220 |
| Name meaning | "the prophet Samuel" |
An-Nabi Samwil also al-Nabi Samuil (Arabic: النبي صموئيل an-Nabi Samu'il, translit: "the prophet Samuel") is a Palestinian village of nearly 220 inhabitants in the West Bank, within the Jerusalem Governorate, located four kilometers north of Jerusalem. The village consists of a few houses and in addition to serving worshipers, its mosque acts as a prominent landmark.
Nabi Samwil is situated atop of a mountain, 890 meters above sea level, four kilometers north of the Jerusalem neighborhood Shuafat and southwest of Ramallah in the Seam Zone. Nearby localities include Beit Iksa to the south, al Jib to the north, Beit Hanina to the east and Biddu to the west. The village consists of 1,592 dunams of which only 5 dunams are built-up.
The village is traditionally held to contain the tomb of the prophet Samuel (Arabic: Nabi Samwil), from which the village receives its name. The tomb is draped by cloth and is located in a dark cellar in Nabi Samwil's large turreted mosque. A monastery was built by the Byzantines at Nabi Samwil, serving as a hostel for Christian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. The monastery was restored and enlarged during the reign of Justinian I in the mid-6th-century CE. Since then, the site has been a place of pilgrimage for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike. The tomb continued to be in use throughout the early Arab period of rule in Palestine from the 7th to 10th centuries.
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