Smith's Bible Dictionary

G

Gaal — Geuel

Gaal

Ga’al (contempt), son of Ebed, aided the Shechemites in their rebellion against Abimelech. Judges 9. (b.c. 1206.)

Gaash

Ga’ash (earthquake), a hill of Ephraim, where Joshua was buried. The brooks or valley of Gaash, 2 Samuel 23:30; 1 Chronicles 11:32, were probably at the foot of the hill.

Gaba

Ga’ba. The same name as GEBA, which see.

Gabba-i

Gab’ba-i (tax-gatherer), apparently the head of an important family of Benjamin resident at Jerusalem. Nehemiah 11:8. (b.c. before 536.)

Gabbatha (elevated; a platform), the Hebrew or Chaldee appellation of a place, also called “Pavement,” where the judgment-seat or bema was planted, from his place on which Pilate delivered our Lord to death. John 19:13. It was a tessellated platform outside the prætorium, on the western hill of Jerusalem, for Pilate brought Jesus forth from thence to it.

Gabriel

Ga’briel (man of God), an angel sent by God to announce to Zacharias the birth of John the Baptist, and to Mary the birth of Christ. He was also sent to Daniel to explain his visions. Daniel 8:16; Daniel 9:21.

Gad

Gad (a troop).

1. Jacob’s seventh son, the first-born of Zilpah, Leah’s maid, and whole-brother to Asher. Genesis 30:11-13; Genesis 46:16, Genesis 46:18. (b.c. 1753–1740.)

2. “The seer,” or “the king’s seer,” i.e., David’s, 1 Chronicles 29:29; 2 Chronicles 29:25, was a “prophet” who appears to have joined David when in the hold. 1 Samuel 22:5. (b.c. 1061.) He reappears in connection with the punishment inflicted for the numbering of the people. 2 Samuel 24:11-19; 1 Chronicles 21:9-19. He wrote a book of the Acts of David, 1 Chronicles 29:29, and also assisted in the arrangements for the musical service of the “house of God.” 2 Chronicles 29:25.

Gad The tribe of

Gad, The tribe of. The country allotted to the tribe of Gad appears, speaking roughly, to have lain chiefly about the centre of the land east of Jordan. The south of that district—from the Arnon (Wady Mojeb), about halfway down the Dead Sea, to Heshbon, nearly due east of Jerusalem—was occupied by Reuben, and at or about Heshbon the possessions of Gad commenced. They embraced half Gilead, Deuteronomy 3:12, or half the land of the children of Ammon, Joshua 13:25, probably the mountainous district which is intersected by the torrent Jabbok, including, as its most northern town, the ancient sanctuary of Mahanaim. On the east the furthest landmark given is “Aroer that is before Rabbah,” the present Amman. Joshua 13:25. West was the Jordan. ver. Joshua 13:27. The character of the tribe is throughout strongly marked—fierce and warlike.

Gadites The

Gad’ites, The, the descendants of Gad, and members of his tribe.

Gadara

Gad’ara, a strong city situated near the river Hieromax, six miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, over against Scythopolis and Tiberias, and 16 Roman miles distant from each of those places. Josephus calls it the capital of Peræa. The ruins of this city, now called Um Keis, are about two miles in circumference. The most interesting remains of Gadara are its tombs, which dot the cliffs for a considerable distance around the city. Godet says there is still a population of 200 souls in these tombs. Gadara was captured by Vespasian on the first outbreak of the war with the Jews, all its inhabitants were massacred, and the town itself, with the surrounding villages, was reduced to ashes.

Gadarenes’ Girgesenes Gerasenes

Gadarenes’, Girgesenes’, Gerasenes’. (These three names are used indiscriminately to designate the place where Jesus healed two demoniacs. The first two are in the Authorized Version. Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26. In Mark and Luke the Revised Version uses Gerasenes in place of Gadarenes. The miracle referred to took place, without doubt, near the town of Gergesa, the modern Kersa, close by the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and hence in the country of the Gergesenes. But as Gergesa was a small village, and little known, the evangelists, who wrote for more distant readers, spoke of the event as taking place in the country of the Gadarenes, so named from its largest city, Gadara; and this country included the country of the Gergesenes as a state includes a county. The Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known. “It became one of the proudest cities of Syria.” It was situated some 30 miles southeast of Gadara, on the borders of Peræa, and a little north of the river Jabbok. It is now called Jerash, and is a deserted ruin. The district of the Gerasenes probably included that of the Gadarenes; so that the demoniac of Gergesa belonged to the country of the Gadarenes and also to that of the Gerasenes, as the same person may, with equal truth, be said to live in the city or the state, or in the United States. For those near by the local name would be used; but in writing to a distant people, as the Greeks and Romans, the more comprehensive and general name would be given.—Ed.)

Gaddi

Gad’di (fortunate), son of Susi; the Manassite spy sent by Moses to explore Canaan. Numbers 13:11. (b.c. 1490.)

Gaddiel

Gad’diel (fortune of God), a Zebulunite, one of the twelve spies. Numbers 13:10. (b.c. 1490.)

Gadi

Ga’di, a Gadite, father of Menahem, a king of Israel. 2 Kings 15:14, 2 Kings 15:17.

Gaham

Ga’ham (sunburnt), son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, by his concubine Reumah. Genesis 22:24. (b.c. about 1900.)

Gahar

Ga’har (hiding-place). The Bene-Gahar were among the families of Nethinim who returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:47; Nehemiah 7:49. (b.c. before 536.)

Gaius

Gai’us, or Cai’us (lord).

1. A Macedonian who accompanied Paul in his travels, and whose life was in danger from the mob at Ephesus. Acts 19:29. (a.d. 54.)

2. Of Derbe. He went with Paul from Corinth in his last journey to Jerusalem. Acts 20:4. (a.d. 55.)

3. Of Corinth, whom Paul baptized, and who was his host in his second sojourn in that city. 1 Corinthians 1:14; Romans 16:23. (These are supposed by some to be only one person.)

4. John’s third epistle is addressed to a Christian of this name. We may possibly identify him with No. 2.

Gala-ad

Gal’a-ad, the Greek form of the word Gilead.

Galal

Ga’lal (influential).

1. A Levite, one of the sons of Asaph. 1 Chronicles 9:15. (b.c. 536.)

2. Another Levite, of the family of Elkanah. 1 Chronicles 9:16.

3. A third Levite, son of Jeduthun. Nehemiah 11:17. (b.c. 536.)

Galatia

Gala’tia (land of the Galli, Gauls). The Roman province of Galatia may be roughly described as the central region of the peninsula of Asia Minor, bounded on the north by Bithynia and Paphlagonia; on the east by Pontus; on the south by Cappadocia and Lycaonia; on the west by Phrygia.—Encyc. Brit. It derived its name from the Gallic or Celtic tribes who, about 280 b.c., made an irruption into Macedonia and Thrace. It finally became a Roman province. The Galatia of the New Testament was really the “Gaul” of the East. The people have always been described as “susceptible of quick impressions and sudden changes, with a fickleness equal to their courage and enthusiasm, and a constant liability to that disunion which is the fruit of excessive vanity. The Galatian churches were founded by Paul at his first visit, when he was detained among them by sickness, Galatians 4:13, during his second missionary journey, about a.d. 51. He visited them again on his third missionary tour.

Galatians The Epistle to the

Gala’tians, The Epistle to the, was written by the apostle St. Paul not long after his journey through Galatia and Phrygia, Acts 18:23, and probably in the early portion of his two-and-a-half-years stay at Ephesus, which terminated with the Pentecost of a.d. 57 or 58. The epistle appears to have been called forth by the machinations of Judaizing teachers, who, shortly before the date of its composition, had endeavored to seduce the churches of this province into a recognition of circumcision, Galatians 5:2, Galatians 5:11, Galatians 5:12; Galatians 6:12, seq., and had openly sought to depreciate the apostolic claims of St. Paul. Comp. Galatians 1:11. “Since the days of Luther the Epistle to the Galatians has always been held in high esteem as the gospel’s banner of freedom. To it and the Epistle to the Romans we owe most directly the springing up and development of the ideas and energies of the Reformation.”—Meyer.

Galbanum

Galbanum, one of the perfumes employed in the preparation of the sacred incense. Exodus 30:34. The galbanum of commerce is brought chiefly from India and the Levant. It is a resinous gum of a brownish-yellow color and strong disagreeable smell, usually met with in masses, but sometimes found in yellowish tear-like drops. But, though galbanum itself is well known, the plant which yields it has not been exactly determined.

Gale-ed

Gal’e-ed (the heap of witness), the name given by Jacob to the heap which he and Laban made on Mount Gilead in witness of the covenant then entered into between them. Genesis 31:47, Genesis 31:48; comp. Genesis 31:25.

Galileans

Galile’ans, the inhabitants of Galilee, the northern province of Palestine. The apostles were all Galileans by either birth or residence. Acts 1:11. It appears also that the pronunciation of those Jews who resided in Galilee had become peculiar, probably from their contact with their Gentile neighbors. Matthew 26:73.

Galiilee

Gali’ilee (circuit). This name, which in the Roman age was applied to a large province, seems to have been originally confined to a little “circuit” of country round Kedesh-Naphtali, in which were situated the twenty towns given by Solomon to Hiram king of Tyre as payment for his work in conveying timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem. Joshua 20:7; 1 Kings 9:11. In the time of our Lord all Palestine was divided into three provinces, Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. Luke 17:11; Acts 9:31; Joseph. B. J. iii. 3. The latter included the whole northern section of the country, including the ancient territories of Issachar, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali. On the west it was bounded by the territory of Ptolemais, which probably included the whole plain of Akka to the foot of Carmel. The southern border ran along the base of Carmel and of the hills of Samaria to Mount Gilboa, and then descended the valley of Jezreel by Scythopolis to the Jordan. The river Jordan, the Sea of Galilee, and the upper Jordan to the fountain at Dan, formed the eastern border; and the northern ran from Dan westward across the mountain ridge till it touched the territory of the Phœnicians. Galilee was divided into two sections, “Lower” and “Upper.” Lower Galilee included the great plain of Esdraelon with its offshoots, which run down to the Jordan and the Lake of Tiberias, and the whole of the hill country adjoining it on the north to the foot of the mountain range. It was thus one of the richest and most beautiful sections of Palestine. Upper Galilee embraced the whole mountain range lying between the upper Jordan and Phœnicia. To this region the name “Galilee of the Gentiles” is given in the Old and New Testaments. Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:15. Galilee was the scene of the greater part of our Lord’s private life and public acts. It is a remarkable fact that the first three Gospels are chiefly taken up with our Lord’s ministrations in this province, while the Gospel of John dwells more upon those in Judea.

(Galilee in the time of Christ.—From Rev. Selah Merrill’s book (1881) with this title, we glean the following facts:

Size.—It is estimated that of the 6000 square miles in Palestine west of the Jordan, nearly one-third, almost 2000 square miles, belongs to Galilee.

Population.—The population is between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000. Dr. Merrill argues for the general correctness of Josephus’ estimates, who says there were 204 cities and villages in Galilee, the smallest of which numbered 15,000 inhabitants.

Character of the country.—Galilee was a region of great natural fertility. Such is the fertility of the soil that it rejects no plant, for the air is so genial that it suits every variety. The walnut, which delights above other trees in a wintry climate, grows here luxuriantly, together with the palm tree, which is nourished by heat. It not only possesses the extraordinary virtue of nourishing fruits of opposite climes, but also maintains a continual supply of them. Here were found all the productions which made Italy rich and beautiful. Forests covered its mountains and hills, while its uplands, gentle slopes and broader valleys were rich in pasture, meadows, cultivated fields, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees of every kind.

Character of the Galileans.—They were thoroughly a Jewish people. With few exceptions they were wealthy and in general an influential class. If one should say the Jews were bigoted in religion, he should remember at the same time that in regard to social, commercial, and political relations none were more cosmopolitan in either sentiment or practice than they. The Galileans had many manufactures, fisheries, some commerce, but were chiefly an agricultural people. They were eminent for patriotism and courage, as were their ancestors, with great respect for law and order.—Ed.)

Galilee Sea of

Gal’ilee, Sea of. So called from the province of Galilee, which bordered on its western side. Matthew 4:18. It was also called the “Sea of Tiberias,” from the celebrated city of that name. John 6:1. At its northwestern angle was a beautiful and fertile plain called “Gennesaret,” and from that it derived the name of “Lake of Gennesaret.” Luke 5:1. It was called in the Old Testament “the Sea of Chinnereth” or “Cinneroth,” Numbers 34:11; Joshua 12:3, from a town of that name which stood on or near its shore. Joshua 19:35. Its modern name is Bahr Tubarı̂yeh. Most of our Lord’s public life was spent in the environs of this sea. The surrounding region was then the most densely peopled in all Palestine. No less than nine very populous cities stood on the very shores of the lake. The Sea of Galilee is of an oval shape, about thirteen geographical miles long and six broad. It is 60 miles northeast of Jerusalem and 27 east of the Mediterranean Sea. The river Jordan enters it at its northern end and passes out at its southern end. In fact the bed of the lake is just a lower section of the great Jordan valley. Its most remarkable feature is its deep depression, being no less than 700 feet below the level of the ocean. The scenery is bleak and monotonous, being surrounded by a high and almost unbroken wall of hills, on account of which it is exposed to frequent sudden and violent storms. The great depression makes the climate of the shores almost tropical. This is very sensibly felt by the traveller in going down from the plains of Galilee. In summer the heat is intense, and even in early spring the air has something of an Egyptian balminess. The water of the lake is sweet, cool, and transparent; and as the beach is everywhere pebbly it has a beautiful sparkling look. It abounds in fish now as in ancient times. There were large fisheries on the lake, and much commerce was carried on upon it.

Sea of Galilee.

Gall

Gall.

1. Mereerah, denoting “that which is bitter”; hence the term is applied to the “bile” or “gall” (the fluid secreted by the liver), from its intense bitterness, Job 16:13; Job 20:25; it is also used of the “poison” of serpents, Job 20:14, which the ancients erroneously believed was their gall. 2. Rôsh, generally translated “gall” in the English Bible, is in Hosea 10:4 rendered “hemlock”; in Deuteronomy 32:33 and Job 20:16, rôsh denotes the “poison” or “venom” of serpents. From Deuteronomy 29:18 and Lamentations 3:19, compared with Hosea 10:4, it is evident that the Hebrew term denotes some bitter and perhaps poisonous plant. Other writers have supposed, and with some reason, from Deuteronomy 32:32, that some berry-bearing plant must be intended. Gesenius understands poppies; in which case the gall mingled with the wine offered to our Lord at his crucifixion, and refused by him, would be an anæsthetic, and tend to diminish the sense of suffering. Dr. Richardson, “Ten Lectures on Alcohol,” p. 23, thinks these drinks were given to the crucified to diminish the suffering through their intoxicating effects.

Gallery

Gallery, an architectural term describing the porticos or verandas which are not uncommon in eastern houses. It is doubtful, however, whether the Hebrew words so translated have any reference to such an object. (According to the latest researches, the colonnade or else wainscoting is meant. Song of Solomon 1:17; Ezekiel 41:15.—Schaff.)

Galley

Galley. [SHIP.]

Gallim

Gal’lim (fountains). This is given as the native place of the man to whom Michal, David’s wife, was given. 1 Samuel 25:44. There is no clue to the situation of the place. The name occurs again in the catalogue of places terrified at the approach of Sennacherib. Isaiah 10:30.

Gallio

Gal’lio (one who lives on milk), Junius Annæus Gallio, the Roman proconsul of Achaia when St. Paul was at Corinth, a.d. 53, under the emperor Claudius. Acts 18:12. He was brother to Lucius Annæus Seneca, the philosopher. Jerome in the Chronicle of Eusebius says that he committed suicide in 65 a.d. Winer thinks he was put to death by Nero.

Gallows

Gallows. [PUNISHMENTS.]

Gamaliel

Gama’liel (recompense of God).

1. Son of Pedahzur; prince or captain of the tribe of Manasseh at the census at Sinai, Numbers 1:10; Numbers 2:20; Numbers 7:54, Numbers 7:59, and at starting on the march through the wilderness. ch. Numbers 10:23. (b.c. 1490.)

2. A Pharisee and celebrated doctor of the law, who gave prudent worldly advice in the Sanhedrin respecting the treatment of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Acts 5:34-36. (a.d. 29.) We learn from Acts 22:3 that he was the preceptor of St. Paul. He is generally identified with the very celebrated Jewish doctor Gamaliel, grandson of Hillel, and who is referred to as authority in the Jewish Mishna.

Games

Games. Among the Greeks the rage for theatrical exhibitions was such that every city of any size possessed its theatre and stadium. At Ephesus an annual contest was held in honor of Diana. It is probable that St. Paul was present when these games were proceeding. A direct reference to the exhibitions that took place on such occasions is made in 1 Corinthians 15:32. St. Paul’s epistles abound with allusions to the Greek contests, borrowed probably from the Isthmian games, at which he may well have been present during his first visit to Corinth. These contests, 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7, were divided into two classes, the pancratium, consisting of boxing and wrestling, and the pentathlon, consisting of leaping, running, quoiting, hurling the spear and wrestling. The competitors, 1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 2:5, required a long and severe course of previous training, 1 Timothy 4:8, during which a particular diet was enforced. 1 Corinthians 9:25, 1 Corinthians 9:27. In the Olympic contests these preparatory exercises extended over a period of ten months, during the last of which they were conducted under the supervision of appointed officers. The contests took place in the presence of a vast multitude of spectators, Hebrews 12:1, the competitors being the spectacle. 1 Corinthians 4:9; Hebrews 10:33. The games were opened by the proclamation of a herald, 1 Corinthians 9:27, whose office it was to give out the name and country of each candidate, and especially to announce the name of the victor before the assembled multitude. The judge was selected for his spotless integrity, 2 Timothy 4:8; his office was to decide any disputes, Colossians 3:15, and to give the prize, 1 Corinthians 9:24; Philippians 3:14, consisting of a crown, 2 Timothy 2:5; 2 Timothy 4:8, of leaves of wild olive at the Olympic games, and of pine, or at one period ivy, at the Isthmian games. St. Paul alludes to two only out of the five contests, boxing and running, more frequently to the latter. The Jews had no public games, the great feasts of religion supplying them with anniversary occasions of national gatherings.

Gammadim

Gam’madim. This word occurs only in Ezekiel 27:11. A variety of explanations of the term have been offered.

1. One class renders it “pygmies.” 2. A second treats it as a geographical or local term. 3. A third gives a more general sense to the word “brave warriors.” Hitzig suggests “deserters.” After all, the rendering in the LXX—“guards”—furnishes the simplest explanation.

Gamul

Ga’mul (weaned), a priest, the leader of the twenty-second course in the service of the sanctuary. 1 Chronicles 24:17. (b.c. 535.)

Garden

Garden. Gardens in the East, as the Hebrew word indicates, are enclosures on the outskirts of towns, planted with various trees and shrubs. From the allusions in the Bible we learn that they were surrounded by hedges of thorn, Isaiah 5:5, or walls of stone. Proverbs 24:31. For further protection lodges, Isaiah 1:8; Lamentations 2:6, or watchtowers, Mark 12:1, were built in them, in which sat the keeper, Job 27:18, to drive away the wild beasts and robbers, as is the case to this day. The gardens of the Hebrews were planted with flowers and aromatic shrubs, Song of Solomon 6:2; Song of Solomon 4:16, besides olives, fig trees, nuts or walnuts, Song of Solomon 6:12, pomegranates, and others for domestic use. Exodus 23:11; Jeremiah 29:5; Amos 9:14. Gardens of herbs, or kitchen gardens, are mentioned in Deuteronomy 11:10 and 1 Kings 21:2. The rose garden in Jerusalem, said to have been situated westward of the temple mount, is remarkable as having been one of the few gardens which, from the time of the prophets, existed within the city walls. The retirement of gardens rendered them favorite places for devotion.

Gareb

Ga’reb (scabby), one of the heroes of David’s army. 2 Samuel 23:38.

Gareb The hill

Ga’reb, The hill, in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, named only in Jeremiah 31:39.

Garlic

Garlic, Numbers 11:5, is the Allium sativum of Linnæus, which abounds in Egypt.

Garment

Garment. [DRESS.]

Garmite The

Gar’mite, The. Keilah the Garmite, i.e., the descendant of Gerem, is mentioned in the obscure genealogical lists of the families of Judah. 1 Chronicles 4:19.

Gashmu

Gash’mu, a variation of the name Geshem. Nehemiah 6:6. (b.c. 446.)

Gatam

Ga’tam (a burnt valley), the fourth son of Eliphaz the son of Esau, Genesis 36:11; 1 Chronicles 1:36, and one of the “dukes” of Eliphaz. Genesis 36:16. (b.c. after 1760.)

Garrison

Garrison. The Hebrew words so rendered in the Authorized Version are derivatives from the root nâtsab, to “place, erect,” which may be applied to a variety of objects.

1. Mattsab and mattsabah undoubtedly mean a “garrison” or fortified post. 1 Samuel 13:23; 1 Samuel 14:1, 1 Samuel 14:4, 1 Samuel 14:12, 1 Samuel 14:15; 2 Samuel 23:14. 2. Netsib is also used for a “garrison” in 1 Chronicles 11:16, but elsewhere for a “column” erected in an enemy’s country as a token of conquest. 1 Samuel 13:3. 3. The same word elsewhere means “officers” placed over a vanquished people. 2 Samuel 8:6, 2 Samuel 8:14; 1 Chronicles 18:13; 2 Chronicles 17:2. 4. Mattsebah in Ezekiel 26:11 means a “pillar.”

Gate

Gate. The gates and gateways of eastern cities anciently held and still hold an important part, not only in the defence but in the public economy of the place. They are thus sometimes taken as representing the city itself. Genesis 22:17; Genesis 24:60; Deuteronomy 12:12; Judges 5:8; Ruth 4:10; Psalm 87:2; Psalm 122:2. Among the special purposes for which they were used may be mentioned—

1. As places of public resort. Genesis 19:1; Genesis 23:10; Genesis 34:20, Genesis 34:24; 1 Samuel 4:18, etc. 2. Places for public deliberation, administration of justice, or of audience for kings and rulers or ambassadors. Deuteronomy 16:18; Deuteronomy 21:19; Deuteronomy 25:7; Joshua 20:4; Judges 9:35, etc. 3. Public markets. 2 Kings 7:1. In heathen towns the open spaces near the gates appear to have been sometimes used as places for sacrifice. Acts 14:13; comp. 2 Kings 23:8. Regarded therefore as positions of great importance, the gates of cities were carefully guarded, and closed at nightfall. Deuteronomy 3:5; Joshua 2:5, Joshua 2:7; Judges 9:40, Judges 9:44. They contained chambers over the gateway. 2 Samuel 18:24. The doors themselves of the larger gates mentioned in Scripture were two-leaved, plated with metal, closed with locks and fastened with metal bars. Deuteronomy 3:5; Psalm 107:16; Isaiah 45:1, Isaiah 45:2. Gates not defended by iron were of course liable to be set on fire by an enemy. Judges 9:52. The gateways of royal palaces and even of private houses were often richly ornamented. Sentences from the law were inscribed on and above the gates. Deuteronomy 6:9; Isaiah 54:12; Revelation 21:21. The gates of Solomon’s temple were very massive and costly, being overlaid with gold and carvings. 1 Kings 6:34, 1 Kings 6:35; 2 Kings 18:16. Those of the holy place were of live wood, two-leaved and overlaid with gold; those of the temple of fir. 1 Kings 6:31, 1 Kings 6:32, 1 Kings 6:34; Ezekiel 41:23, Ezekiel 41:24.

Gath

Gath (a wine-press), one of the five royal cities of the Philistines, Joshua 13:3; 1 Samuel 6:17, and the native place of the giant Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:4, 1 Samuel 17:23. It probably stood upon the conspicuous hill now called Tell-es-Sâfieh, upon the side of the plain of Philistia, at the foot of the mountains of Judah; 10 miles east of Ashdod, and about the same distance south by east of Ekron. It is irregular in form, and about 200 feet high. Gath occupied a strong position, 2 Chronicles 11:8, on the border of Judah and Philistia, 1 Samuel 21:10; 1 Chronicles 18:1; and from its strength and resources forming the key of both countries, it was the scene of frequent struggles, and was often captured and recaptured. 2 Kings 12:17; 2 Chronicles 11:8; 2 Chronicles 26:6; Amos 6:2. The ravages of war to which Gath was exposed appear to have destroyed it at a comparatively early period, as it is not mentioned among the other royal cities by the later prophets. Zephaniah 2:4; Zechariah 9:5, Zechariah 9:6. It is familiar to the Bible student as the scene of one of the most romantic incidents in the life of King David. 1 Samuel 21:10-15.

Gath-hepher

Gath-he’pher, or Git’tah-he’pher (wine-press on the hill), a town on the border of the territory of Zebulun, not far from Japhia, now Yâfa, Joshua 19:12, Joshua 19:13, celebrated as the native place of the prophet Jonah. 2 Kings 14:25. El-Meshhad, a village two miles east of Sefûrieh, is the ancient Gath-hepher.

Gath-rimmon

Gath-rim’mon (press of the pomegranate).

1. A city given out of the tribe of Dan to the Levites. Joshua 21:24; 1 Chronicles 6:69, situated on the plain of Philistia, apparently not far from Joppa. Joshua 19:45.

2. A town of the half tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan, assigned to the Levites. Joshua 21:25. The reading Gath-rimmon is probably an error of the transcribers.

Gaza

Ga’za (the fortified; the strong) (properly Azzah), one of the five chief cities of the Philistines. It is remarkable for its continuous existence and importance from the very earliest times. The secret of this unbroken history is to be found in the situation of Gaza. It is the last town in the southwest of Palestine, on the frontier towards Egypt. The same peculiarity of situation has made Gaza important in a military sense. Its name means “the strong”; and this was well elucidated in its siege by Alexander the Great, which lasted five months. In the conquest of Joshua the territory of Gaza is mentioned as one which he was not able to subdue. Joshua 10:41; Joshua 11:22; Joshua 13:3. It was assigned to the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:47, and that tribe did obtain possession of it, Judges 1:18, but did not hold it long, Judges 3:3; Judges 13:1, and apparently it continued through the times of Samuel, Saul, and David to be a Philistine city. 1 Samuel 6:17; 1 Samuel 14:52; 1 Samuel 31:1; 2 Samuel 21:15. Solomon became master of “Azzah,” 1 Kings 4:24; but in after times the same trouble with the Philistines recurred. 2 Chronicles 21:16; 2 Chronicles 26:6; 2 Chronicles 28:18. The passage where Gaza is mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 8:26) is full of interest. It is the account of the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch on his return from Jerusalem to Egypt. Gaza is the modern Ghuzzeh, a Mohammedan town of about 16,000 inhabitants, situated partly on an oblong hill of moderate height and partly on the lower ground. The climate of the place is almost tropical, but it has deep wells of excellent water. There are a few palm trees in the town, and its fruit orchards are very productive; but the chief feature of the neighborhood is the wide-spread olive grove to the north and northeast.

Gaza.

Gazathites The

Ga’zathites, The, Joshua 13:3, the inhabitants of Gaza.

Gazer

Ga’zer. 2 Samuel 5:25; 1 Chronicles 14:16. [GEZER.]

Gazez

Ga’zez (shearer), a name which occurs twice in 1 Chronicles 2:46—first as son of Caleb by Ephah his concubine, and second as soon of Haran, the son of the same woman. The second is possibly only a repetition of the first. (b.c. after 1688.)

Gazites The

Ga’zites, The, inhabitants of Gaza. Judges 16:2.

Gazzam

Gaz’zam (devouring). The Bene-Gazzam were among the families of the Nethinim who returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:48; Nehemiah 7:51. (b.c. 536.)

Geba

Ge’ba (a hill), a city of Benjamin, with “suburbs,” allotted to the priests. Joshua 21:17; 1 Chronicles 6:60. It is named amongst the first group of the Benjamite towns—apparently those lying near to and along the north boundary. Joshua 18:24. Here the name is given as Gaba. During the wars of the earlier part of the reign of Saul, Geba was held as a garrison by the Philistines, 1 Samuel 13:3, but they were ejected by Jonathan. It is now the modern village of Jeba, which stands picturesquely on the top of its steep terraced hill, six miles north of Jerusalem, on the very edge of the great Wady Suweinit, looking northward to the opposite village of ancient Michmash, which also retains its old name of Mukhmas.

Gebal

Ge’bal (mountain), a maritime town of Phœnicia, near Tyre, Ezekiel 27:9; known by the Greeks as Byblus. It is called Jebail by the Arabs, thus reviving the old biblical name.

Geber

Ge’ber (manly).

1. The son of Geber resided in the fortress of Ramoth-gilead, and had charge of Havoth-jair and the district of Argob. 1 Kings 4:13. (b.c. 1013.)

2. Geber the son of Uri had a district south of the former—the “land of Gilead.” 1 Kings 4:19.

Gebim

Ge’bim (grasshoppers), a village north of Jerusalem, Isaiah 10:31, apparently between Anathoth (the modern Anata) and the ridge on which Nob was situated.

Gedaliah

Gedali’ah (God is my greatness), son of Ahikam (Jeremiah’s protector, Jeremiah 26:24) and grandson of Shaphan the secretary of King Josiah. After the destruction of the temple, b.c. 588, Nebuchadnezzar departed from Judea, leaving Gedaliah with a Chaldean guard, Jeremiah 40:5, at Mizpah to govern the vinedressers and husbandmen, Jeremiah 52:16, who were exempted from captivity. Jeremiah joined Gedaliah; and Mizpah became the resort of Jews from various quarters. Jeremiah 40:6, Jeremiah 40:11. He was murdered by Ishmael two months after his appointment.

Gedeon

Ged’eon. The Greek form of the Hebrew name Gideon. Hebrews 11:32.

Geder

Ge’der (a wall). The king of Geder was one of the thirty-one kings who were overcome by Joshua on the west of the Jordan. Joshua 12:13. (b.c. 1445.) It is possible that it may be the same place as the Geder named in 1 Chronicles 4:39.

Gederah

Gede’rah (a sheepfold), a town of Judah in the lowland country, Joshua 15:36, apparently in its eastern part. No town bearing this name has, however, been yet discovered in this hitherto little-explored district.

Gederathite The

Gede’rathite, The, the native of a place called Gederah, apparently in Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 12:4.

Gederite The

Ged’erite, The, the native of some place named Geder or Gederah. 1 Chronicles 27:28.

Gederoth

Gede’roth (sheepfolds), a town in the low country of Judah. Joshua 15:41; 2 Chronicles 28:18.

Gederothaim

Gederotha’im (two sheepfolds), a town in the low country of Judah, Joshua 15:36, named next in order to Gederah.

Gedor

Ge’dor (a wall), a town in the mountainous part of Judah, Joshua 15:58, a few miles north of Hebron. Robinson discovered a Jedûr halfway between Bethlehem and Hebron, about two miles west of the road.

Gehazi

Geha’zi (valley of vision), the servant or boy of Elisha. He was sent as the prophet’s messenger on two occasions to the good Shunammite, 2 Kings 4 (b.c. 889–887); obtained fraudulently money and garments from Naaman, was miraculously smitten with incurable leprosy, and was dismissed from the prophet’s service. 2 Kings 5. Later in the history he is mentioned as being engaged in relating to King Joram all the great things which Elisha had done. 2 Kings 8:4, 2 Kings 8:5.

Gehenna

Gehen’na. [HINNOM.]

Geliloth

Gel’iloth (circuit), a place named among the marks of the south boundary line of the tribe of Benjamin. Joshua 18:17. The name Geliloth never occurs again in this locality, and it therefore seems probable that Gilgal is the right reading.

Gemalli

Gemal’li (camel-driver), the father of Ammiel, the Danite spy. Numbers 13:12. (b.c. 1490.)

Gemariah

Gemari’ah (perfected by Jehovah).

1. Son of Shaphan the scribe, and father of Michaiah. He was one of the nobles of Judah, and had a chamber in the house of the Lord, from which Baruch read Jeremiah’s alarming prophecy in the ears of all the people, b.c. 606. Jeremiah 36.

2. Son of Hilkiah, was made the bearer of Jeremiah’s letter to the captive Jews. Jeremiah 29:3. (b.c. 594.)

Gems

Gems. [STONES, PRECIOUS.]

Genealogy

Genealogy. In Hebrew the term for genealogy or pedigree is “the book of the generations”; and because the oldest histories were usually drawn up on a genealogical basis, the expression often extended to the whole history, as is the case with the Gospel of St. Matthew, where “the book of the generation of Jesus Christ” includes the whole history contained in that Gospel. The promise of the land of Canaan to the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob successively, and the separation of the Israelites from the Gentile world; the expectation of Messiah as to spring from the tribe of Judah; the exclusively hereditary priesthood of Aaron with its dignity and emoluments; the long succession of kings in the line of David; and the whole division and occupation of the land upon genealogical principles by the tribes, families, and houses of fathers, gave a deeper importance to the science of genealogy among the Jews than perhaps any other nation. When Zerubbabel brought back the captivity from Babylon, one of his first cares seems to have been to take a census of those that returned, and to settle them according to their genealogies. Passing on to the time of the birth of Christ, we have a striking incidental proof of the continuance of the Jewish genealogical economy in the fact that when Augustus ordered the census of the empire to be taken, the Jews in the province of Syria immediately went each one to his own city. The Jewish genealogical records continued to be kept till near the destruction of Jerusalem. But there can be little doubt that the registers of the Jewish tribes and families perished at the destruction of Jerusalem, and not before. It remains to be said that just notions of the nature of the Jewish genealogical records are of great importance with a view to the right interpretation of Scripture. Let it only be remembered that these records have respect to political and territorial divisions as much as to strictly genealogical descent, and it will at once be seen how erroneous a conclusion it may be that all who are called “sons” of such or such a patriarch or chief father must necessarily be his very children. If any one family or house became extinct, some other would succeed to its place, called after its own chief father. Hence of course a census of any tribe drawn up at a later period would exhibit different divisions from one drawn up at an earlier. The same principle must be borne in mind in interpreting any particular genealogy. Again, when a pedigree was abbreviated, it would naturally specify such generations as would indicate from what chief houses the person descended. Females are named in genealogies when there is anything remarkable about them, or when any right or property is transmitted through them. See Genesis 11:29; Genesis 22:23; Genesis 25:1-4; Genesis 35:22-26; Exodus 6:23; Numbers 26:33.

Genealogy of Jesus Christ

Genealogy of Jesus Christ. The New Testament gives us the genealogy of but one person, that of our Saviour. This is given because it was important to prove that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies spoken of him. Only as the son and heir of David could he be the Messiah. The following propositions will explain the true construction of these genealogies:—

1. They are both the genealogies of Joseph, i.e., of Jesus Christ as the reputed and legal son of Joseph and Mary. 2. The genealogy of St. Matthew is Joseph’s genealogy as legal successor to the throne of David. St. Luke’s is Joseph’s private genealogy, exhibiting his real birth as David’s son, and thus showing why he was heir to Solomon’s crown. The simple principle that one evangelist exhibits that genealogy which contained the successive heirs to David’s and Solomon’s throne, while the other exhibits the paternal stem of him who was the heir, explains all the anomalies of the two pedigrees, their agreements as well as their discrepancies, and the circumstance of there being two at all. 3. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was in all probability the daughter of Jacob, and first cousin to Joseph her husband. Thus:

(Godet, Lange, and many others take the ground that Luke gives the genealogy of Mary, rendering Luke 3:23 thus: Jesus “being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, (but in reality) the son of Heli.” In this case Mary, as declared in the Targums, was the daughter of Heli, and Heli was the grandfather of Jesus. Mary’s name was omitted because “ancient sentiment did not comport with the mention of the mother as the genealogical link.” So we often find in the Old Testament the grandson called the son. This view has this greatly in its favor, that it shows that Jesus was not merely the legal but the actual descendant of David; and it would be very strange that in the gospel accounts, where so much is made of Jesus being the son and heir of David and of his kingdom, his real descent from David should not be given.—Ed.)

Generation

Generation. In the long-lived patriarchal age a generation seems to have been computed at 100 years, Genesis 15:16, comp. Genesis 15:13, and Exodus 12:40; but subsequently the reckoning was the same which has been adopted by modern civilized nations, viz., from thirty to forty years. Job 42:16. Generation is also used to signify the men of an age or time, as contemporaries, Genesis 6:9; Isaiah 53:8; posterity, especially in legal formulæ, Leviticus 3:17, etc.; fathers, or ancestors. Psalm 49:19.

Genesis

Gen’esis (origin), the first book of the law or Pentateuch, so called from its title in the Septuagint, that is, Creation. Its author was Moses. The date of writing was probably during the forty-years wanderings in the wilderness, b.c. 1491–1451.

Time.—The book of Genesis covers 2369 years—from the creation of Adam, a.m. 1, to the death of Joseph, a.m. 2369, or b.c. 1635.

Character and purpose.—The book of Genesis (with the first chapters of Exodus) describes the steps which led to the establishment of the theocracy. It is a part of the writer’s plan to tell us what the divine preparation of the world was, in order to show, first, the significance of the call of Abraham, and next, the true nature of the Jewish theocracy. He begins with the creation of the world, because the God who created the world and the God who revealed himself to the fathers is the same God. The book of Genesis has thus a character at once special and universal.

Construction.—It is clear that Moses must have derived his knowledge of the events which he records in Genesis either from immediate divine revelation or from oral tradition or written documents. The nature of many of the facts related, and the minuteness of the narration, render it extremely improbable that immediate revelation was the source from whence they were drawn. That his knowledge should have been derived from oral tradition appears morally impossible when we consider the great number of names, ages, dates, and minute events which are recorded. The conclusion, then, seems fair that he must have obtained his information from written documents coeval, or nearly so, with the events which they recorded, and composed by persons intimately acquainted with the subjects to which they relate. He may have collected these, with additions from authentic tradition or existing monuments, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, into a single book. Certain it is that several of the first chapters of Genesis have the air of being made up of selections from very ancient documents, written by different authors at different periods. The variety which is observable in the names and titles of the Supreme Being is appealed to among the most striking proofs of this fact. This is obvious in the English translation, but still more so in the Hebrew original. In Genesis 1-2:Genesis 2:3, which is really one piece of composition, as the title, v. Genesis 2:4, “These are the generations,” shows, the name of the Most High is uniformly Elohim, God. In ch. Genesis 2:4 to ch. Genesis 3, which may be considered the second document, the title is uniformly Yehovah Elohim, Lord God; and in the third, including ch. Genesis 4, it is Yehovah, Lord, only; while in ch. Genesis 5 it is Elohim, God, only, except in v. Genesis 5:29, where a quotation is made, and Yehovah used. It is hardly conceivable that all this should be the result of mere accident. The changes of the name correspond exactly to the changes in the narratives and the titles of the several pieces. “Now, do all these accurate quotations,” says Professor Stowe, “impair the credit of the Mosaic books, or increase it? Is Marshall’s Life of Washington to be regarded as unworthy of credit because it contains copious extracts from Washington’s correspondence and literal quotations from important public documents? Is not its value greatly enhanced by this circumstance? The objection is altogether futile. In the common editions of the Bible the Pentateuch occupies about one hundred and fifty pages, of which perhaps ten may be taken up with quotations. This surely is no very large proportion for an historical work extending through so long a period.”—Bush. On the supposition that writing was known to Adam, Genesis 1-4, containing the first two of these documents, formed the Bible of Adam’s descendants, or the antediluvians. Genesis 1-11:Genesis 11:9, being the sum of these two and the following three, constitutes the Bible of the descendants of Noah. The whole of Genesis may be called the Bible of the posterity of Jacob; and the five Books of the Law were the first Bible of Israel as a nation.—Canon Cook.

Gennesaret

Gennes’aret (garden of the prince), Land of. It is generally believed that this term was applied to the fertile crescent-shaped plain on the western shore of the lake, extending from Khan Minyeh (two or three miles south of Capernaum (Tel-Hum)) on the north to the steep hill behind Mejdel (Magdala) on the south, and called by the Arabs el-Ghuweir, “the little Ghor.” Mr. Porter gives the length as three miles, and the greatest breadth as about one mile. Additional interest is given to the land of Gennesaret, or el-Ghuweir, by the probability that its scenery suggested the parable of the sower. It is mentioned only twice in Scripture—Matthew 14:34; Mark 6:53. Compare Luke 5:1.

Gennesaret from Khan Minyeh.

Gennesaret Sea of

Gennes’aret, Sea of. [See GALILEE, SEA OF.]

Gennesareth

Gennes’areth. Inaccurately written for GENNESARET.

Gentiles

Gen’tiles (nations). All the people who were not Jews were so called by them, being aliens from the worship, rites and privileges of Israel. The word was used contemptuously by them. In the New Testament it is used as equivalent to Greek. This use of the word seems to have arisen from the almost universal adoption of the Greek language.

Genubath

Gen’ubath, the son of Hadad, an Edomite of the royal family, by an Egyptian princess, the sister of Tahpenes, the queen of the Pharaoh who governed Egypt in the latter part of the reign of David. 1 Kings 11:20; comp. 1 Kings 11:16. (b.c. 1015.)

Gera

Ge’ra (a grain), one of the “sons,” i.e., descendants, of Benjamin. Genesis 46:21. Gera, who is named, Judges 3:15, as the ancestor of Ehud, and in 2 Samuel 16:5 as the ancestor of Shimei who cursed David, is probably also the same person (though some consider them different persons).

Gerah

Gerah. [WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.]

Gerar

Ge’rar (a lodging-place), a very ancient city south of Gaza. It occurs chiefly in Genesis 10:19; Genesis 20:1; Genesis 26:17; also incidentally in 2 Chronicles 14:13, 2 Chronicles 14:14. It must have trenched on the “south” or “south country” of later Palestine. From a comparison of Genesis 21:32 with Genesis 26:26. Beersheba would seem to be just on the verge of this territory, and perhaps to be its limit towards the northeast.

Gerasenes

Gerasenes’. Luke 8:26, Revised Version. [See GADARENES.]

Gerizim

Ger’izim (cutters), a limestone mountain, 2855 feet high (800 feet above the valley at its foot), in Ephraim, near Shechem (Sychar), from which the blessings were read to the Israelites on entering Canaan. [See EBAL.] According to the traditions of the Samaritans it was here that Abraham sacrificed Isaac, that Melchizedek met the patriarch, that Jacob built an altar, and at its base dug a well, the ruins of which are still seen. Some scholars think there is ground for the first belief (so Smith); but careful observers of the locality discredit it, and believe Moriah to be the spot. [See MORIAH.] Gerizim was the site of the Samaritan temple, which was built there after the captivity, in rivalry with the temple at Jerusalem. [See SAMARITANS.] Gerizim is still to the Samaritans what Jerusalem is to the Jews and Mecca to the Mohammedans.

Mount Gerizim and Shechem.

Gerizites

Ger’izites. 1 Samuel 27:8. [GERZITES.]

Gershom

Ger’shom (a stranger or exile).

1. The first-born son of Moses and Zipporah. Exodus 2:22; Exodus 18:3. (b.c. 1530.)

2. The form under which the name Gershon—the eldest son of Levi—is given in several passages of Chronicles, viz., 1 Chronicles 6:16, 1 Chronicles 6:17, 1 Chronicles 6:20, 1 Chronicles 6:43, 1 Chronicles 6:62, 1 Chronicles 6:71; 1 Chronicles 15:7.

3. The representative of the priestly family of Phinehas, among those who accompanied Ezra from Babylon. Ezra 8:2. (b.c. 536.)

Gershon

Ger’shon (exile), the eldest of the three sons of Levi, born before the descent of Jacob’s family into Egypt. Genesis 46:11; Exodus 6:16. (b.c. before 1706.) But, though the eldest born, the families of Gershon were outstripped in fame by their younger brethren of Kohath, from whom sprang Moses and the priestly line of Aaron.

Gershonites The

Ger’shonites, The, the family descended from Gershon or Gershom, the son of Levi. “The Gershonite.” as applied to individuals, occurs in 1 Chronicles 26:21. The sons of Gershon (the Gershonites) had charge of the fabrics of the tabernacle—the coverings, curtains, hangings, and cords. Numbers 3:25, Numbers 3:26; Numbers 4:25, Numbers 4:26.

Gerzites

Ger’zites (dwellers in the desert), The, a tribe who with the Geshurites and the Amalekites occupied the land between the south of Palestine and Egypt in the time of Saul. 1 Samuel 27:8. In the name of Mount Gerizim we have the only remaining trace of the presence of this old tribe of Bedouins in central Palestine.

Gesham

Ge’sham (filthy) (sometimes written Geshan), one of the sons of Jahdai, in the genealogy of Judah and family of Caleb. 1 Chronicles 2:47.

Geshem

Ge’shem and Gash’mu (rain), an Arabian, mentioned in Nehemiah 2:19 and Nehemiah 6:6. (b.c. 446.) We may conclude that he was an inhabitant of Arabia Petræa, or of the Arabian Desert, and probably the chief of a tribe. “Gashum said it” made him a type of those who create a common report.

Geshur

Ge’shur (a bridge), a little principality of Syria, northeast of Bashan. Deuteronomy 3:14; 2 Samuel 15:8. It is highly probable that Geshur was a section of the wild and rugged region now called el-Lejah, still a refuge for criminals and outlaws. [ARGOB.]

Geshuri

Gesh’uri and Gesh’urites.

1. The inhabitants of Geshur. Deuteronomy 3:14; Joshua 12:5; Joshua 13:11.

2. An ancient tribe which dwelt in the desert between Arabia and Philistia. Joshua 13:2; 1 Samuel 27:8.

Gether

Ge’ther (fear), the third in order of the sons of Aram. Genesis 10:23. No satisfactory trace of the people sprung from this stock has been found.

Gethsema-ne

Gethsem’a-ne (an oil-press), a small “farm,” Matthew 26:36; Mark 14:32, situated across the brook Kedron, John 18:1, probably at the foot of Mount Olivet, Luke 22:39, to the northwest and about one-half or three-quarters of a mile English from the walls of Jerusalem, and 100 yards east of the bridge over the Kedron. There was a “garden,” or rather orchard, attached to it, to which the olive, fig, and pomegranate doubtless invited resort by their hospitable shade. And we know from the evangelists Luke, Luke 22:39, and John, John 18:2, that our Lord ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. But Gethsemane has not come down to us as a scene of mirth; its inexhaustible associations are the offspring of a single event—the agony of the Son of God on the evening preceding his passion. A garden, with eight venerable olive trees, and a grotto to the north, detached from it, and in closer connection with the church of the Sepulchre of the Virgin, are pointed out as the Gethsemane. Against the contemporary antiquity of the olive trees it has been urged that Titus cut down all the trees about Jerusalem. The probability would seem to be that they were planted by Christian hands to mark the spot; unless, like the sacred olive of the Acropolis, they may have reproduced themselves.

Geuel

Geu’el (majesty of God), son of Machi the Gadite spy. Numbers 13:15. (b.c. 1490.)