the case of Jesus, who was judged by Pilate.—Matt. 27:11-14; John 19:10.

Governors of the nations in general were referred to by Jesus when he told his followers that they would be brought before such men to give a witness. Christians should not fear such rulers, though powerful, nor be worried about what to say when giving testimony before them. (Matt. 10:18-20, 26) All such governors are part of the superior authorities to which Christians owe relative, not total, subjection. (Rom. 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13, 14; Acts 4:19, 20; 5:29; Matt. 22:21) Paul addressed Governor Festus, before whom he was on trial, with the respect due his office, saying: “Your Excellency Festus.” (Acts 26:25) Differently from the apostles, who rendered respect and honor first to Jehovah, who governs all, the nation of Israel sank to the point where they accorded earthly governors more respect than they gave Jehovah. This circumstance was used by Jehovah in strong reproof to the nation through his prophet Malachi.—Mal. 1:6-8.

Matthew, quoting from Micah 5:2, shows that Bethlehem, though very insignificant as far as governing power in Judah was concerned, would become significant by reason of the fact that the greatest of governors would come from this city to shepherd Jehovah’s people Israel. This prophecy finds its fulfillment in Christ Jesus the Great Governor under his Father Jehovah God.—Matt. 2:6; see SUPERIOR AUTHORITIES; TIRSHATHA.

GOVERNOR’S PALACE

The official residence of the Roman governors. In the governor’s palace at Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate questioned Christ Jesus and, in its courtyard, Roman soldiers mocked him. (Mark 15:16; John 18:28, 33; 19:9) Some have identified the governor’s palace with the Castle of Antonia, but others suggest that it was probably the palace built by Herod the Great. The following reasons have been presented in support of the latter view: (1) According to the first-century Jewish philosopher Philo, Herod’s palace was called the “house of the procurators [or, governors],” and it was there that Governor Pilate hung shields in honor of Tiberius Caesar. (2) The Jewish historian Josephus reports that the procurator Gessius Florus took up his quarters there. (Wars of the Jews, Book II, chap. XIV, par. 8) (3) Herod’s palace in Caesarea served as the governor’s palace in that city.—Acts 23:33-35.

The palace of Herod at Jerusalem was situated in the NW corner of the upper city. According to Josephus’ description, it was surrounded by a 30-cubit (44-foot; 13-meter)-high wall equipped with towers at equidistant intervals. Within the walls there were porticoes, courts and groves of trees. The rooms were luxuriously furnished with gold and silver vessels and marble seats. One hundred guests could be accommodated in each of the bedrooms.—Antiquities of the Jews, Book XV, chap. IX, par. 3; Wars of the Jews, Book V, chap. IV, par. 4.

GOZAN

(Goʹzan).

A name seemingly applied both to a place and to a river. At 2 Kings 19:12 and Isaiah 37:12, Gozan appears to embrace an area larger than a city, for its inhabitants are listed among the “nations” conquered by the Assyrians. Many scholars, evidently basing their conclusions on word similarities, believe that Gozan may correspond to Gausanitis, a district of Mesopotamia referred to by Ptolemy and considered to be the same as the “Guzana” mentioned in Assyrian records. Ancient Guzana is commonly linked with modern Tell Halaf on the upper Khabur River, about 365 miles (587 kilometers) E-NE of the Sea of Galilee.

At 2 Kings 17:6 and 18:11 some translations read “Habor, the river of Gozan” (AS, RS) instead of “Habor at [or, by] the river Gozan” (NW, Yg), thus also making Gozan a place in these texts. But the rendering “Habor, the river of Gozan” does not harmonize with 1 Chronicles 5:26. In this passage Habor is listed between Halah and Hara; and Hara, not Habor, is listed before Gozan. This indicates that Habor and the “river of Gozan” (AS) are not synonymous. Hence, those who identify Gozan as a place throughout are obliged to reject the Chronicles reference. However, since the Hebrew allows for a consistent rendering of “river Gozan” in all three texts there is reason to believe that it was in the vicinity of a river called Gozan that the king of Assyria settled some of the exiled Israelites of the northern kingdom. The Qizil Uzun of NW Iran has been suggested as a possible identification of the “river Gozan.” It rises in the mountains SE of Lake Urmia (in what used to be the land of the Medes) and finally empties as the Sefid Rud or White River (the name applied to its lower course) into the SW section of the Caspian Sea. According to another view, the Gozan is a river of Mesopotamia.

GRAFTING

The process of joining the scion (shoot, twig) of a tree known to produce good fruit with the stock of another tree bearing inferior fruit so as to bring about a permanent union. Often grafting is done with a view to combining the advantageous characteristics of both scion (its good fruit) and stock (its vigor and strength). After grafted-in branches are established, though deriving nourishment from a different stock, they will produce the same kind of fruit as the tree from which they were taken.

The apostle Paul, writing to Christians in Rome, compared non-Jewish Christians to the branches of a wild olive that were grafted into the garden olive to replace natural branches that had been broken off. These natural branches corresponded to the Jews who, because of their lack of faith, lost out on their opportunity to be among those in line for Messiah’s heavenly kingdom. As this procedure of grafting wild olive branches into the garden olive was one “contrary to nature,” this was no reason for non-Jewish Christians to have lofty ideas, for only by faith could they maintain their position. Also, the grafting of branches from the wild olive into the garden olive illustrates the permanent union that has been effected between Jews and Gentiles as fellow members of the “Israel of God.”—Rom. 11:17-24; Gal. 3:28; 6:16; compare John 15:1-6; see OLIVE.

GRAIN OFFERING

See OFFERINGS.

GRANARY

See STOREHOUSE.

GRANDPARENTS

This term, as well as “grandfather” and “grandmother,” is rarely found in Bible translations. “Grandmother” at 1 Kings 15:10, 13 is translated from the same word as “mother” and is appropriately so rendered because Maacah was Asa’s grandmother, not his mother. (1 Ki. 15:1, 2, 8) It appears that Maacah continued as the queen mother during Asa’s reign until she was removed for her idolatry. (1 Ki. 15:13) Correspondingly, “father” on occasion indicated a grandfather or forefather. (Gen. 28:13) Grandparents are also identified by such expressions as “the father of your mother” and “mother’s father.”—Gen. 28:2; Judg. 9:1.

“Children or grandchildren,” the apostle says, should “keep paying a due compensation to their parents and grandparents [Gr., pro·goʹnois].” (1 Tim. 5:4) Another form of the same word (pro·goʹnon) is rendered “forefathers” at 2 Timothy 1:3. Timothy’s grandmother (Gr., mamʹme) Lois is commended for having ‘faith without hypocrisy,’ and she apparently assisted in the development of Timothy’s faith and spiritual growth.—2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14, 15.

GRAPE

See VINE; WINE AND STRONG DRINK.

GRASS

Any of the plants belonging to the family Gramineae, the grasses, including the cereal grains, the plants of meadow and pasture, sugarcane and bamboo. However, even today, in common usage, this