• Gecko
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • GECKO

      [Heb., ʼana·qahʹ; sema·mithʹ].

      A small, usually thick-bodied lizard with tiny scales covering its body. The eyes are relatively large, catlike, and the gecko’s toes are comparatively broad and are equipped with adhesive pads. Found in warm climates, the geckos live in the woods, among rocks, in trees, and some in human dwellings. Six kinds of these nocturnal lizards are found in Palestine.

      The “gecko fanfoot” of Leviticus 11:30 is listed as “unclean” for the Israelites. Its Hebrew name ʼana·qahʹ means to “cry” or “sigh” (compare the use of this word at Psalm 79:11) and may refer to the clucking or chirping sound made by the gecko. Most lizards make only a sharp hissing sound. At Proverbs 30:28, the “gecko lizard” (Heb., sema·mithʹ) is spoken of as taking “hold with its own hands” and making its way into the king’s palace. The adhesive disks on the gecko’s feet, says Raymond Ditmars, “are strikingly like the magnified pads on the foot of a fly; and their method of adhesion is the same—not aided by a sticky secretion, but through actual suction produced by close-set, concave areas. When a gecko moves over very rough surfaces, the claws are called into play like those of an ordinary lizard.”

      [Picture on page 632]

      Gecko lizard, with large toes and scaly body

  • Gedaliah
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • GEDALIAH

      (Ged·a·liʹah) [Jehovah is great].

      1. A Levite singer who, in David’s time, was designated by lot to be in charge of the second of the twenty-four service groups of twelve musicians each.—1 Chron. 25:3, 9, 31.

      2. Grandfather of the prophet Zephaniah and possibly a descendant of King Hezekiah.—Zeph. 1:1.

      3. Son of Pashhur; one of the princes in Jerusalem who accused Jeremiah before King Zedekiah of weakening the fighting men and all the people and urged that Jeremiah be put to death for this. Upon being given a free hand by the king, these princes threw Jeremiah into a miry cistern.—Jer. 38:1-6.

      4. “The son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan.” After the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E., King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as governor over the Jews who had been left remaining in the land of Judah. Gedaliah established his residence at Mizpah, and here the prophet Jeremiah took up dwelling. Then the Judean military chiefs who had escaped capture, upon hearing that Gedaliah had been appointed as governor, came with their men to him at Mizpah. Gedaliah assured them, under oath, that it would go well with them as long as they continued serving the king of Babylon, and he encouraged them to gather wine, oil and summer fruits. Even the Jews who were dispersed in Moab, Ammon, Edom and other places continued coming to Gedaliah.

      All this was evidently not to the liking of Baalis the king of Ammon, who was successful in enlisting the cooperation of Ishmael in an assassination plot against Governor Gedaliah. Learning of this, Johanan and the other chiefs of the military forces advised the governor accordingly, but he did not believe them. Johanan even approached Gedaliah in private and offered to thwart the scheme by killing Ishmael. But Gedaliah would not hear of it, thinking that falsehood was being spoken about Ishmael. So when Ishmael, along with ten other men, came to Mizpah, Gedaliah took no precautions. He proceeded to eat with them; and while they were eating, Ishmael and the men with him rose up and killed Gedaliah as well as all the Jews and Chaldeans who were with Gedaliah.—2 Ki. 25:22-25; Jer. 39:14; 40:5–41:3.

      It is of interest that a seal discovered at Lachish bears the inscription: “(belonging) to Gedaliah, who is over the house.”

      5. One of the priests in Ezra’s time among those who had taken foreign wives and who promised to send them away.—Ezra 10:18, 19.

      [Picture on page 632]

      Seal inscription reading “(belonging) to Gedaliah, who is over the house”

  • Geder
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • GEDER

      (Geʹder) [a wall, walled].

      A town in Canaan, whose king was one of thirty-one conquered by Joshua. (Josh. 12:13) Its location is uncertain. Joshua 12:7, 8 shows it as being on the W side of the Jordan and its being mentioned next to Debir may place it in the Shephelah region. It may be the same as the Beth-gader at 1 Chronicles 2:51. In David’s time, a man called Baal-hanan the Gederite was in charge of David’s olive groves and sycamore trees in the Shephelah, and it is thought that he may have come from either Geder or Gederah.—1 Chron. 27:28.

  • Gederah
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • GEDERAH

      (Ge·deʹrah) [wall, enclosure].

      1. A city in the Shephelah assigned to Judah. (Josh. 15:20, 33, 36) Gederah is usually identified with Jedireh about four and a half miles (7.2 kilometers) NW of the suggested site of Eshtaol. Some of the inhabitants of this city were known for their pottery.—1 Chron. 4:23.

      2. Apparently the name of a site in Benjamin’s territory, the home of “Jozabad the Gederathite.” (1 Chron. 12:1, 2, 4) Some geographers tentatively identify it with another Jedireh, less than one mile (1.6 kilometers) NE of Gibeon.

  • Gederoth
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • GEDEROTH

      (Ge·deʹroth) [sheepfolds].

      A city in the Shephelah assigned to Judah (Josh. 15:20, 33, 41) and one of the places taken by the Philistines during the reign of King Ahaz (761-745 B.C.E.). (2 Chron. 28:18, 19) Some geographers locate Gederoth at Katrah, about eight and a half miles (13.7 kilometers) NE of Ashdod, though others say this is too far W to be in the Shephelah.