Joshua’s conquest of the Promised Land did not include the territory occupied by the Philistines. This was to be accomplished later. Accordingly, Jehovah instructed Joshua to assign the territory to the tribes, Judah receiving the territory in which Gath was located.—Josh. 13:2, 3; 15:1, 5, 12.

Both the Ephraimites and Benjamites skirmished with the Gittites, as incidentally noted in the genealogies. (1 Chron. 7:20, 21; 8:13) In Samuel’s day the captured ark of the covenant was brought to Gath, with disastrous consequences to the city’s inhabitants. (1 Sam. 5:8, 9) Shortly thereafter Israel subdued the Philistines, and certain cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel “kept coming back to Israel from Ekron to Gath.” (1 Sam. 7:14) Later, when David slew the Gittite giant Goliath, Israel pursued the Philistines as far as Ekron and Gath.—1 Sam. 17:23, 48-53.

After this, when David was forced to flee from Saul he took refuge in Gath. When the servants of Achish the king of Gath began to say: “Is this not David the king of the land?” David became afraid and feigned insanity in order to escape. (1 Sam. 21:10-15) David composed two psalms recalling this experience in Gath. (Psalms 34 and 56, superscriptions) On David’s next visit to Gath, however, Achish granted him and 600 men safe residence in the town of Ziklag until Saul was killed sixteen months later, after which David moved to Hebron. (1 Sam. 27:2–28:2; 29:1-11; 2 Sam. 1:1; 2:1-3) In his dirge over Saul and Jonathan David noted that the news of Saul’s death would cause rejoicing and exultation in the Philistine cities of Gath and Ashkelon.—2 Sam. 1:20.

During David’s reign Gath and its dependent towns came into Israelite hands. (1 Chron. 18:1) When David fled from Absalom there were 600 “Gittites” among those who went with him. (2 Sam. 15:18) But during Solomon’s rule Achish was still king of Gath. (1 Ki. 2:39-41) Solomon’s successor Rehoboam rebuilt and fortified Gath.—2 Chron. 11:5-8.

King Hazael of Syria captured Gath from King Jehoash of Judah sometime after Jehoash’s twenty-third year (876 B.C.E.). (2 Ki. 12:6, 17) The Philistines must have regained control of the city later, for Uzziah recaptured it in his campaign against them. (2 Chron. 26:3, 6) The prophet Amos, and afterward, Micah, refer to Gath as a foreign city. (Amos 6:2; Mic. 1:10) Following the Assyrian king Sargon’s boast of conquering it not long after 740 B.C.E, there are no further historical references to Gath, and later Biblical mention of Philistine cities does not include it.—Zeph. 2:4; Jer. 25:17, 20; Zech. 9:5, 6.

The exact location of Gath is unknown. Its early passing from historical mention and the absence of tradition about its site make it difficult to locate. Even the goodly number of references in tablets and secular records such as the Amarna letters do not identify the site. Several rather widely separated places have been suggested, the most recent being Tell esh-Shariʹah, fifteen miles (24 kilometers) SE of Gaza.

GATH-HEPHER

(Gath-heʹpher) [winepress of digging].

A border city of Zebulun (Josh. 19:10, 13) and home of the prophet Jonah. (2 Ki. 14:25) It is usually identified with Khirbet ez-Zurraʽ, about two and a half miles (4 kilometers) N-NE of Nazareth and just S of Meshhed, the traditional site of Jonah’s tomb. Surface explorations at Khirbet ez-Zurraʽ appear to corroborate the Biblical statements that the site was occupied at both time periods in the aforementioned accounts.

GATH-RIMMON

(Gath-rimʹmon) [winepress by the pomegranate].

1. A city of Dan (Josh. 19:40, 41, 45) assigned to the Kohathite Levites. (Josh. 21:20, 23, 24) First Chronicles 6:66-70 appears to make Gath-rimmon an Ephraimite city. However, on the basis of the parallel account at Joshua 21:23, 24, Hebrew scholars believe that, due to scribal error, a portion of the text has accidentally dropped out and been lost. So, they suggest inserting the following (corresponding to Joshua 21:23) before 1 Chronicles 6:69: “And from the tribe of Dan, Elteke and its pasture ground, Gibbethon and its pasture ground . . . ” This could have been the original reading. However, not to be overlooked is the possibility that Gath-rimmon was a Danite enclave city located within Ephraim’s territory.

Gath-rimmon is usually identified with Tell ej-Jerisheh, about three miles (4.8 kilometers) NE of modern Tel Aviv.

2. A city of Manasseh, given to the Kohathite Levites. (Josh. 21:20, 25) Since the similar account at 1 Chronicles 6:70 has “Bileam,” many scholars believe this latter name originally appeared in place of Gath-rimmon at Joshua 21:25.—See BILEAM; IBLEAM.

GAZA

(Gaʹza).

1. An ancient city listed in the earliest Canaanite boundary description. (Gen. 10:19) Aside from some twenty Scriptural references to Gaza, ancient Egyptian records and inscriptions of Ramses II, Thutmose III and Seti I mention the city. Gaza was apparently the most southwesterly city assigned to the tribe of Judah. (Josh. 15:20, 47; Judg. 6:3, 4) Its inhabitants were called Gazites.—Josh. 13:3; Judg. 16:2.

Some would identify Gaza with Tell el-ʽAjjul, but this has not been confirmed by archaeological diggings there. Generally, the ancient city is linked with modern Gaza, located about fifty miles (c. 80 kilometers) SW of Jerusalem. Although separated from the Mediterranean Sea by some three miles (5 kilometers) of rolling sand dunes, Gaza lies in a well-watered region known for its olive groves, fruit and sycamore trees, grapevines and grain. Agriculture likely contributed to the prosperity of ancient Gaza. But its importance stemmed primarily from its location on the main road linking Egypt with Palestine. This made Gaza a “gateway” both for caravans and military traffic.

OCCUPIED BY PHILISTINES

Sometime before Israel’s exodus from Egypt in 1513 B.C.E., the Hamitic Caphtorim (Gen. 10:6, 13, 14) dispossessed the “Avvim, who were dwelling in settlements as far as Gaza.” (Deut. 2:23) When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Gaza itself was a Philistine city, and its inhabitants included some of the Anakim. Although Israel’s war operations under Joshua extended as far as Gaza, the city apparently was not taken. It remained a Philistine city and some of the Anakim continued to live there. (Josh. 10:41; 11:22; 13:2, 3) Assigned to Judah, Gaza was afterward conquered by this tribe, but the Judeans did not retain control over the city. (Josh. 15:20, 47; Judg. 1:18) In Samson’s day Gaza was again a fortified city of the Philistines, with a “house” used for Dagon worship that could accommodate about 3,000 persons, if not more, on its roof. While Samson was at Gaza on one occasion, he “rose at midnight and grabbed hold of the doors of the city gate and the two side posts and pulled them out along with the bar and put them upon his shoulders and went carrying them up to the top of the mountain that is in front of Hebron.” Later, he caused the collapse of the aforementioned house, this resulting in his own death and that of the Philistines who had assembled there.—Judg. 16:1-3, 21-30.

Gaza apparently continued to be a Philistine city throughout the period of the judges (1 Sam. 6:17) and during the rule of Israel’s kings. King Solomon held dominion as far as Gaza in the SW, but evidently the Philistines were still there, although subject to him.—1 Ki. 4:21, 24.

UNDER ASSYRIAN RULE

Toward the close of the ninth century B.C.E., through his prophet Amos, Jehovah stated that he would send a “fire” onto the walls of Gaza, this in retribution for its taking exiles to hand over to the Edomites. (Amos 1:6, 7) Although the “exiles” are not specifically identified as Hebrews, likely the allusion is to captives taken by the Philistines in raids on Judah.—Compare 2 Chronicles 21:16, 17; Joel 3:4-6.

Not long thereafter, about the middle of the eighth century B.C.E., Gaza began to experience the “fire” of war. According to Assyrian annals, Tiglath-pileser III conquered Gaza, but its king, Hanno, fled to Egypt. Apparently Hanno was soon able to return to Gaza, for Sargon II claims to have defeated both him and the Egyptian army under Sibʼe allied with him. Sargon II personally captured Hanno and took him away in fetters.

From this time onward Gaza appears to have been generally loyal to Assyria. Hence, it may be that King Hezekiah’s striking down the Philistines as far as Gaza was a phase of his revolt against Assyria. (2 Ki. 18:1, 7, 8) After this revolt, King Sennacherib launched his campaign against Judah and, according to his annals, gave captured Judean towns to Mitini the king of Ashdod, Padi the king of Ekron (who had been imprisoned at Jerusalem), and Sillibil the king of Gaza.

In the time of Jeremiah, Egypt’s army struck down Gaza. (Jer. 47:1) Before this event Jehovah’s utterance against the Philistines indicated that calamity from the N awaited them; “baldness must come to Gaza.” (Jer. 47:2-5; see also Jeremiah 25:17, 20.) As suggested by other passages in Jeremiah (1:14; 46:20), the “waters” from the “north” mentioned at Jeremiah 47:2 evidently denote the Babylonian armies. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did, in fact, gain control over this area (2 Ki. 24:1, 7), and the king of Gaza is mentioned in Babylonian inscriptions. Consequently, the words “before Pharaoh proceeded to strike down Gaza” (Jer. 47:1) appear simply to identity the time when the utterance of Jehovah regarding the Philistines came to Jeremiah. They would not necessarily be directly related to the coming expression of judgment “from the north” thereafter discussed.

DESTROYED

The prophet Zephaniah, a contemporary of Jeremiah, sounded a like judgment from Jehovah for Gaza: “An abandoned city is what she will become.” (Zeph. 2:4) And Zechariah’s prophecy, recorded after Babylon’s fall, pointed to future calamities: “[Gaza] will also feel very severe pains.” (Zech. 9:5) History confirms the fulfillment of the foretold calamities. In the latter half of the fourth century B.C.E., Alexander the Great, after a five-month siege (two months, according to Antiquities of the Jews, Book XI, chap. VIII, par. 4), took Gaza. Many of its inhabitants were slain and the survivors were sold into slavery. Over two hundred years later, the Jew Alexander Janneus, after a year’s siege, completely devastated the city.—Antiquities of the Jews, Book XIII, chap. XIII, par. 3.

Although the Roman governor of Syria, Gabinius, ordered the rebuilding of Gaza, this was likely done on a new site. (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XIV, chap. V, par. 3) Some scholars think that at Acts 8:26 the Greek word eʹre·mos (“desert[ed]”) refers to the old, abandoned Gaza (AT, for example, reads “the town is now deserted”). Others understand eʹre·mos to refer to the road leading to the city, hence the rendering “this is a desert road.”—NW; compare JB, NEB, RS.

2. A city with dependent towns located in Ephraim’s territory. (1 Chron. 7:28) Its exact location is unknown. Turmus ‘Ayya, about a mile and a half (2.4 kilometers) S of Shiloh, has been suggested as a possible location. Another view is that Gaza may be a site in the vicinity of ancient Ai, if not perhaps identical with that city itself. The reading “Ayyah” found in numerous Bible translations has the support of many Hebrew manuscripts. However, there is also evidence for “Gaza” in other Hebrew manuscripts, as well as in the Targums.

GAZELLE

[Heb., ts^eviʹ; Gr., dor·kasʹ; Arabic, ghazah (from which the English word “gazelle” is derived); the names Zibia, Zibiah and Tabitha or Dorcas, all mean “gazelle” (2 Ki. 12:1; 1 Chron. 8:9; Acts 9:36)]. Any of a variety of swift and graceful small antelopes. The Gazella Dorcas, encountered in Arabia, Egypt, Palestine and Syria, likely was familiar to the ancient Hebrews. This animal is about three and a half feet (c. 1 meter) long and stands approximately two feet (c. .6 meter) high at the shoulder. Both male and female have lyre-shaped, ringed horns that may measure as much as a foot (c. .3 meter) in length. The general coloration of this gazelle is pale fawn, with dark and light stripes on the face and white underparts and hindquarters. The hair is short and smooth. Another variety of gazelle with which the Israelites may have been acquainted is the somewhat larger, darker fawn-colored Gazella arabica.

The speed of the gazelle, which ranks among the fastest of mammals, is alluded to in Scripture. (Song of Sol. 2:17; 8:14) The swiftness of Joab’s brother Asahel and of certain Gadites was likened to that of the gazelle. (2 Sam. 2:18; 1 Chron. 12:8) Babylon’s fall was foretold to cause her foreign supporters and hangers-on to flee like a gazelle to their respective lands. (Isa. 13:14) This creature is also cited as an example of acting quickly so as to avoid being ensnared.—Prov. 6:5.

Probably with reference to its beauty and gracefulness, the gazelle figures in certain vivid descriptions contained in The Song of Solomon. (2:9; 4:5; 7:3) The gazelle is also mentioned in the oath under which the Shulammite placed the daughters of Jerusalem, in effect obligating them by all that is beautiful and graceful.—Song of Sol. 2:7; 3:5.

By the terms of the Law given through Moses^, the gazelle could be used for food. (Deut. 12:15, 22; 14:4, 5; 15:22) It constituted one of the regularly provided meats for Solomon’s sumptuous table.—1 Ki. 4:22, 23.

[Picture on page 630]

This species of gazelle stands about two feet high

GAZEZ

(Gaʹzez) [shearer].

First Chronicles 2:46 says Caleb’s concubine Ephah gave birth to Haran, Moza and Gazez, and then states that Haran “became father to Gazez.” Hence, there may have been two men named Gazez: (1) a son of Caleb, and (2) a