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GAAL (געל , loathing)  Son of Ebed (Obed?).  He incited the city of Shechem

        to revolt against Abimelech, who was a son of Jerubbaal (Gideon).  He 

        and a  Shechemite woman, slew his seventy brothers in a bold coup.  He 

        installed Zebul as his resident prefect, while he himself dwelt at Arumah.

        Gaal incited the citizens to overthrow Abimelech & to restore a native 

        Canaanite ruler.  Abilmelech ambushed the city during the night and rou-

        ted Gaal.  Gaal fled for safety within Shechem, but he and his clansmen 

        were promptly expelled by Zebul.

GAASH  (געש, quaking)  1.  Mount Gaash, about 32 km southwest of She-

        chem.  The tomb of Joshua was at Timnath-serah in the hill country of 

        Ephraim and north of Mount Gaash.      2.  The brooks of Gaash, the home

        of one of David’s warriors.  Probably the reference is to a region of valleys 

        in the vicinity of Mount Gaash.

GABBAI  (גבי, tax-gatherer)  A Benjaminite dwelling in Jerusalem after the 

        Exile.  The text, however, is probably corrupt & possibly should be changed

        to read the phrase “mighty men of valor,” rather than a name.

GABBATHA  (Gabbaqa, a Hebrew word spelled with Greek letters, meaning 

        uncertain)  The paved court before the palace of Herod in Jerusalem, 

        where the governor held court seated upon the high platform. The term ap-

        pears only once in the Bible, in John 19.  Gabbatha is the setting for the 

        public trial of Jesus before the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate.  It obvi-

        ously lay outside the governor's residence.

                   Archaeology points to a site near the Tower of Antonia.  There is an 

        ancient pavement to be seen in the Convent of Our Lady of Zion’s base-

        ment.  An extensive court, the central area of which measures slightly over

        2,000 square meters has been excavated there.  Each paving stone is 

        about a meter square, & 30 cm thick.  The court extends eastward.  In the 

        time of Jesus this paved court lay outside the northern city wall.

GABRIEL  (גבריאל, man of God, or God has shown God's self mighty)  A 

        celestial being, first appearing in a vision as a man, and called “the man 

        Gabriel.”  He functions in Daniel 8 & 9 to reveal that which is to come in 

        the Day of Judgment (See also the entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/

        Influences Outside the Bible section of the Appendix.).  The New Testa-

        ment references show him to be both revealer & bringer of reassurance.  

        He announces the birth of John the Baptist, and announces the birth of a 

        son to Mary.

GAD  (גד, cut, good fortune; actually the name of a god of fortune)  The 7th 

        son of Jacob, from whose name came the name of the tribe of Gad; its 

        members were called Gadites.  Gad was the older full brother of Asher, 

        the son of Zilpah maid of Leah. 

                   Why the tribe was considered of inferior rank is beyond knowing. 

        Perhaps the fact that it had to make a lot of concessions to the native 

        populations had something to do with it.  Gad, along with Reuben, crossed 

        over into lands east of the Jordan after trying to gain a foothold in the land

        west of the Jordan.  Lists of how the land was divided in Joshua 13 and

        Numbers 32  don’t agree.  The list in Numbers is the more original of the 

        two, as Joshua divides the land into a northern portion for Gad, and a sou-

        thern portion for Reuben.  Actually the Gad and Reuben settlements are 

        manifestly to be thought of as mingled together; even the arrangement in

        Numbers may be only approximately correct.  During the Divided King-

        dom period, King Mesha of Moab makes no mention of Reuben.

                   Gad's original possession turned out poorly.  It involved, at first, only

        the western edge of the land east of the Jordan.  Gad’s goal was to gain a 

        place also on the Moabite-Ammonite plateau.  The judge Jephthah was a 

        member of Gad; he defeated the Ammonites & liberated his tribe from their

        oppression. Deborah's song reproves the tribe for quietly staying on the 

        other side of the Jordan; Gad had other troubles at this time which caused 

        both it & Reuben to neglect the interests of the twelve-tribe confederation. 

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                   In spite of everything said about the military excellence of Gad, it be

        comes clear that the tribe needed space.  Gad found itself in a contested 

        situation, but masters it.  The song in Numbers 21 probably leads into the 

        period when the tribes of Gad & Reuben fought for the extension of their 

        settlement.  At this point in history, we cannot tell whether the song should 

        be dated before or after the rise of the Israelite kingdom, because certainly 

        David's time gave impetus to the advance of the Israelite settlement. 

                   The Moabite Mesha Inscription shows that Gadite property rights, 

        especially on the plateau east of the Dead Sea varied greatly, according to 

        the weakness or strength of the government of Israel.  Mesha reconquered 

        Medeba & extended his kingdom to a line extending east from the northern

        end of the Dead Sea, & as far west as the edge of the plateau; the Gadites 

        had to flee or submit to Moab.

                   Jeroboam II re-established the holding as far south as the northern 

        end of the Dead Sea, apparently forced to respect the Moabite border.  

        The Gadite Menahem mounted the Northern Kingdom of Israel's throne 

        for a decade.  Scarcely a decade later, his tribe's remaining territory be-

        longed to the Assyrian province of Gilead.  Other literature in the Bible 

        mentions the tribe of Gad in lists, for the most part.  The lists appear in 

        other parts of Numbers, Deuteronomy,  Joshua, Ezekiel, and I Chronicles.  

        What I Chronicles produces about Gad beyond the lists is unverifiable re-

        ports concerning David, the Levites, and Tiglath-pileser.  In the New Testa-

        ment, Gad appears with Asher after Judah and Reuben in the list of the 

        sealed (Revelation 7).  (For the territory of Gad, see Tribes, Territories).

GAD  (DEITY).  A deity of good luck or a supernatural guide worshiped by 

        Jewish apostates, probably in the postexilic period.  His cult was popular in

        the Hauran, an area east of the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee.

GAD (SEER).  A seer associated with David.  To him is attributed a history of 

        David's reign.  At his command David purchased the threshing floor of 

        Araunah the Jebusite.  Gad is said to have had a share in the origin of the 

        temple Levites. The “Chronicles of Gad the seer” appear to have been part 

        of the “Commentary on the book of Kings,” which was perhaps a collection

        of stories compiled at the royal court by scribes.

GAD, VALLEY TOWARD (הנחל הגד (ha nakh al  ha gad))  A place con-

        nected with the beginning of David's census.  The King James Version 

        groups the letters differently and translates it as “the river of Gad.”

GADARA  (Gadara)  A city of the Decapolis.  The only biblical references are 

        in gospel accounts of the demoniac's healing. Although Gadara is about

        8 km southeast of the Sea of Galilee, its territory included hot springs of el 

        Hamme, North of the Yarmuk.  It had shipping interests, so the “country of 

        the Gadarenes” may well have extended to the lake's shore .  Ancient Ga-

        dara is the modern Um Qeis, built on a headland along the eastern edge 

        of the Jordan Valley.  It was predominantly Greek in population, and was 

        equipped with two theaters,  basilica, a colonnaded street, and baths. 

GADDI  (גדי, fortune (?))  One of the spies sent by Moses to spy out the land 

        of Canaan, son of Susi, from the tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 13).

GADDIEL (גדיאל, Gad is God (?), or God is my fortune (?))  A member of the 

        tribe of Zebulun sent to spy out the land of Canaan.  His name is probably 

        the full form of the name Gad.

GADFLY  (קרצ (ker atz), nipper)  A nipping or stinging insect.  Both horse-

        flies and botflies are called gadflies.

GADI  (גדי, God is my fortune; most likely an abbreviation of Gaddiel)  The 

        father of King Menahem. 

GADITES  (See Gad entry)

GAHAM  (גהם, flame, or burning brightly)  The second son of Nahor and his 

        concubine Reumah. 

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GAHAR  (גהר)  Head of a family of temple servants who returned from the 

        Exile with Zerubbabel.

GAI  (גיא, valley)  A locality in Philistia near Ekron, on the Mediterranean coast.

GAIUS  (GaioV)    1.  A Christian man at Corinth, mentioned in I Corinthian 1, 

        one of the two men in that church who were baptized by Paul himself.  He

        was prominent enough to be host to Paul while Paul was writing the letter.

        He has been identified with the Titius Justus of Acts 18.      

                   2.  A Macedonian Christian, traveling companion of Paul, one of 

        the 2 who were seized with him at Ephesus (Acts 19).      3.  A Christian 

        of Derbe, who accompanied Paul on a journey from Ephesus to Macedo-

        nia. (Acts 20).      4.  The Christian leader to whom III John is addressed.  

        (III John 1).

GALAL  (גלל)  1.  Son of Jeduthun, and an ancestor of one of those who re-

        turned from Babylon. (Nehemiah 11).       2.  A Levite among those who 

        returned from Babylon.  (I Chronicles 9).

GALATIA  (Galatia)  A region and Roman province in Central Asia Minor, 

        named after the Indo-European tribe of the Celts or Galli (Gauls). 

                   The wandering of the Celts in Europe in the 1,000 years before the 

        Christian Era took a group to the Danubian region and into Greece, where

        they raided Delphi in 279 B.C.  A branch of this movement was invited to

        fight as auxiliaries in Asia Minor by Bithynia's King Nicomedes I. About 

        20,000 Galatians, including warriors & their families, are reported to have

        crossed the Bosporus.  After the more immediate purpose of Nicomedes 

        had been achieved, the Galatians began to raid in western Asia Minor on 

        their own.

                   Their tactics were to lay siege to cities and to terrorize the country-

        side.  Seleucid king Antiochus I defeated the Galatians in battle in 275 B.C.

        Perhaps as a result of an arrangement by Antiochus, the Galatians were 

        assigned a territory in the interior of western Asia Minor, which became 

        known as Galatia.

                   There were three tribes of Galatians involved:  the Tolistobogii, the 

        Trocmi, and the Tectosages.  Each of the three tribes was divided into four 

        clans called "tetrarchies" by the Greeks, each tetrarchy having its separate 

        tetrarch judge, war leader, and two lieutenants.  The 12 tetrarchies had 1 

        council of 300 members. The military prowess of the Galatian tribesmen 

        made them desirable as mercenaries, but a continuous menace as poten-

        tial enemies of the societies based on Greek culture in Asia Minor.

                   The land occupied by the Galatians after their defeat by Antiochus

        was part of the central plateau of Asia Minor around the upper Sangarius &

        the middle course of the Halys River.  The new Galatia was a region which 

        had become Phrygian after the downfall of the Hittite Empire; the leading 

        Phrygian cities were Pessinus, Gordium, and Ancyra, which became the 

        capital of modern Turkey.  These cities managed to maintain their Phrygian

        character amidst the spread of Greek culture. 

                 The Galatians didn't become urbanized & lived in open sites, retrea-

        ting to mountain fortresses in time of military danger.  Bands of warriors 

        were constantly out raiding neighboring territory.  The threat was especially

        felt at Pergamum, whose kings became the champions of the Greeks in 

        Asia Minor against the barbarian Galatians.  In one of the major battles for 

        the division of power in Asia Minor, Galatian infantry and cavalry fought 

        for Antiochus III against Rome and its allies Pergamum and Rhodes.  The 

        Roman consul Manlius Vulso went into Galatia in 189 B.C. and thoroughly

        defeated the Galatians, who nonetheless continued to menace Attalids.  

        Rather than punishing them, the Romans granted them independence.

                   Galatian relations with the kings of Pontus were better than those 

        with Pergamum, until Mithradates V massacred several Galatian leaders & 

        their families.  The remnants of the Galatian princes revolted and supported

        the Roman cause, especially the leader of the Tolistobogii, Deiotarus.  

                   After Mithradates' defeat, Pompey reduced the number of Galatian 

        tetrarchs from 12 to 3.  Deiotarus was given the title of king of a Galatia

        which was larger than the area his ancestors controlled.  After civil war, 

        Deiotarus emerged as king of all Galatia in 42 B.C., but died soon after-

        ward.  His secretary Amyntas received the kingdom of Galatia & several 

        other possessions.  He was killed in an expedition against the tribes of the 

        Pisidian Mountains in 25 B.C.  This ended the kingdom of Galatia and

        marked the beginning of it being a Roman province.

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                   This irregularly shaped territory bordered on the kingdom of Cap-

        padocia in the East, the Paphlagonian Mountains & the province of Bithy-

        nia to the north, the Taurus and the province of Pamphlia to the south, and

        the more civilized province of Asia to the west.  The Galatian city of An-

        cyra, which was once the center of the Tectosages tribe, was selected as 

        the capital of the new administrative unit.  Over a hundred year period 

        whole kingdoms &parts of kingdoms were added to this province, which 

        covered most of central Asia Minor and approached the coast of the Black

        Sea in the north and of the Mediterranean in the south.

                   All these changes in the size of the Roman province did not abolish

        the differences between the land originally held by the 3 Galatian tribes 

        and peripheral districts. The Galatian invaders' descendants maintained 

        their Celtic language.  In Lycaonia the peasants spoke their own Lycao-

        nian language, while the Phrygian retained their idiom. The peculiar tribal

        organization of the Galatians was kept alive & is referred to on coins until 

        at least the end of the 100s A.D. 

                   In terms of archaeology, explorations of the Galatian district have

        mostly been concerned with collections of surface material.  The provin-

        cial capital of Ancyra has been extensively rebuilt.  It has considerable 

        Phrygian remains, but its major monuments date from Roman times: the 

        temple of Augustus and Roma, Roman baths, and a column of Julian.  In 

        general it is difficult as yet to identify material remains of this district as 

        Galatian.  The Galatian way of living was hardly conducive to the esta-

        blishment of a characteristic style in major or minor arts that could be dis-

        covered in archaeological digs.

GALATIAN, LETTER TO THE.  A letter written by the apostle Paul to “the chur-

        ches of Galatia” and now found as the ninth book of the New Testament 

        (NT) canon.  In it he defends his gospel of salvation by faith rather than 

        by works of the law.  It is significant because of the light it throws upon 

        Paul and the primitive churches, & the influence it has exerted in subse-

        quent history; it has always ranked with the much longer Roman & Corin-

        thian epistles in importance.  It has figured prominently in every Church 

        struggle to maintain the Spirit's freedom against legalism of any kind.

                  Authorship and Purpose—There can be no serious question about 

        the authorship of this letter.  The style, vocabulary, and content are those 

        found in Romans & the Corinthian letters.  The testimony of the ancient 

        church uniformly ascribes it to Paul with no hint of doubt or dissension.  

        There is also no evidence that the text of the letter has suffered any major 

        derangement or revision in the course of its transmission. 

                   Paul had during the course of his missionary labors established a 

        number of churches in the province of Galatia.  At some later time his 

        Galatian churches were in grave danger of falling away from the truth of 

        Christ as Paul understood it because of the teaching of a new gospel.  The

        preachers of the “new” gospel in Galatia also cast doubt on the authenti-

        city of Paul's own apostleship & the authority of his teaching.  Paul wrote 

        this letter in the first flush of indignation & distress at hearing this news. 

                   The main issue between Paul and his critics was the issue of the 

        relation of the Christian to the Jewish law.  This same issue threatened to 

        divide, and in a measure did divide the whole church.  Although Paul was

        not always consistent, his characteristic position was that to be in Christ 

        meant being free from the legal requirements of Judaism.  Paul's oppo-

        nents denied that any such freedom was possible.  They held that the gos-

        pel fulfilled, but did not displace the law.  

                   Paul distinguishes between these “Judaizing” teachers and the con-

        gregations he is addressing.  Nowhere does he identifies them as “outsi-

        ders”; they may be Galatians themselves.  It's clear that the threat of 

        large-scale apostasy is real; Paul feels he is fighting for the very life of his

        churches in Galatia.  One gathers that he doesn't despair of countering the

        efforts of his opponents and of winning back to his “gospel” & to himself 

        the loyalty of his troubled & wavering congregations. 

                   The issue raised by the Judaizers was, all agree, the principal occa-

        sion for the letter.  Some scholars have urged that it isn't the sole occasion.

        “You were called to freedom, brethren; only don't use your freedom as an

        opportunity for the flesh . . .  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by 

        the Spirit.”  Paul was it is argued, defending his position on two fronts—

        against legalists who accused him of being too radical and against others 

        who probably charged him with preaching circumcision, and who called 

        him too conservative.

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                   On the one hand he seems to want to assert his independence of 

        the older apostles at Jerusalem, on the other he seems equally eager to 

        establish the fact that he not only consulted with them, but also sought and 

        secured their approval of his message. He stands for freedom from the law,

        but he wants to make clear that he doesn't stand for moral license.  He 

        isn't necessarily dealing with opponents; most likely he is trying to cor-

        rect those who think of themselves as advocates of his own position.  We

        recognize that Paul was concerned, not only with the Gentiles' freedom 

        from the requirements of the Jewish law, but also with the church's unity.  

        He wants to establish both his independence of them and the fact of their 

        cordial support of his work.

                   It may be that Paul is facing two kinds of Judaizers.  Some of them, 

        truly understanding Paul at the vital point, recognized him as an enemy; 

        other Judaizers, misunderstanding him, were claiming him as a friend.  Fol-

        lowing this line of argument, we have in the book of Acts, which is a docu-

        ment which actually misunderstands him in much the same way, based as 

        it was on older sources that represented Paul as much less radical than 

        his own letters show him to have been.

                   The complexity of the different interpretations of Christianity and the 

        necessity of answering contradictory claims & charges will help explain a 

        certain frustration in Paul's attitude.  He has to turn in one direction against 

        those who are claiming him as a legalist, and now in the other, defending 

        against those who are attacking him as a radical.  Paul is appealing to the 

        Christian Galatians against legalists who unfairly attack or falsely defend 

        him, and who are tempting the church to reject the truth of Christ.

                   Contents & Destination—The letter begins very abruptly, the salu-

        tation itself containing both a defense of Paul’s apostleship and a state-

        ment of his gospel. Paul's eagerness and haste to get to the business of 

        the letter also appear in the omission of thanksgiving & felicitations which 

        in every other letter immediately follows the salutation.  Paul was in this 

        moment not  in the mood for compliments or thanksgiving.        

                   Paul is astonished that the Galatians are so quickly turning away 

        from the gospel to accept “a different gospel.”  The one he gave them was 

        not a human affair, but had come to him through a revelation of Christ.  

        Even after this transforming experience, he did not go to Jerusalem to see 

        those who were already apostles until the third year or 3 years afterward, 

        and then he saw only Peter and James.  14 years later he went to the city 

        again to lay before the leaders there the gospel which he was preaching to 

        the Gentiles.  He reached an understanding that he would work among the 

        Gentiles and they among the Jews. Although the more conservative “Jews”

        had been willing for Paul to release the Gentiles from the requirement of 

        circumcision, they were not willing to admit them to full fellowship in the 

        church. 

                   The doctrinal middle section of the letter, which begins with the 3rd 

        chapter is not a systematic presentation.  Paul is now defending the sound-

        ness of his position, and he makes his points as they occur to him in the 

        heat of discussion.  He first reminds the Galatians of how they received the

        Spirit simply upon believing the gospel, and without works of the law of 

        any kind.  

                   He then appeals to the example of Abraham, who probably figured 

        largely in the arguments of his opponents.  Abraham received the promise 

        of God's blessing centuries before the law.  The law's purpose was the tem-

        porary one of revealing human plight as slaves of sin, that they might throw

        themselves upon God's mercy in Christ.  Children are under the care of a 

        guardian or trustee until they become of age, at which time they become 

        free.  Christ has thus set us free of the law's “curse.”

                   The last section, constituting roughly the fifth and sixth chapters of 

        the letter begins with a strong appeal that the readers stand firm in the free-

        dom with which Christ has set them free.  But it is just as important that 

        they not abuse their freedom out of pride of their position as being “saved 

        through Christ.”  If they live by the Spirit, they should walk by the Spirit, 

        exercising among other things, self-control.

                   There is uncertainty as to exactly which churches to which Paul is 

        writing, an uncertainty which arises out of the ambiguity of the place name

        “Galatia.”  In Paul's period, this name belonged to a large province of the 

        Roman Empire.  It originated as a designation of a region in the larger     

        province's northern part of the.  We can't say with certainty whether Paul 

        is addressing the smaller region, or the whole province, as Paul does not 

        identify the churches more exactly.  

                   The fact that elsewhere Paul uses geographical terms in the Roman 

        sense creates the strong presumption that he means churches anywhere 

        the province.  While the book of Acts mentions Paul’s evangelistic tour of 

        in the southern part of the province of Galatia, & the churches established

        in Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch, it makes no mention of 

        churches in northern Galatia.

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                   Date and Inclusion in NT Canon—The question of the date of the

        epistle is both more controversial & more significant than the location of 

        Paul's churches. According to one view, Galatians is the earliest of Paul's 

        letters and was written from Antioch in Syria before Paul's 3rd visit to 

        Jerusalem and the “apostolic council.” It assumes the letter would have 

        been mentioned the meeting had it already occurred.  This group believes 

        that there were 2 conferences on the Jewish issue. 

                   The great majority of scholars are not convinced, as Paul seems 

        to be describing this 3rd meeting as if it already happened in Galatians 2.  

        The majority of scholars believe that the letter must have been written 

        after the 3rd visit that is described in Acts 15. Once Acts 15 ceases to esta-

        blish the earliest possible date for Galatians, there is no reason why the 

        letter shouldn't be placed as late as the period of Romans & the Corinthian

        letters. 

                   A third possible date, sometime during Paul's imprisonment, needs 

        to be considered.  While it is true that he refers to his imprisonment no-

        where in this letter, it can also be said that he nowhere speaks of any pro-

        spective travel.  One can't help wondering why Paul isn't going instead of 

        writing.  The salutation “all the brothers who are with me,” seems strange 

        unless Paul is on a journey or in prison.  If Galatians was written from pri- 

        son, it was almost certainly written after Romans and was one of Paul's 

        latest letters.  Romans, as the longer, more careful, statement does not 

        need to be the later. 

                   The Letter to the Galatians has a very interesting and important

        place in the early history of the Canon of the New Testament.  The first 

        definite event in that history was undoubtedly the collection of Paul's 

        letters.  The letters were sought out, assembled, and published as a single 

        work for the churches' use.  There's good reason to believe that the seve-

        ral letters were arranged in order of length, with the letter we know as 

        Ephesians being used as a sort of preface to the particular church letters 

        that followed.  This collection was widely distributed among the churches

        in the opening years of the second century.   

                   What is more important is that Marcion adopted the collection as a 

        major part of a new “Bible” for his followers.  Marcion did not leave the 

        latter in their original order but replaced Ephesians in the first place with 

        Galatians.  The emphasis with which Paul set gospel against law must 

        have appealed especially to Marcion, who saw in it a great manifesto of 

        the Christian freedom from Judaism.

               

GALBANUM  (חלבנה (khel beh nah); calbanh (khal bah nay))  The aro-

        matic resinous gum most likely from a species of giant fennel, imported 

        from Persia or India. Identification of galbanum’s ancient source is still 

        somewhat uncertain.  It was a “sweet spice” used as a part of the holy 

        incense burned in the tabernacle.

GALEED  (גלעﬢ, witness heap)  A pile of stones heaped up by Laban & Jacob

        as a sign of their covenant & a boundary mark for their respective coun-

        tries.  It is intended to furnish an etymology for the name Gilead. 

GALILEANS. Galilee's Inhabitants included Jews, pagans, &, from the first 100

        years after Christ, Christians.  The Galileans may have been distinctive 

        in their religious views as well as their accents when they spoke Aramaic.

                   There is rabbinic evidence that in the first century A.D. customs 

        prevailed in Galilee which were not current in other parts of Palestine.  

        They may have celebrated the Passover festival a day earlier than other 

        Jews, & Galileans refused to accept the Pharisaic rule that meat may not 

        be eaten with dairy products.  The Pharisees considered the men of Gali-

        lee as boorish, uncultivated, & pugnacious. The variation in custom might

        be accounted for by their being 'amme ha arets, or unlettered, conserva-

        tive agrarians, who were perhaps not deeply religious. On the other hand, 

        some of the Galilean customs suggest the more conservative Pharisaic 

        school of Shammai.  There is no evidence that Jesus adhered to a Galilean

        religious party.

                   Of all the gospels, Mark’s gospel seems closest to the Galilean 

        background.  The kingdom of God sayings are all placed in the setting of 

        the Galilean ministry.  The gospel’s ending looks forward to the Resurrec-

        tion in Galilee, which is echoed in Matthew.  The later history of Galilean 

        Christianity is obscure.  James’ letter may exemplify Galilean Christia-

        nity, but this theory rests principally on the name tradition has attached to

        the letter; it may actually reflect the thought of a conservative Jewish 

        Christian church somewhere in Palestine.    

GALILEE  (גלילה, circle or ring (of the Gentiles))  A small region in northern 

        Palestine, at first describing a vague and variable boundary, & later descri-

        bing a fixed administrative district under the Romans.  The region later to 

        be known as Galilee was the most northerly part of the northern kingdom 

        of Israel. In 734 B.C. it was absorbed into the Assyrian Empire by Tiglath-

        Pileser.  Through the next 6 centuries the region passed in turn to Babylo-

        nia, Persia, Macedonia, Egypt, & Syria. (See also the entry in the Old Tes-

        tament Apocrypha / Influences Outside the Bible section of the Appendix.).

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                   The term “Galilee of the Gentiles” or “of the nations” first occurs in 

        the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 9), referring to Zebulun and Naphtali’s terri-

        tory as occupied by a mixed population.  The name reflects a popular repu-

        tation for racial variety and mixture in and around these northern frontier 

        districts.  To the south the “Great Plain” Esdraelon provided a natural boun-

        dary with Samaria, from Mount Carmel to Beth-shan. The northern border 

        is Tyre, and stretched eastward to Lake Huleh, about 16 km north of the 

        Sea of Galilee.  The Jordan rift made a natural eastern boundary, but the

        western boundary remains uncertain, except that it bordered upon Syrian 

        Phoenicia.

                   Its dimensions in Roman times were roughly 40 km (east-west) by 

        56 km (north-south).  Galilee was itself divided roughly in half, into Upper 

        and Lower, by the Plain of Ramah.  Lower or southern Galilee ranged from 

        230 meters below sea level at the Sea of Galilee to 150 meters above, ex-

        cept for mountains reaching up to Mount Tabor (560 meters).  Upper or nor-

        thern Galilee included the southern ranges of the Lebanon Mountains from 

        450 to 1,600 meters high.

                   When Herod the Great’s kingdom was split into 3 parts in 4 B.C., 

        Sepphoris, about 6 km north of Nazareth, became Galilee’s capital. The 

        tetrarch Herod Antipas made it his capital in 4 B.C.  It was destroyed by 

        Varus, Syria’s procounsul in 6 A.D., but was promptly rebuilt by Antipas &

        became Galilee’s largest city, and remained the capital until replaced by 

        Tiberias around 25 A.D.  In 44 A.D., Herod Agrippa I, Palestine’s last 

        Jewish ruler, died after a 6-year reign over Galilee, and all Palestine was 

        then formed into a province and was governed by procurators.  After Jeru-

        salem’s fall in 70 A.D., surviving Jews converged on Galilee.  The cities of 

        Tiberias and Sepphoris became Jewish, & the Diaspora came to look upon 

        Galilee as its center. 

                   Galilee's basic rock is limestone, in which natural caves abound.  

        There is also volcanic rock, especially in the east & bordering upon the 

        Jordan rift.  The disintegration of this basaltic rock formed a rich soil in 

        the plains, valleys, & terraces.  Although the craters are extinct, there are 

        many hot springs such as have made Tiberias a popular spa even to mo-

        dern times.  At intervals there were fords, later bridges, for east-west traf-

        fic across the Jordan, which led to the natural roadways through valley 

        and plain.  Several such international highways crossed Galilee between 

        Egypt and the countries to the east, bringing “Galilee of the Gentiles” into

        relationship with world trade and culture. 

                   Life in Galilee was determined chiefly by the Lebanon Mountains, 

        which gathered moisture in the form of dew and snow and springs & lite-

        rally poured it over the land.  Terraced farms & orchards dotted even the 

        northern mountains.  With normal rainfall, crops were especially luxuriant

        in the valleys and plains of Lower Galilee.  Oil, wine, fish and grain were 

        common exports.  Another important source of income was the toll collec-

        ted on international trade routes. 

                    A reasonable estimate for the 1st century would find about 350,000 

        Galileans, including a large slave element and about 100,000 Jews largely 

        Hellenized.  The primary language was the universal Greek Koine; many 

        Jews spoke Aramaic.  Some of Galilee's most important cities were around 

        the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Capernaum, at the north end, west of the 

        Jordan, was a lively and prosperous fishing town as well as a Roman mili-

        tary post.  

                   Chinneroth, one of the oldest towns, lay on the northwest coast on 

        the edge of the Plain of Chinneroth.  Tarichaea (Magdala), at the west cen-

        ter of the lake, was a busy center for the processing of fish.  Tiberias was a 

        new city on the west shore,  built around 25 A.D. by Herod Antipas as his 

        capital to replace Sepphoris.  The names Chinneroth, Gennesaret, & Tibe-

        rias, all were applied to the great lake at one time.  Although the lake’s eas-

        tern half lay outside Galilee, it was referred to as a part of Galilean life.

                   The religious worship in this northerly Gentile region was related to

        the many popular cults which had spread around the Mediterranean.  

        Shrines to numerous deities must have existed in the larger cities of Gen-

        tile Galilee.  They represented the normal & traditional worship of the 

        Gentile majority in Galilee and even in the more Jewish towns.  Syna-

        gogues likewise were to be found throughout Galilee, not only in towns 

        primarily Jewish, like Capernaum, but also in towns primarily Gentile, like

        Sepphoris. 

                   Galilee's most significant period was the thirty-year span of the life 

        of Jesus of Nazareth.  Almost the entire career of Jesus Nazareth lay within

        this tiny region's borders.  It is reported that he traveled once with his dis-

        ciples to Caesarea Phillipi, east of the Jordan, & about 30 miles north from 

        his home in Capernaum, & another journey of about the same distance to 

        the “border of Tyre.”  Upon occasion, Jesus entered the Greek territory east

        of the Jordan.  He may have traveled to Jerusalem through the eastern dis-

        trict of Perea; such a journey through Samaria is much more certain.

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                   The gospel record doesn't encourage a conclusion that Jesus regu-

        larly attended the major festivals in Jerusalem, which would be typical of 

        a Galilean Jew.  Much of the teaching of Jesus wasn't acceptable to ortho-

        dox interpreters; indeed, he gained a reputation for unusual and controver-

        sial interpretation.  He manifested a freshness & independence of mind as 

        to the meaning and application of the Law, consonant with the religious 

        spirit of the galil.

                   After his baptism by John, Jesus apparently withdrew from his family

        in Nazareth and adopted Capernaum as his home, quite possibly staying,

        when in town, at Peter's home.  Here on the lake shore, he secured his 1st 

        disciples, from among the fishermen.  He may have made one later visit to 

        Nazareth.  Jesus preached mainly at the north end of the lake, most of all 

        near Capernaum and repeatedly in Bethsaida.  There's no gospel report

        of his going farther south, to Magdala or Tiberias. 

                   He preached the gospel of salvation mainly to Jews, Samaritans &

        Gentiles (including Romans).  He would have encountered Pharisees and 

        scribes in Galilean cities, but rarely a Sadducee or a priest.  The controver-

        sies in the gospel deal with interpretation of the law, rather than with the 

        ritual or conduct of temple worship.  It was not his debates with the scribes 

        in Galilee, but his defiance of the hierarchy in Jerusalem that resulted in 

        his crucifixion.     

GALILEE, SEA OF  (h qalassa thV GalilaiaV (ay  thal as sah  tes  gah

        lih lay ee as))  The larger lake in northern Palestine, the chief feature of 

        the Jordan waterway and of Galilean life.

                   This ancient basin has been called by several names during the

        period of Hebrew history.  The earliest of these was Chinnereth.  This

        was the name of a walled town, and probably meant “harp,” as the hill 

        it is on is harp-shaped.  A later name for the lake & the same city was 

        Gennesar, used in Maccabean & New Testament (NT) times.  In the  

        100s B.C. the lake was called Tiberias, clearly derived from the city 

        built by Herod Antipas; this name survives in the Arabic name 

        Tabariyeh.   

                   The name by which the lake is best known is Galilee, an old 

        name for the region to the west.  The name as applied to the lake does 

        not appear until the gospels use it.  It was translated as “sea” rather 

        than “lake,” because the Greek word thalassa is ambiguous and can 

        mean either sea or large lake.  The “Sea” of Galilee is actually a fresh-

        water inland lake.  The Lake of Galilee's shape is most like a great 

        heart.  It is about 21 km long (north-south) and 13 km wide. As a natural

        phenomenon, the lake & the Jordan rift are of great age. The high moun-

        tains around it fall off sharply, especially on the eastern side.  The sur-

        face of the lake is 212 meters below sea level, with the lake's deepest part 

        reaching down another 60 meters.

                   On the eastern side the cliffs of the Jaulan Plateau present a steep

        face to the lake.  On this side may be identified the ancient Gergesa, the 

        setting for the stampede of swine that rushed down the cliff and were 

        drowned. On the western side of the lake the mountains form an amphi-

        theater, with a narrow plain along the lake on which several important 

        towns were situated.  The highest neighboring mountains although at a 

        greater distance, lie to the northwest where the town of Safed looks down

        from over 800 meters towards the lake.

                   The Galilee waters drain from as far north as Mount Hermon, over 

        60 km away.  At one time they formed a single long lake throughout the 

        entire course to the Dead Sea.  Water reaches Galilee from Lake Huleh 

        through a narrow gorge 16 km long, dropping over 280 meters in the pro-

        cess.  There is a plain to the northwest, extending 4.8 km along the lake 

        and reaching back into the hills about 3.2 km; this is the fertile plain of 

        Gennesaret, the most productive and populous area along the coast. 

                   The lake was an active center of Galilean life.  Roads fanned out 

        from the lake, westward to Acco, southwestward to Caesarea, and south-

        ward to Judea.  Jesus of Nazareth, an artisan from a small highland town,

        made a major change when he took up life in Capernaum at the northern 

        end of the lake.  It attracted other Galileans, like Nathanael from Cana, 

        Mary from Magdala, Philip, Andrew, and Peter from Bethsaida to the 

        east.  James, John, Simon, and Andrew were in a fishing partnership in 

        Capernaum.  The Roman centurion in Capernaum is a reminder that the 

        city was a Roman military & customs post on the international highway. 

                   Next to Capernaum, Bethsaida drew the attention of Jesus.  It lay 

        at the northern end of the lake, in the delta east of the Jordan's mouth, 

        4.5 km from Capernaum.  Some distance from Bethsaida was the setting

        for the feeding a crowd.  Galilean fishermen have been cautious about 

        treacherous storms such as those mentioned in the gospels, caused by 

        cold winds from the west, or from Mount Hermon in the north, chan-

        neled down the gorge.  

                   Another lake town of importance was Chorazin; lying away from

        the shore about 3.2 km north of Capernaum; the gospels record no epi-

        sode here.  The northern part of the lake constituted the entire gospel 

        setting for the activity of Jesus from, Capernaum around to Bethsaida 

        and included the single visit to Gergasa.  No preaching is recorded south

        of the Plain of Gennesaret, an area known to be Gentile. 

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                   On the southern edge of this plain was the town of Magdala, about 8

        km southwest of Capernaum.  It was a focus of revolt and one of the last 

        places in Galilee to yield to Vespasian.  Probably the most important city 

        on the lake was Antipas' capital Tiberias, 8 km southeast of Magdala. Jews 

        deliberately avoided ritual contamination from the necropolis there.  It was 

        wholly a Gentile city, with Greek architecture, customs, and religion.  Its 

        greatest attraction was its medicinal springs, which even won over Jews

        in later years as Jerusalem became more paganized.  There are also seve-

        ral lesser towns around the southern portion of the lake, including Senna-

        bris, Philoteria, & Semakh; they are not mentioned in the NT.

                   The last Jewish king to rule over any part of Galilee was Agrippa II 

        (56-100 A.D.).  His puppet kingdom was actually east of the Jordan, but 

        Nero gave to Agrippa the Galilean lakeside cities of Tiberias, Magdala, 

        Bethsaida, the last 2 of which had Roman counterparts nearby.  When 

        Agrippa died these were all incorporated into the Roman province of Syria. 

                   Excavation around the Lake of Galilee have uncovered the syna-

        gogues in some of its cities.  The one in Capernaum is a white limestone 

        structure, built around 200 A.D.  Then there is the black basalt synagogue 

        of Chorazin built sometime around 250 A.D.  Synagogues were unearthed

        at Arbela, southwest of Magdala, and at Hammath, southeast of Tiberias.  

GALL (HERB) (ראש (roshe); colh (ko leh))  A bitter & poisonous herb; its 

        juice is commonly thought to be the “hemlock” poison which Socrates 

        drank.  Where the King James Version translates the Hebrew as “gall,” the 

        New Revised Standard Version will sometimes translate more generally 

        as "poison" (e.g. Deuteronomy 29, Jeremiah 9 and 23). 

GALL (OF LIVER)  (מררה (mer o raw), bitterness)  This word originally re-

        presented just the abstract concept of “bitterness.”  It later came to be ap-

        plied specifically to the gall bladder. 

GALLERY  (אתיק (at teek), portico; רחט (rekh et), watering-trough)  Atiq is

        an architectural feature of Ezekiel's temple complex of uncertain mea-

        ning.  The meaning is unknown, but the context suggests “tresses.”

GALLEY  (אני (on ee), ship)  A low and rather narrow seagoing vessel, pro-

        pelled mainly by oars and used principally as a warship.

GALLIM  (גלים (gal leem))  1.  The native city of Palti son of Laish, to whom

        Saul gave his daughter Michal as wife after his quarrel with her husband 

        David.        2.  A town of Benjamin on the route which Isaiah says the 

        Assyrian army took on its march to Jerusalem. 

GALLIO.  Junius Gallio Annaeus, proconsul of Achaea (51-52 or 52-53), with 

        headquarters at Corinth.  He assumed the name Gallio when adopted by 

        a wealthy friend and introduced to a political career.  While Gallio was 

        in office, Jews at Corinth brought Paul before his judgment seat.  Gallio 

        refused to let Paul defend himself; he dismissed the case on the ground 

        that it involved Jewish law.  Involved in the conspiracy against Nero in 

        which his brother lost his life, he finally had to commit suicide. 

GALLON  (metrhtaV (met ray tas), equivalent of 9 gallons)  In John 2 it 

        is translated “twenty or thirty gallons.”

GAMAD, MEN OF  (גמדים (ga mah deem)).  Men from a place in Syria, pos-

        sibly the same as Kumidi.  Men of Gamad were in the army of Tyre, ac-

        cording to Ezekiel's oracle against that city. 

GAMALIEL  (Gamaliehl, recompense of God)    1.  An honored Pharisaic 

        member of the Sanhedrin, who counseled moderation in the treatment of

        Peter and other apostles, and is said to have been Paul's teacher.  Gama-

        liel was the grandson of the famous Rabbi Hillel. 

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                   From 33-66 A.D. his learning and generous spirit greatly enhance

        the prestige of liberal Pharisaism.  Jewish tradition erroneously regarded

        him as president of the Sanhedrin (the high priest's job).  His caution con-

        cerning extreme measures against the apostles may have been due to his 

        characteristically tolerant and generous spirit, to a wish to protect Phari-

        saic Judaism, or to a true piety which divined in the events he had wit-

        nessed the purpose power of God at work. Was Gamaliel actually Paul's 

        teacher?  Why then the pupil's persecuting activities, or the lack of men-

        tion of Gamaliel. Answers have been given, but not wholly satisfactory 

        ones.

                 2.  The leader of the tribe of Manasseh.

GAME  (ציד (tsah yid), venison)  Game in biblical times consisted chiefly of 

        “harts, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.”  Esau was Isaac's favorite 

        because he provided him game.

GAMES, OT.  Of games and play the Old Testament (OT) gives only scattered 

        indications.  Undoubtedly the Hebrews had their games.  A contest was

         associated with the 7-day wedding feast (Judges 14) in which Samson 

        told a riddle involving a forfeit to be paid to the winner of the guessing.

                   In II Samuel 2. while waiting for battle, 12 men were chosen from

        each side to engage in a contest of skill, most likely similar to fencing; the

        result was fatal for both sides.  In Zechariah 8 the prophet envisages the 

        restored city’s habitants, the children playing in the streets.  In the Greek 

        period the Jews readily adopted the Greek games, & the gymnasium and

        the theater became popular, much to the disgust of the orthodox.

                   Archaeology has added much to our knowledge of games in OT 

        times.  Some archaeologists suggest that some molded clay figures may 

        have been children's dolls.  Most interesting among the discoveries are the

        games and their accompanying playing pieces.  In Palestine itself these 

        have been found in a number of sites, apparently introduced from Mesopo-

        tamia.  They were also common in Egypt.  The Palestinian game boards 

        date from the 1500s B.C. in the Middle Bronze Age.  The most common is

        rectangular divided into 20 or 30 squares.  Some boards have a series of 

        holes, and the playing pieces are pegs.

                   At Mizpah, game boards were carved in the rock walls, made up of 

        varying sizes of boxes.  Playing pieces took many forms.  One set, associ-

        ated with a 12^th Dynasty Egyptian game, consisted of 10 pegs of ivory, 5 

        with heads of dogs, 5 with heads of jackals; the game has been referred to 

        as “hounds and jackals.”  In the game the pegs’ movement was determined

        by casting of knuckle bones.  Unfortunately we have no knowledge of the 

        rules for these games.  But there is ample evidence from archaeology that 

        games were common. 

GAMES, NT.  The word “game” isn't found in the New Testament (NT), but 

        there are many references to various kinds of games and sports.

                   Jesus referred to the games of the children.  The soldiers cast lots 

        for the garments of Jesus, probably using dice of some form.  Greeks & 

        Romans were great lovers of games & sports.  Josephus often mentions 

        efforts of the Herodian family to force the Greco-Roman games upon the 

        Jews; pious Jews put up stiff resistance.  They came from Gentile, pagan 

        sources, and were often connected with the worship of pagan deities.  Ath-

        letes would often appear completely naked.  And often there was much 

        brutality and bloodshed. 

                   The most important of the Greek games were the Olympics at Olym-

        pia, the Pythian at Delphi, the Nemean at Argos, and the Isthmian on the 

        Isthmus of Corinth.  Those who were winners were given only crowns of 

        leaves, olive, pine, laurel, or parsley, but they were held in very high honor 

        by their fellow citizens.  Paul urges the Corinthians to “play the game so as 

        to win the prize” I Corinthians 9) and to run the good race (Hebrews 12) 

        when he speaks of matching the efforts of earlier Christians, and even of 

        Jesus himself.

GAMUL  (גמול, weaned)  A chief of the Levites.

GANGRENE.  See Canker.

GARDEN  (גן (gan); גנה (ghin naw))  A fenced plot of ground used for various

        purposes.  The fence might be of stone, or a mud brick wall or a hedge.  It 

        was often irrigated & might have a shelter built in it.  The king's residence 

        probably included an elaborate garden or private park.  Gardens were valu-

        able for shade, & one might go walking or hold a banquet in his garden.   

        With a pool installed, the garden might used for bathing. Fruit & olive trees,

        as well as grape vines, were planted in gardens.  Gardens may have been 

        used for worship & for observing idolatrous rites.  They were also used as 

        burial places.

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GAREB  (גרב, scruvy)  1.  An Ithrite or, more probably, a Jattrite who was one 

        of the mighty men of David known as the 30.  Depending on what vowels 

        are assumed for the Hebrew, he is either an Ithrite from Kiriath-jearim or 

        he is from Jattir, located southwest of Hebron.      2.  A quarter of Jerusa-

        lem, presumably located on the southwest hill, mentioned in Jeremiah 31. 

GARLAND.  (לויה (liv yaw), crown; פאר (peh ‘air), ornamental headdress; 

        Stemma stem mah), crown)  The English translation of three words.  

        Livyah is a wreath; pe'ar is worn as a sign of joy, as by a bridegroom; 

        stemma is a wreath or chaplet wound around a priest's staff or worn on his 

        head. 

GARLIC  (שומים (shoo meem))  A bulbous vegetable of the lily family. The 

        Hebrews in the wilderness craved garlic and other foods.  Herodotus tells 

        of an inscription on the great Pyramid of Cheops which listed garlic as 

        one of the vegetable supplied to the builders. 

GARMENT.  See Dress and ornaments; Festal garment; Linen Garment.

GARMITE  (גרמי, bony)  Name given to a people and the designation of Keilah

        in the list of Judah.

GARNER  (אסף (o sef), gathering)  A granary, barn, or store. The noun “gar-

        ner” is now nearly obsolete; granary is commonly used instead.  (See 

        granary)

GARRISON  (מצבה (mats tsay bah))  A body of troops stationed for defense, 

        usually on a frontier post. 

                   In the 900s B.C., the Philistines had garrisons deep in Judean terri-

        tory, particularly Bethlehem.  After David conquered them, he placed Isra-

        elite garrisons deep in Philistine territory & near Damascus. Jehoshaphat 

        placed garrisons not only in Judah, his southern kingdom, but also in the 

        northern kingdom, in cities which Asa, his father, had taken from Baasha.  

        Elsewhere, however, Asa is portrayed as more or less at the mercy of the 

        northern kingdom.

GASH   (גדד (ga dad), cut) To inflict incisions on the person as a sign of 

        mourning or in ecstatic pagan worship.

GASPAR.  In late tradition a king of India and one of the three Magi.

GATAM  (געתם)  An Edomite clan chief. 

GATE  (שער (shah ‘ar), opening)  The gate of the city served for defense and 

        as a civic center.  In II Samuel 18-19, there was actually a pair of gates, 

        with a chamber above them, and a roof above that which served as a look-

        out.  The gate was the news center.  “Within your gates” may mean within 

        your towns.  The gate might be the place of market or the place where the 

        elders and judges or king might sit officially, and so might be synonymous 

        with the court of judgment. 

GATE BETWEEN THE TWO WALLS (שער בין החמתים (shah ‘ar  bane  

        ha kho mo ta yeem))  A city gate to the southeast of Jerusalem. 

GATH  (גת, wine-press)  One of the Philistines' 5 principal cities.  It lay inland 

        considerably south of Ekron, being farther east and nearer to Judah than 

        any of its sister cities.  Because of its position it changed hands now and 

        again coming under the control of Judah.

                   Gath was considered by the Israelites an old city of Canaanite 

        times.  A reference in the Amarna Letters confirms its antiquity.  There 

        are traces of early conflict with the tribes of Ephraim & Benjamin. The 

        captured ark was first taken to Ashdod, then Gath, then Ekron after it 

        proved troublesome in each city. Goliath was from Gath. The Philistines

        fled to Gath & Ekron after their defeat by Israel.

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                   David, in flight from Saul, attempted to take refuge with Achish, king 

        of Gath, but was not well received as reported in I Samuel 21, or was wel-

        comed, as reported in I Samuel 27.  When David wished to delay bringing 

        the ark to Jerusalem, he entrusted it for safekeeping to Obed-edom the Git-

        tite.  Whether through conquest or through friendships formed during his 

        service under Achish, David was able throughout his later career to have

        a Philistine bodyguard under the command of Ittai the Gittite (i.e. from 

        Gath), who finally rose to be one of David's three top commanders.

                   During Solomon's time there seems to been easy communication 

        between Jerusalem & Gath.  The Gittite was still Achish by name, possibly 

        the same man who had befriended David long before.  Rehoboam fortified 

        Gath, it being considered one of the cities of Judah.  The Syrian Hazael of 

        Aram felt it necessary to take Gath in a campaign against Jerusalem in the 

        time of Jehoash of Judah (837-800 B.C.).  

                   The city apparently reverted to the Philistines, for shortly thereafter 

        Uzziah of Judah (783-742) attacked it in a campaign against the Philistines 

        and partially destroyed it.  Sargon II speaks of conquering and despoiling 

        Gath in 711 B.C.  Thereafter it seems to disappear from history.  Lists of 

        Philistine cities in the prophetic writings noticeably omit Gath.  Because of

        the place's obscurity since the eighth century B.C., it is not strange that a 

        number of sites have been proposed.  The 2 best proposals seem to be 19

        km east of Ashdod, due west of Jerusalem, and 24 km east of Ashkelon, 

        west and slightly south of Jerusalem.

GATH-HEPHER  (גת החפר, well of the wine press (?))  A border town in the 

        territory of Zebulun; the home of the prophet Jonah.  It is probably located 

        4.8 km northeast of Nazareth.

GATH-RIMMON (גת רמון, wine press by the pomegranate)  1.  A Danite city

        assigned to the Kohathite clan of Levites, probably on the River Yarkon’s 

        southern bank.  It may also be the Gath on Thut-mose III’s list.

              2.  A Levitical city in Manasseh.

GAULANITIS  (גולן (go lan))  That portion of the Transjordan Plateau immedi-

        ately east of Galilee.  Gaulanitis extended from the cliffs which rise 

        steeply along the Jordan Valley.  On the south the border was the Yarmuk

        and the north the districts of Ulatha and Paneas.

                   Although not mentioned in the Bible Gaulanitis was apparently 

        named for a city in the Old Testament.  Herod the Great willed Gaulanitis

        to his son Philip in 4 B.C.  After Philip's death in 34 A.D., it was added to

        the Roman province of Syria, but later it was given to Herod Agrippa I by

        the Emperor Caligula.  It formed part of the kingdom of Herod Agrippa II

        when it took part in the Jewish revolt against Rome (66-70 A.D.).  Gaula-

        nitis was famed in Old Testament times (as Bashan) & in New Testament 

        times for its rich crops.  Apparently it was more thickly populated then 

        than it is now, although it is still fertile. 

GAUZE, GARMENTS OF  (גליון (gil yone), mirror, tablet)  An item of finery 

        of the daughters of Zion, perhaps filmy shawls or glittering little plates of

        metal. 

GAZA  (עזה (‘az zaw), strength)  A city in southwest  Palestine, best known 

        from the Bible as the southernmost of the Philistines' 5 principal cities.

                   The city had a long history and was regarded as an important place,

        being mentioned about 20 times in the Bible.  Though on the coast, Gaza 

        was the land gateway between Egypt and Asia for caravan and military 

        traffic.  Biblical tradition regards Gaza as ancient, going back to Canaanite

        times.  Thutmose stopped near Gaza around 1468 B.C.  Letters show the 

        town still loyal to Egypt, but in grave danger from the invading Habiru 

        around 1360 B.C.  The Israelites were at first able to get a foothold in the 

        region, but the incoming Philistines soon took over the southern coastal 

        territory. Solomon’s territory ended near Gaza but didn’t include it. 

                   Amos condemns the city for its slave trade with Edom.  The pro-

        phetic oracle, if actually from Amos would be dated about the middle of 

        the 700s B.C.  Hanno of Gaza conspired with Egypt against Assyria; he 

        was captured & deported to Assyria in 720 B.C.  Acting against Assyria, 

        Hezekiah of Judah attacked Gaza.  This brought Sennacherib to Palestine; 

        he took away considerable territory from Judah.  It is perhaps to this peri-

        od that we can assign the bitter oracle against Gaza and the Philistines 

        (Zephaniah 2).  When Pharaoh Neco went north around 609 B.C. to sup-

        port Assyria against the Chaldeans, he probably took Gaza into protective 

        custody. (See also the entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/Influences 

        Outside the Bible section of the Appendix.). 

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                   In Roman times Gaza was a flourishing seat of pagan culture, & 

        Christianity was established only after a long and sometimes bloody strug-

        gle.  It has remained solidly Muslim since 635 A.D.  Because of the mo-

        dern city's presence on the old site, no significant archaeological work has

        been undertaken here.

GAZELLE  (צביה (tsib yaw))    A species of small Antelope, with recurved 

        horns.  Two varieties have been known in biblical Palestine, one pale fawn

        in color, the other a dark smoky fawn in color.  In biblical times the gazelle

        was probably the most abundant of the larger game animals.

                   Although not used for sacrificial purposes, the gazelle was a clean

        animal and could be eaten as food, but they were not easy to bag, for their 

        speed of movement was proverbial.  The oath in the Song of Songs [Solo-

        mon] is difficult.  “By the gazelles or hinds of the field,” may have been 

        used in order to leave out the name of God from a solemn charge concer-

        ning human love. 

GAZEZ  (גזז (fleece-shearing))  Apparently a Clebite family.  The name is men-

        tioned twice, both as a son and as a brother of Haran in I Chronicles 2; the

        verse is obscure and probably an addition. 

GAZZAM  (גזם, locust)  A family of Nethinim.

GEAR  (skeuoV  (skeh oo os))  Equipment or apparatus.  The context of Acts 

        27 indicates that this word is a nautical term, but the precise meaning is 

        uncertain.  It could mean just “sails”; it could mean “ship's gear,” which 

        would include sails among ropes, yards, and pulleys; it could mean anchor.

GEBA  (גבע, hill)  One of the cities given to Levites out of the inheritance 

        allotted to the tribe of Benjamin.  This site played important role in the bat-

        tles of Saul, Jonathan, and David with the Philistines.  Gibeah and Gibeon 

        are sometimes confused with Geba in the Hebrew text.  Geba was fortified

        by King Asa of Judah (Southern Kingdom), and is listed by Isaiah as an 

        important station in the visionary portrayal of a hostile army's advance on 

        Jerusalem from the north.

GEBAL  (גבל, mountain)  1.  A Phoenician city between Tripolis and Beirut. 

                   Ancient Gebal was situated on a slope on the Phoenician coast, 

        north of Berytus.  The famous cedars were found in the neighborhood & 

        made Gebal an important city for all nations and kings who needed ships.  

        Gebal is one of the most ancient cities in the Near East, and its history can

        be traced far back.  There is physical evidence that a Mediterranean race 

        was living in Gebal in Neolithic times (5000-4000 B.C.).  

                   Some time around 4000 B.C., this civilization vanished rather sud-

        denly.  At the same time traces of a new civilization are found.  New tech-

        nical inventions are found—the wheel, sailing ships, & the potter’s wheel.

        Above all a new metal, bronze, was introduced by people coming in from 

        the north.  Semites had also mixed with the former population.  These dif-

        ferent peoples mixed to form Phoenicians. 

                   Egyptian influence in this Phoenician city was very great.  A Cylin-

        der from 3000 was found, as were the names of the Pharaohs Mycerinus, 

        Unis, and Pepi from the 2600s, 2400s, and 2300s respectively.  The Egyp-

        tian interest in Gebal wasn't only of a religious character.  Gebal exported 

        jars with oils, spices, wine, leather, and other products.

                   Near 2000 B.C., Gebal was destroyed and burned.  The names of 

        the kings in the 1800s & 1700s B.C. were most likely of Amorite origin, 

        but the population was still mixed.  Toward 1500 B.C.  Hurrians, Hittites, 

        and Mitannians ruled in Gebal, and the names of kings were primarily 

        Arameans.  In the 1300s, King Rib-Addi of Gebal was one of the few 

        kings in these countries who remained faithful to the Egyptian Pharaoh. 

        In the centuries following 1000 B.C., Gebal also took part in the great 

        Phoenician expansion in trade and shipping.  Gebal shared the fate of the 

        rest of Phoenicia, being conquered by the Assyrians, the Babylonians,  

        the Persians, the Greek, and the Romans.   

                   2.  A territory in the mountains south of the Dead Sea, near Petra.

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GEBER  (גבר, vigorous man)  Son of Uri; one of the twelve commissariat pre-

        fects of Solomon.  He had as his district the land of Gilead.

GEBIM (גבים, cisterns) A city of Benjamin located on the route the Assyrian 

        army took on its march on Jerusalem.

GECKO  (אנקה (‘an aw kaw), lizard )  A small, four-legged reptile; the mea-

        ning is uncertain, though its place in Leviticus 11, points to a reptile. 

GEDALIAH  (גדליה, great is the Lord)  1.  A musician, supposedly of 

        David’s time, to whom one of the post-exilic Levitical families traced its 

        line.      2.  Grandson of Hezekiah, and grandfather of the prophet Zepha-

        niah.      3.  Son of Pashur; one of the Jerusalemite princes that coun-

        seled Jeremiah’s death.      

                   4.  Exilic governor of Judah under Nebuchadnezzar.  Gedaliah’s 

        father had protected Jeremiah and the son probably shared the prophet’s 

        moderate political views. Jewish nationalist fanatics murdered him.     

        5.  One of the priests who put away their alien wives.

GEDER  (גדר, fence)  A city of the Canaanites, conquered by Joshua.  It is not

        mentioned in the list of the cities of that tribe, and may have been

        abandoned.  

GEDERAH  (גדרה, wall)  1.  One of the towns of the Shephelah in the allot-

        ment to Judah.  Probably Gederah is to be identified with modern Jede-

        rill, around 27.2 km west and a little north of Jerusalem.      2.  A city of 

        Benjamin from which came Jozabad, one of David’s Mighty Men.

GEDEROTH (גדרות, sheepfolds)  A city of Judah in the Shephelah district of 

        Lachish.  During the reign of Ahaz, the Philistines detached Gederoth from 

        Ahaz’ realm; it has been identified with Kedron.

GEDEROTHAIM  (גדרתים, two sheepfolds)  A village of Judah in the She-

        phelah district of Zorah-Azekah.  The site is unknown.  It is the general 

        consensus of scholars that the Hebrew word in Joshua 15 should be read 

        “and her sheepfolds.” 

GEDOR (גדור, wall)   1.  A person or family of Benjamin.    2. A city of Judah, 

        mentioned after Beth-zur.      3. A Calebite city in Judah, mentioned with 

        Soco & Zappah.      4.  A city mentioned as the limit of the conquests of 

        the Simeonites. 

GE-HARASHIM  (גיא הרשים, valley of Craftsmen)  A community of crafts-

        men named from a valley in the vicinity of Lod & Ono on the southern bor-

        der of the Plain of Sharon.

                  Joab of Judah & of the lineage of Kenaz is represented as “father” or

        founder of this community of craftsmen.  The origin of the name is uncer-

        tain, but it may preserve a memory of a Philistine iron monopoly.

GEHAZI  (גיחזי, valley of vision) The servant of the prophet Elisha. In the story

        of the Shunamite woman, Gehazi suggested to Elisha the gift of a son to 

        the childless woman & her husband.  He later bore the prophet’s life-giving 

        staff to the body of the boy when he had died of a head ailment.  Gehazi is 

        primarily known,  however, for his dispassionate rudeness to the woman on

        the occasion of her appeal to Elisha on behalf of her dead son and for the 

        greedy cunning by which he attempted to claim for himself the reward 

        which Elisha had refused from Naaman the Syrian.  Elisha cursed him with

        the disease of which Naaman had been cured. 

GEHENNA  ( geenna, fiery hell)  Gehenna is the Greek & Latin form of the He-

        brew aye hinnom, or Valley of Hinnom, the name of a ravine south of Jeru-

        salem, which, during the days of the monarchy, was the scene of the idola-

        trous cult involving the passing of children through fire. In the century be-

        fore Christ this name came to be used in a metaphorical sense to denote 

        the place of fiery torment believed to be reserved for the wicked.

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                   It is only in the Greco-Romano period of Jewish history that the 

        quite distinct concept of a blazing hell begins to emerge.  The concept was

        doubtless influenced by the infiltration of Iranian ideas about judgment.  

        The application of “Gehenna” to this place of judgment first appears in the

        New Testament.  Gehenna is clearly conceived by the New Testament wri-

        ter as identical with the “lake of fire” into which Hades itself will be cast. 

        Rabbi Akiba affirms expressly that Gehenna’s torment lasts only for 12 

        months.  Philo states just as explicitly that wicked Jews will indeed be con-

        demned to Tartarus & that their punishment will be eternal. 

                   The use of “Gehenna” reflects the tendency to describe of the last 

        days in terms of Old Testament places & events; this tendency developed 

        under Greek influences.  Similar terms include Armageddon, the Damas-

        cus wilderness & the new Jerusalem.  This tendency which helped at to 

        Judaize ideas adopted from foreign sources is important for understanding 

        Jewish and Christian literature about this age’s end & the new age’s begin-

        ning.  Gehinnom is likewise employed in an extended, metaphorical sense 

        in several Mishnah passages.

GEMALLI (גמלי, camel-owner)  Ammiel’s father, sent from the tribe of Dan to 

        spy out the land of Canaan.

GEMARA  (גמרא, discussion) The specific term for the discussions carried on 

        in the rabbinic academies in ancient Palestine and Babylon of the Mishna; 

        the Gemaras and the Mishna make up the Talmud.  The term is derived 

        either from an Aramaic root meaning “to repeat,” or from a Hebrew root 

        meaning “to complete.”  The 2 Gemaras which existed in the 200s and 

        300s A.D. were in Tiberias by the Sea of Galilee and in Babylon.

GEMARIAH  (גמריה, whom the Lord completes)    1.  An emissary from 

        Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar who carried Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in

        Babylon.      2.  Son of Shaphan the secretary, in whose temple chamber 

        Baruch read Jeremiah’s scroll. Gemariah was one of the princes who op-

        posed Jehoiakim’s wish to destroy the scroll.      3.  Gemariah son of His-

        silyahu (589 B.C.).

GENEALOGY    A biblical genealogy is an orderly list of names purporting to 

        record either the pedigrees of individual or the assumed relationships of 

        such groups as families, clans, tribes, or nations. Lineage is traced through

        the male with females mentioned only in rare instances. The Hebrew word

        for generation, ﬨולﬢוﬨ (toe le doth), when applied to the biblical lists, 

        signifies descent by birth and family relationship. 

                   Among the motives responsible for the compilation of the genealo-

        gies are:  individual identification for such legal purposes as inheritance; 

        establishment or rights to such social positions as nobility, kinship, and 

        priesthood; proof of racial purity; prideful demonstration of relationship to

        a famous ancestor; strengthening of position or authority.  In agreement 

        with the general Near Eastern usage, early Hebrew family records reach 

        only to the third and the fourth generation. 

                   Hebrew history is traced back to Adam, the ancestor of all.  The 

        “genealogies” found in the earliest documents of the Pentateuch are not 

        individual pedigrees.  Rather, they are supposed origins and recognized 

        relationship of nations, cities, and people known to the author, set into 

        the form of personal genealogical fables.  The lists covering the period 

        before the Flood are probably dependent upon Babylonian traditions.  

        The descendants of Noah set into the pre-exilic narrative and expanded 

        by the Priestly Writer in the post-exilic period, contain, not personal 

        names, but those of peoples, tribes, countries, & even cities.  The basis 

        of relationship in these lists is not that of blood but is cultural and 

        historical. 

                   The link between and Shem and Abraham has likewise been shown

        to be geographical, with the names used representing places in northwes-

        tern Mesopotamia.  Near kinsmen of the Hebrews are introduced into the 

        historical narrative as tiny genealogical bits reflecting independent tradi-

        tions.  Thus, the early “genealogies” are largely geographical and ethnic 

        lists rather than individual pedigrees; at some unknown point, the genealo-

        gies become personal and individual.  

                   Some believe that the lists have group significance through the 

        whole tribal period.  Others want to recognize personal genealogies from 

        the time of Abraham onward.  Extended personal genealogies do not deve-

        lop until late.  Not until the acceptance of the Deuteronomic law stressing 

        the congregation’s purity was need felt for complete family records.  From 

        Babylon came Nehemiah and Ezra, insisting on racial purity and purging.  

        Then written proof of purity of descent was essential. 

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                   The assembling of genealogies extending from the Persian period 

        (600-400 B.C.) back to the patriarchal age (1900 B.C.) was a difficult task. 

        Before the proper number of generations can be assembled, a genealo-

        gist must have some estimation of the interval to be covered by the list

        and of the average extent of a generation.  The figure used for the length of

        a generation varied from 10 years to 100 years.  40 years was most often

        used as a generation’s span. 

                   Some Jewish writers were ingenious, if not accurate, in producing 

        chronological schemes which, by their symmetrical patterns can be recog-

        nized as artificial.  The interval between the Exodus and the founding of 

        Solomon’s temple was determined as 480 years.  The time between Solo-

        mon’s temple and Zerubbabel’s temple was believed to be equal to it. 

                   Within the period to be covered approximately the correct number 

        of names must be placed.  At the time the lists were compiled, it is unlikely

        that much written genealogical data had survived.  Patriarchal tribal struc-

        ture was lost in the monarchy, and war & exile doubtless destroyed some 

        family records.  More complete and trustworthy records were the postexilic

        records contemporary with the genealogists.  Their sincere efforts nonethe-

        less had to rely on faulty, conflicting and even spurious sources, thus resul-

        ting in errors. 

                   Additional names needed to fill the gaps in the genealogies, could 

        be drawn from other lists of names, or repeated from the same list.  Clan 

        geographical names are often personified as “fathers” and “sons.”  Some 

        proper names are but corruptions of Hebrew  words.  The names of the 

        sons of Heman in I Chronicles 25 are the words of a psalm fragment.   

                  It should have been possible in the post-exilic period for any Hebrew 

        to prove his origin by tracing his line to remote tribal connections.  Actually,

        this was impossible, because only a few lines are fully developed and colla-

        teral lines are dropped.  The Chronicler, who gives the most complete lists 

        omits any genealogy, shows special interest in the tribes of Levi, Judah, & 

        Benjamin, which contributed the bulk of the post-exilic community.  These 

        tribes contain the pedigrees of the religious leaders, & the houses of Saul 

        and David. 

                   Many difficulties face the student of genealogies.  Family terms are 

        used to describe relationships other than blood and often are less precise 

        than the context calls for.  Lack of surname intensifies the importance of 

        the father’s name.  Repetitions may be duplicate names, or the name may 

        be part of a family tradition and frequently used.  The same person may be 

        known by several names. Personal names & geographical or group names

        are mingled in some genealogies.

                   Omission can be demonstrated in some genealogies.  Some are 

        from faulty copying; others are deliberate.  Because of these omissions, & 

        uncertainty about the length of the generations, genealogies offer compara-

        tively little certain chronological assistance.   The genealogist’s interest is 

        historical and biographical rather than chronological.  

                   There are other means than birth for relationship to a group. When 

        non-Israelites were incorporated because of service or loyalty, genealogi-

        cal connections then had to be invented for them.  It also cannot always be 

        determined whether “personal” names refer to individuals or to groups.  

        Lists of names suffer greatly in transmission, since it is a matter of copying 

        with no means of checking connections.  Valuable & authentic bits of gene-

        alogical data are doubtless incorporated in the biblical genealogies, but 

        they can be recovered only with great difficulty and with little certainty.

GENEALOGY (CHRIST)  The genealogy of Christ is found in Matthew 1 and

        Luke 3.  These genealogies of Christ are all based on multiples of 7 

        names.  Matthew 1 estimates the interval between Abraham & Jesus as 42

        generations, which he divides into 3 groups of 14 generations each.  Luke 

        3 has 4 series of names in multiples of 7, with a total of 77.  For the inter-

        val of David to Jesus, Matthew has 28 generations, while Luke has 42.  17

        names occur in both genealogies.

                   In Matthew, Jesus’ genealogy is traced back through Judah’s kings, 

        through David to Abraham, because the Messiah would be a descendant 

        of David, & the promises were made “to Abraham and to his offspring.”  

        Matthew begins his genealogy with Abraham, and his list of names may be 

        divided into 3 groups,  Abraham to David, Solomon to Jeconiah and the 

        Exile, and Shealtiel to Jesus.  

                   The first 2 contain 14 names and the third contains 13 names.  The 

        names from Perez to David are from the Greek version of Ruth 4; the list 

        from Solomon to Jeconiah agrees with I Chronicles 3, but omits Ahaziah, 

        Joash, and Amaziah.  In the third division Zerubbabel is called the son of 

        Shealtiel.  Several names among these last 13 occur only here in the Bible,

        and a period of almost 500 years is covered by 10 names.  Jesus’ grand-

        father is listed as Jacob.

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                   Luke 3 traces Jesus’ genealogy backward from Jesus all the way to 

        Adam and beyond to God.  Luke lists 77 names in contrast with Matthew’s

         41.  There are 21 names from Jesus to Zerubbabel, 21 names from Sheal-

        tiel to Nathan,  14 names from David to Isaac, and 21 names from Abra-

        ham to Adam.

                   The list from Adam to Abraham is the same as Genesis 5 and 11, 

        and I Chronicles 1.  The list from Abraham to David is the same as Mat-

        thew’s except for the addition of Arni and Admin.  The only other names

        appearing in both are Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, & Joseph.  The dissimilarity 

        in the genealogies of Matthew & Luke from David on is due to the fact 

        that Matthew traces Jesus’ li neage through Solomon, while Luke traces it

        through Nathan, another of David’s sons.  The men referred to in Luke’s 

        list between Nathan and Shealtiel and between Zerubbabel and Joseph 

        are all unknown.

                   The differences between the genealogies in Matthew & Luke have 

        caused difficulties from early days; some consider the genealogies to be 

        symbolic, that Matthew’s represented Christ’s royal character while Luke 

        represented Christ’s priestly role.  The genealogies were probably drawn 

        up independently, quite early, by different Jewish Christians in the interest 

        of substantiating Jesus’ messiahship.     

GENERAL  (שר (sar); ciliarkoV  (chil ee ar kos)  The chief officer of an 

        army.  The term is used in an indefinite sense of persons of high rank in 

        Revelation 6.

GENERATION (דור (dure), circle; תולדות (toe le doth); gennhma (gen neh

        ma), brood; genoV  (ge nos), race)   1.  Frequently in the Old Testament,

        dur is a circle, or the period from a man’s birth to that of his son.     2.  In 

        the plural, toledoth is a list of successive births of family history.

GENESIS  (בראשית (beh ray sheeth), in the beginning)  The first of Moses' 5 

        books.  This discussion of Genesis will consider the 1st 5 books or Penta-

        teuch of the Old Testament (OT) as a whole from time to time, while 

        recognizing that Genesis exhibits a greatness of a special type in contrast 

        to the remaining books of the Pentateuch; the 5th book, Deuteronomy will

        not be taken into consideration or included in this treatment. 

                   List of Topics—1. Introduction;      2. Composition;      

      3. Sources of Material from Genesis (9-page Table);   

      4.  4 Sources:  Focus and Time of Origin;      5. 4 Sources:  

          Place of Origin & Method of Combination;      

      6. Prehistory  of Narrative Threads;      7. Historicity.

                  1. Introduction—The first of the 5 books of Moses is named by the 

        Jews after its first word berasheyeth, “in the beginning”; by the ancient 

        church after the inscription in the primary Greek OT “genesis of the world.” 

        Like other books of the OT, Genesis was also divided from early times into 

        “sections,” which do not coincide with the chapter numbering to which we 

        are accustomed.  The division of the OT books into chapters occurs for the 

        first time in its Latin translation. 

                   The first unit of Genesis is the primitive history that occurs in slightly

        over 10 chapters, ranging from the creation of the world to the cessation of 

        the building of the tower and the dispersion of humankind.  The boundaries 

        of the remaining 40 chapters are roughly:  Abraham (11-25); Isaac (25-26); 

        Jacob, his protagonists (27-36); Joseph & his brothers (37-50).  In the form

        in which these 50 chapter are known to us they afford a continuous narra-

        tive of happenings extending over about 2,400 years.  But the 50 chapters 

        don't represent a complete whole fashioned according to a unified plan.  

        Thus, the view that the OT's 1st 5 books were all written by Moses, which 

        is attested by the OT & the New Testament & sanctioned by Jewish and 

        Christian tradition, cannot in any case be true. 

                   2.  Composition—A formal literary examination of facts, to seek an 

        explanation for the manifold repetitions, contradictions, gaps, & seams as

        they strike every observant reader's eye, have led to many attempts at 

        explanation.  If combined into 3 main groups, we have: the fragment hypo-

        thesis; the completion hypothesis; and the documentary hypothesis. 

                   The fragmentary hypothesis reckons with a number of independent 

        literary units which were compiled later by an editor, having had no connec-

        tion of any kind until that time.  The completion hypothesis assumes that 

        our Genesis is based on a continuous narrative thread & that this was com-

        pleted by means of previous disconnected fragments of many varieties.  

                  According to the documentary hypothesis, the form of Genesis which

        we know now is explained as the compilation of several parallel narrative 

        threads.  The last is the most plausible explanation of Genesis' manifold     

        literary problems, but it does not offer a solution to all of the difficulties 

        found in Genesis.  Some of those difficulties are more easily explained ac-

        cording to the completion hypothesis or the fragment theory.

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                   The form of the documentary theory which claims the widest circu-

        lation and acceptance is the three source theory, the conception that Gene-

        sis is a compilation of 3 parallel narrative threads.  One of these uses the 

        name “Yahweh” for God & is therefore designated as Y(J)ahwist (J), while 

        both the others say “Elohim” instead.  One was given the name “Elohist” 

        (E), and the other, to differentiate it, & to recognize its emphasis on priest-

        hood & ritual, is given the designation “Priestly Code” (P). 

                  This division of chapters 1-13 into 2 threads isn't satisfying, because 

        there are fragments assigned to J which disturb the course of its narrative, 

        such as the genealogy of Cain in chapter 4, the incomplete story of the

        marriages of the sons of God with the daughters of men & the giants resul-

        ting from this union, the blessing of Noah’s 2 elder sons, and the cursing 

        of the youngest (a section which uses a different name for the youngest 

        son than in the Yahwist portion), the tower building story, and the parting 

        of Abraham and Lot.  

                   The inconsistencies and contradictions with the J strand continues 

        after chapter 13.  These fragments cannot come from the same narrator as 

        the surrounding segments.  Upon closer inspection, one soon recognizes 

        that here it is by no means a question of isolated blocks.  These fragments

        form a continuity which demonstrates how the oldest sons—Reuben, 

        Simeon, Levi, and Judah—lost their birthright to Joseph. 

                    Since these fragments do form continuity among themselves, one 

        must give up the idea of them as isolated fragments in favor of the assump-

        tion that they are part of an independent narrative thread which runs paral-

        lel to the J material.  In other words, one must replace the 3-source theory 

        by a 4-source theory.  This fourth source may be designated as the “Lay 

        source” (L) out of consideration for the fact that by its outspokenness for 

        the world of the “profane” or “laity” it becomes the polar opposite of the 

        Priestly Code (P). 

                   The most widespread agreement is found in the designation of P 

        material, which tends to be sketchy except where the story turns to ritual 

        and legal observances.  What remains after P and L are taken into account 

        belongs to J and E.  J begins its statement with the creation of human and 

        beast, while E does not begin until Abraham.  The two threads are easily 

        recognizable, especially where they have been placed side, but not always 

        easily separated where they have been blended together.  (See the next 9 

        pages for a detailed breakdown of Genesis into these four sources).

                   Fixing the 4 parallel threads in time is extraordinarily difficult be-

        cause references to events which can be precisely determined chronologi-

        cally don't exist in any of the threads. Facts which are ambiguous scarcely

        permit an entirely clear decision.  Nevertheless it is clear that all threads 

        presuppose the conclusion of the seizure of the land Canaan and its settle-

        ment from the time of the judges & the kings—namely from around 1200 

        B.C.  This means that they can scarcely have originated in their present 

        form before the formation of the Israelite empire by David. 

           

                   3. Sources of Material from Genesis

                      Legend

      L=Lay Source (900s B.C.)                 P = Priestly writer(s) (500s B.C.)

      J = J(Y)ahwistic writer(s)                     

            (800s, 900s B.C.)                           U = Unknown Source

      E = Elowhistic writer(s) (700s B.C)   In=Insert

                                                                                          

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

            1                                                                                1-31                                         

            2                                      4b-25                                 1-4a   

            3               1-24

              

            4                   1                                                                                2-16 

            4               17-24              25-26 

            5                                         29                                     1-28     

            5                                                                                 30-32

                                                                                               (In 7:6)        

                                                                                            (In 9:28-29)

            6                1-4 

            6                                        5-8                                      9-22

G-18

       

      L=Lay Source (900s B.C.)                 P = Priestly writer(s) (500s B.C.)

      J = J(Y)ahwistic writer(s)                     

            (800s, 900s B.C.)                           U = Unknown Source

      E = Elowhistic writer(s) (700s B.C)   In=Insert

                                                                                          

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses     

            7                                        1-5                                      6

            7                                       7-10                                    11

            7                                        12         

            7                                        16b                                 13-16a 

            7                                        17                                    18-21   

             

            8                                        2b                                     1-2a

            8                                        3a                                     3b-5

            8                                       6-12     

            8                                        13b                                    13a        

            8                                      20-22                                 14-19      

            9                                                                                  1-11   

            9                                        12                                     13-15                                

            9                                        16                                       17      

            9                                      18-19        

            9                20-27                                                       28-29 

      

           10                                                                                   1

           10                                     2a, 3a                                2b, 3b

           10                                     4a, 5a                                4b, 5b

           10                                  6a, 7a, 7c                              6b, 7b      

           10                8-12

           10                                     13-14                                 13-14     

           10                                     15-18a                               15-18a 

           10              18b-19 

           10                                                                                20-21 

           10                                       22a                                     22b 

           10                                       23a                                  23b-29 

           10                 30                                                             31              

           10                                       32 

           11                 1-9

           11                                                          10-27             10-27

           11                                     28-30

           11                                                          31-32             31-32

         

           12                   2                   1

           12                                        3

           12                  4a                                                           4a-5

   12                  6-9               9-20

  

   13                   2                   1

   13                                                                                                       3-4 

   13                   5

           13                6b-7                                                           6a

    13              10-11a                                                        8-9

    13                 12b                                                       11b-12a

    13              14-18                                                      In 19:29

G-19

 
      L=Lay Source (900s B.C.)                 P = Priestly writer(s) (500s B.C.)

      J = J(Y)ahwistic writer(s)                     

            (800s, 900s B.C.)                           U = Unknown Source

      E = Elowhistic writer(s) (700s B.C)   In=Insert

                                                                                          

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

          14                 1-7                                                           8-9

   14               10-11                                                         12

   14                 13

   14                 14b                                                        14a,c

   14                 15                                                          16-20

   14               21-24                                                     In 19:29

 

   15                                         1                  1

   15                                         2                  3

   15                                       4-6                 5

   15                                      6-11             7-11

   15                                     17-21           12-16

 

   16                                                                                  1a

   16                                      1b-2                                      3

   16                                      4-15                                   In 25:

                                                                                      13b-17                         

   17                                                           1b-2                1a

          17                                                                                 2b-5
          17                                                                                                        6
          17                                                             7c               3-7ab

          17                                                             8c                 8ab

          17                                                                                   9  
          17                                                          10-11               12

          17                                                            13a             13b-14  

          17                                                                               15-16a
          17                                                         16b-20              21                   

          17                                                             22                        

          17                                                                                23-27

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

          18               1bc-8                1a                            

          18                                       9-15
          18                                      17-21
          18                 22a              22b-33

          19                1-23               24-25
          19                  26                27-28
          19            29, 30b-38                                                                         30a  
       
          20                                                            1-18     

G-20   

      L=Lay Source (900s B.C.)                 P = Priestly writer(s) (500s B.C.)

      J = J(Y)ahwistic writer(s)                     

            (800s, 900s B.C.)                           U = Unknown Source

      E = Elowhistic writer(s) (700s B.C)   In=Insert      

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

          21                                          1  
          21                                         2a                 2a                                      

          21                                                                                2b-5 

          21                                                                        (In after 17:27)
          21                                         7                   6  
          21                                         8                   8
          21                                                             9-21  
          21                                                      In 25:12-15
          21                                     25-31             22-24
          21                                                              32
          21                                     33-34

          22                                      1-19                1-19
          22                 20-24
    
          23                                                                                 1  
          23                                      2ab                  2ab             2c
          23                                                                                 3-6
          23                 7-11
          23                                     12-15              12-15
          23                  16a
          23                                      16b                 16b  
          23                17-18                                                        19
          23                                        20                   20
      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses
          24                                        1-5               6 ab
          24                                        8-9                 7  
          24                                       10a                10b      
          24                                        11
          24                                                           12-15    
          24                                       16a             16b-20
          24                                        21
          24                                    22b-27             22a
          24                                       28                  28
          24                                                            29ab
          24                                      30ac               30b
          24                                        31                 31b
          24                                        32                 32a
          24                                                             33

          24                                     34-39             34-39

          24                                       40                 40ac

          24                                      41bc              41ab

          24                                       42a               42-46

          24                                       47
 

G-21

      L=Lay Source (900s B.C.)                 P = Priestly writer(s) (500s B.C.)

      J = J(Y)ahwistic writer(s)                     

            (800s, 900s B.C.)                           U = Unknown Source

      E = Elowhistic writer(s) (700s B.C)   In=Insert      

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

          24                                      48ab              48ac                       

          24                                    48d-49          48d-49

          24                                     50-53             54-55

          24                                        56               57-59

          24                                    60-62              63-65

          24                                    66-67a

          24                                       67c                67b

          25                 1-6                                                          7-11

          25                                                           12-15      

                                                                     [In at 21:21] 

          25                                                                              13b-17

                                                                                          In at 16:16  

          25                                                                                                       18

          25                                                                                  19a

          25                                       19b                19b

          25              20-26a                                                         26b

          25                                      27-28            27-28

          25              29-34

          25       [in 36:9,15-39]

                                                                                                                           

          26                   1

          26                                                                                                       2-6

          26                7-17 
          26                                                                                                     18-21

          26                22a

          26                                                                                                   22b-25

          26              26-33                                                        34-35

                      

          27                                       1-19               1-19            

          27                                         20

          27                                                           21-23

          27                                     24-27a

          27                                       27b                 28

          27                                      29ac              29bc

          27                                     30-33             30-33             

          27                                                              34

          27                                        35                  35               

          27                 36a                                    36b-37       

          27                                     38-40

          27             41a, 43b                    

          27                                     41-44            41-44a

          27               45a,c               45b                 45b    

          27                                                                                 46

     Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

G-22

      L=Lay Source (900s B.C.)                 P = Priestly writer(s) (500s B.C.)

      J = J(Y)ahwistic writer(s)                     

            (800s, 900s B.C.)                           U = Unknown Source

      E = Elowhistic writer(s) (700s B.C)   In=Insert      

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

           28                                                                                1-9

           28                                    10-11            10-11
           28                                    13-16               12
           28                                                         17-19
           28                                    20a-21             20
           28                                       22b               22a

           29                                       1-3               1-2b      
           29                                       7-9                4-6
           29                                      10b            10a, 11
           29                                      12ac             12bc
           29                                    13c-15           13ab
           29                                                                                 16

           29                                        18                 17               

           29                                        20                 19
           29                                        22                 21
           29                                                                                 23
           29                                    24-28a           24-28a
           29                                                                                 28b
           29                                    29-30             29-30a
           29                                                                                 31
           29                                        32                 32a
           29                                        33                33ac
           29                                        34                34ac
           29                                        35                35acd
     
      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

           30                  3                   1-3

           30                                                                                4-9 
           30                                    10, 11b         10-11a  
           30                                    12, 13b       12-13a,c
           30                                     14-17          14-18a
           30                                       18b               18c
           30                                    19, 20b       19-20a,c    
           30                                      21-22           21-22
           30                                        23b              23a
           30                                    24b-25        24a, 25
           30                                        26b              26a                                    

           30                                      29-30     

           30                                      27-28  
           30                                        31b            31a,c
           30                                      32-37           32-37
           30                                      40-42           38-39
           30                                        43                43

G-23

      L=Lay Source (900s B.C.)                 P = Priestly writer(s) (500s B.C.)

      J = J(Y)ahwistic writer(s)                     

            (800s, 900s B.C.)                           U = Unknown Source

      E = Elowhistic writer(s) (700s B.C)   In=Insert      

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

           31                  1 
           31                                        2-3               2 
           31                                     4-18a             18b
           31                                      19-22           20-22 
           31                 21  
           31                                        23              24-25       
           31                                     26-28a         28b-29

           31                                     30-32a             32b            

           31                                     32c-35               

           31                                      36-37             36

           31                                     38-41ac        38-41ac

           31                                        42

           31                                                             43                                                                    

           31                                                           44-45

           31                                        46                 46

           31                                      48-49             47

           31                                      51-52             50

           31                                        54a               53

           31                                    54b-55           54b-55

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses       U Verses                     
           32                                       3-8                1-8

           32                                        9b                  9a

           32                                     10-23            10-23

           32               24-32

                                           

           33                                       1-4                1-5

           33                                       6-9                6-9

           33                                     12-13            10-13

           33                                     14-16

           33                                                                                                      17

           33                                                            18a

           33                 18b                                                         18a

           33                                                          19-20

        

           34                 1-31

                                            

           35                                                             1-4

           35                                                                                                      5

           35                                                           6b-8              6a

           35                                                             14               9-13

           35                                                           16-20            15

           35              21-22a                                                    22b-29

           35                  27                        

G-24

                                                           
      L=Lay Source (900s B.C.)                 P = Priestly writer(s) (500s B.C.)

      J = J(Y)ahwistic writer(s)                     

            (800s, 900s B.C.)                           U = Unknown Source

      E = Elowhistic writer(s) (700s B.C)   In=Insert      

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

           36                                                                              1-2a

           36                                                                                                    2b-5                    

           36                  9                                        6-8

           36              15-39                                                       10-14

           36                                                                              40-43

         

           37                                                            3                 1-2

           37                  4                                        4

           37                                      5-7                6-7

           37                                       8a                 8bc

           37                                      9-11               9-11

           37                                                                                12

           37                                                                                13a                13b 
           37                                      14a                                    14b

           37                                    15-20             15-20
           37                                       26  
           37                                                          21-22        23a, 24a
           37                                       25               24b-25
           37                                       27                  27
           37                 28                                                           28
           37                                    31-34
           37                                                          29-33
           37                                    35-36             35-36

           38                1-30        

           39                 1a                                                            1b            
           39                                      2-3                 4
           39                                     5-6a               6b-10  
           39                                    11-16
           39                                    17-18
           39                                      19
           39                                                                                20
           39                                      20                   20
           39                                    21-23

           40                                      2-3                  1
           40                                                             4-6
           40                                      6-7
           40                                     8a, c                8ab
           40                                     9-23                9-23

G-25

      L=Lay Source (900s B.C.)                 P = Priestly writer(s) (500s B.C.)

      J = J(Y)ahwistic writer(s)                     

            (800s, 900s B.C.)                           U = Unknown Source

      E = Elowhistic writer(s) (700s B.C)   In=Insert      

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

           41                                        1                   1a
           41                                       2-8                 8a  
           41                                      9-13               9-13                                    

           41                 14                                                            14  

           41                                       15                15-24

           41                                       25a                25      

           41                                       26a              26-27
           41                                       27      
           41                                       29                28-29    
           41                                       31                  30
           41                                                             32
           41                                       34                  33
           41                                    35-36             35-36
           41                                       37                  38
           41                                                                                 39
           41                                       40               41-42
           41                                      43a               43bc

           41                                       44                                                        

           41                 45                                                         45-46a

           41                                      46b               46b

           41                                       47
           41                                   48b-49             48a

           41                                      50a                 50

           41                                 51a, 52a            51-52

           41                                      53                   53

           41                                      54a                54b

           41                                      55                   56

           41                                      57

      Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses

           42                                      1-2                1-2

           42                                      3-4                  5

           42                                      6-7                  6

           42                                      9-11                8

           42                                    15-16            12-14

           42                                       17              17-20

           42                                       21                 21

           42                                    23-26             22-28

           42                                       29               29a, c

           42                                    30-34            30-34

           42                                       35

           42                                       36

           42                                       38               38, 37

                                  

           43                                       2                   1-2

           43                                      4-5                  3

           43                                      8-10               6-7

           43                                    11-12             11-15

G-26

      L=Lay Source (900s B.C.)                 P = Priestly writer(s) (500s B.C.)

      J = J(Y)ahwistic writer(s)                     

            (800s, 900s B.C.)                           U = Unknown Source

      E = Elowhistic writer(s) (700s B.C)   In=Insert      

       Chapter       L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses
           43                                        15                15b

           43                                     16-22           16b-26

           43                                       27ab            27a, c

           43                                        28a               28b

           43                                     30-34         29-34a, c,

                   
           44                                       1-34

       
           45                                       1-2                1-3                                

           45                                         4                  4

           45                                     12-13              5-11

           45                                     14-15              1 

           45                                                                               16-18

           45                                     19-20            19-20

           45                                        22               21, 23

           45                                        24                 24

           45                                                                                 25

           45                                       26                 26

           45                                       27                 28

      Chapter        L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses         

           46                                      1ab                 1          

           46                                        2                  2a  
           46                                      3b-4              3-4
           46                                      5a, c               5
           46                6b-7                                     6
           46                                                                                                  7-27a 

           46                                        27b              27b 

           46                                        28a           28b-30
           46                                        31                                     31
           46                                                            32
           46                                      33-34

           47                                        1                  1
           47                                        4                 2-3
           47                                      5-6                5-6a
           47                                                                                 7-9
           47                                        10                11
           47                                     12-21             12-21
           47                                     22-26a           23-26
           47                                                                               27-28  
           47                                                      In 29a at 49:33  
           47                              In 29b at 48:2
           47                                                      In 30-31 at 49:33 

G-27

      L=Lay Source (900s B.C.)                 P = Priestly writer(s) (500s B.C.)

      J = J(Y)ahwistic writer(s)                     

            (800s, 900s B.C.)                           U = Unknown Source

      E = Elowhistic writer(s) (700s B.C)   In=Insert      

      Chapter      L Verses       J  Verses      E Verses     P  Verses      U Verses  
           48                                        2                  1

                                                In 47:29b

           48                                                                                3-6

           48                                                                                                      7 

           48                                                           8-22

                                           
           49                  1a                                                           1a

           49                                                                                                    1b-2 

           49                3-28a                                                   28b-29

           49                                        30                                    31

           49                                                            32                33               

                                                                    In 47:29-31

           49                                        33

       

           50                                       1-2a              1-2              

           50                                        3-9              3-11

           50                  13                                                           12

           50                                      14-16           14-16

           50                                        17a               17b

           50                                        18                 18

           50                                        21               19-20

           50                                                           22-24

           50                                        26                 25

      Chapter      L Verses      J  Verses      E Verses      P  Verses      U Verses   

  

                   4. 4 Sources:  Focus and Time of Origin—The stories of Jacob & 

        Esau obviously all look back on the subjugation of Edom by David. And if

        the blessing which Isaac gives to his elder includes a suggestion of the 

        possibility of shaking off this yoke, then this presupposes at least the first 

        attempt of Edom to free itself from Israel's rule.  This blessing is scarcely 

        conceivable before the middle of the 900s B.C.  None of the four threads 

        is older, & the only question is how much later they originated and how 

        they are related to one another with respect to age.

                   In many respects the elements allotted to L make an especially ar-

        chaic impression.  The poetic, saga-like, and novelistic clothing of the 

        events of tribal history includes only as many motifs as are absolutely 

        essential to make possible a story intended as a family-type proceeding.  

        The L thread is concerned with tribal-history content, while J & E threads 

        are concerned with individual human beings, such as a mother in the dis-

        tress of pregnancy or fearing her child’s death from thirst, an overindulgent

        father, or a son who has grown over-confident & has caused his brothers 

        to hate him.

                   It is obvious that these detailed narratives, which turn a specifically 

        Israelite story into the universally human are younger than those accounts 

        of situations in tribal history.  Noah’s blessing of his two elder sons, Shem 

        and Japheth, & his cursing of his youngest son, Canaan is in all probability

        older than the genealogical table. In the blessing-curse, Shem probably re-

        presents the Israelites, Japheth the Philistines & Canaan the Canaanites.  

        In the table Shem, Japheth, and Ham represent all the people of the then 

        known world.  Finally, many of the L stories bear witness to Yahweh as 

        jealously guarding his divinity.  According to this, there's no serious obsta-

        cle in the way of establishing L in David or Solomon's reign (900s B.C.)

G-28

                   Of the remaining three narrative threads, J and E are so similar in 

        their structure that it stands to reason that they belong to approximately the

        same period, with E being younger than J.  The conception of God repre-

        sented by J is more anthropomorphic than E, & E has been more strongly

        influenced by the Prophets and therefore was written further along into that

        era.  All things considered, J can be dated around the mid-800s B.C., with 

        E dated around 800 or 750 B.C. 

                   The P source was once considered the oldest source, but it is now 

        almost unanimously considered the most recent.  P has furthered shor-

        tened the older Genesis narratives then known to bare genealogical tables.

        The ritual regulations which are present by P aren't taken in consideration 

        by the older histories, while the historical works of the 300s B.C. presuppo-

        ses P's existence.  This necessitates the assumption that P originated 

        around 500 B.C.

                  5. 4 Sources:  Place of Origin & Method of Combination—While 

        the time of origin of the four narrative threads can be decided with at least 

        some certainty, it's impossible to get much beyond conjecture with regards

        to their place of origin.  The preponderance of Judaic or southern Israel

        elements in J & of Israelite or northern elements in E isn't enough to permit

        a firm conclusion as to the home of the 2 threads. Since the north & south 

        border didn't exist for intellectual traditions which were cherished on both

        sides of the border, it doesn't matter much where the 3 oldest threads 

        originated.  Only 2 spots come into consideration as the home of P, either 

        the exile community residing in Babylon or in the land of Judah; there is 

        more to support Babylon than Judah. 

                   It is impossible to make definite statements as to the manner in 

        which the four narrative threads of the Pentateuch were combined.  It is 

        unlikely that what we have today is the work of one person or process of 

        combining the threads.  Perhaps J & E were already combined before they

        were combined with L. 

                   The changes in outward circumstances caused the older presenta-

        tion of the prehistory of Israel to seem out of date some time after its com-

        position & made a new draft necessary more than once.  In each instance 

        the new creation failed to achieve its intent of taking the place of the re-

        spective older work, which was too solidly rooted in the consciousness 

        of the Jewish national and religious community to be completely replaced.

        Finally the whole thing was understood from the point of view of P.  A 

        similar process occurred 500 years later with the Old and New Testament. 

        The Old was understood in the light of the New. 

                    6. Prehistory of Narrative Threads—If the four-source theory is 

        correct, L probably represents the first attempt to write a history of Israel 

        connected with the creation of the world and the history of the first human

        beings, extending up to the occupation of Canaan.  The materials it used 

        were much older than it was and in large measure, actually go back to the 

        time about which they want to tell.  More over, these materials certainly 

        existed for L, mostly as separate stories with some already in small to mid-

        dle-sized collections. 

                   There are occasional real lists, mere enumerations of nations, tribes,

        or men, devoid of every narrative motif.  These must be regarded as old & 

        reliable & probably derived from the first half of the 900s B.C.  The songs 

        and maxims which seem the most closely connected with their narrative 

        context must come from the authors of the narrative threads, In addition, 

        songs and maxims are to be found here & there in Genesis, many of which 

        represent something found by them and incorporated into their narrative.  

        This is especially the case where they have no close connection with the 

        context in which they are now inserted. 

                   A special group is formed by the stories of Creation, the marriage 

        of the sons of God, and the two stories of the Flood combined in chapter 6.

        They are of a mythological nature and show a strong resemblance to the 

        Sumerian-Akkadian writings or motifs.  The two series, the first of which 

        connects Noah with the Creation, & the second which connects Terah or 

        Abraham with Noah are probably also copied from a Babylonian prototype,

        with the Babylonians having a list of kings rather than a list of forefathers.

        It is possible, however, that such lists of fathers arose of their own accord 

        in Israel. 

                   Another type of legend is one which tended to tell about curious in-

        stitutions and customs of foreign countries.  The story of the failure of the 

        tower-building project takes place in Babylon, and wants to show why hu-

        mankind doesn't form a united community speaking the same language.  

        The Joseph story, about how Joseph made the Egyptian with their fields 

        slaves of the Pharaoh, surely had in mind a historical phenomenon shoc-

        king to non-Egyptians.  The stories of Ishmael and of Jacob and Esau take 

        place in the steppes stretching out in front of the land of the Palestinian cul-

        ture to the east and south of Palestine.  The non-Israelitic element here is 

        made subservient to the story centering around Israel and its ancestors.

                   Not a few of the Genesis stories are connected with Canaan and 

        seek to explain peculiarities to be found there.  Nature stories play a rather 

        slight role among them; only the story of Sodom's downfall can be called 

        a nature story.  Regardless of how it is interpreted, it is certain that we are 

        concerned here with a saga connected with that region, taken over by 

        Israel, with its capture of the land, and woven into its own history.

G-29

  

                   There is in Genesis an abundance of cult legends which seek to give

        the origin of certain places and customs of worship.  These cult legends 

        are in a great measure, originally Canaanite and were probably taken over 

        then by the Israelites in their conquest of the land. Several examples are:  

        Abraham’s meeting with Melchizedek king of Salem & priest of El Elyon;

        El Roi’s revelation to Hagar; God’s revelation to Jacob in Bethel; Jacob’s 

        wrestling with the El of Penuel; and the burial of the unknown god-images

        by Jacob in Shechem.

                   Although detailed legends about them have not survived, the cults 

        of Beer-sheeba and Hebron have left such clear marks on our narratives 

        that one must surely trace the latter back to more detailed traditions about 

        them which were once available.  Beer-sheba as the scene of a covenant 

        between Abraham or Isaac, & Abimelech, gives an inkling of the religious 

        significance of Beer-sheba.  The blessing bestowed on Abraham is cere-

        moniously repeated in Beer-sheba for Isaac & Jacob.  This repetition sug-

        gests the assumption that God’s covenant with Abraham, which is now set 

        in no definite location, took place in Beer-sheba, which is also where God 

        established his name El Olam.

                   The religious significance of certain locations in or near Hebron is 

        attested to in chapter 18, where three heavenly beings were entertained 

        there under a tree by Abraham.  The instructions for and the circumcision 

        itself took place in Hebron.  And God made known his name “El Shaddai”

        in Hebron.  Finally, Hebron’s sacred character is explained by the fact that

        Abraham acquires a burial place here for Sarah, himself, Isaac and Jacob. 

        All these cult legends, just like the portions of other literary genres taken 

        over into Genesis, have been coupled with the history of the ancestors of 

        Israel.      

                   Tribal & folk sagas have their roots in genealogical lists of nations,

        tribes, and races & proceed from the assumption, or perhaps even the fic-

        tion, that each of these groups is descended from its own forefather, who 

        is given a wife or wives that bear the members of a group.  The “first-born” 

        of the group is set off by name, in order thus to underline and explain the 

        differences in the importance of the individual groups.  Often, the father is

        given 2 wives, 1 fully authorized, the other recognized to a lesser degree.

        Examples of this are the 12 sons of Nahor, 8 by a head wife, 4 by a

        concubine, and the 7 sons of Abraham, Isaac by Sarah, & 6 by the con-

        cubine Keturah.  Abraham made Isaac his true heir, gave portions to the 

        descendants of Keturah, & sent them away to the east. 

                   The surface content of stories such as Cain and Abel, Jacob and 

        Esau, and Joseph & his brothers, has obscured the tribal history that was 

        being explained.  Up until the 1800s, the Cain and  Abel story was quite 

        generally understood to deal with the first murder.  Its tribal history was 

        first recognized in the last third of the 1800s.  The motif of the amazing 

        outstripping of the elder brother or brothers by the younger experienced its

        most imaginative development in the stories of  Jacob's crafty usurpation 

        of the birthright & of Joseph’s advance over his brothers. 

                   The obscuring of the tribal and folk-historical background has not 

        reach the same stage in the story of the rape of Dinah by Schechem, the 

        son of Hamor, and the terrible judgment carried out by Dinah’s brothers 

        Simeon & Levi, sons of Jacob.  These characters are so realistically depic-

        ted as men of flesh and blood that one has the impression of individual 

        men and not of friendly negotiations and bloody disputes between two 

        tribal groups. 

                   Tribal and folk-historical background has been obscured by the 

        numerous and varied literary motifs that have been used in many cases to 

        greatly expand the originally very simple facts.  The marriage notice, very

        short in the case of Abraham and Nahor, has been replaced by stories of 

        courtship which are detailed & full of feeling in the case of Isaac & Jacob,

        in particular the meeting of Jacob with Rachel and his services rendered for

        many years to Laban willingly for her sake. 

                   The story of Abraham’s offering of Isaac in sacrifice in its present 

        form and in its present context seeks to show two things: first, that God’s 

        promise can be questioned but never made invalid, and then, that Abra-

        ham understood with exemplary obedience the unbelievably difficult test 

        of faith that God imposed upon him.  In the case of the endangering of the 

        ancestress, which appears 3 times in Genesis, God’s promise seems to be 

        called into question.  It answers a religious concern by showing that God, 

        in spite of all reverses is still able to attain his goal.

G-30

                   7. Historicity—As great as the religious content of the stories of the

        Creation and the Flood is, they are no more able to give information about 

        the world's origin than about the time and extent of the flood, which most 

        likely took place in southern Babylon.  The same is true of the Sodom story.

        The story in chapter 14 of Abraham deals with his victory over 4 Canaanite 

        kings, and his meeting with Melchizedek, king & high priest of Salem.  It 

        is a unique combination of very legendary material with recollections of 

        figures who played a role in the Near East around 1500 B.C., albeit in very

        distorted form.

                   Historically valuable content is preserved in only 2 kinds of narrative

        contained in Genesis: the tribal- or folk-historical accounts and the cult 

        legends.  Historical accounts imagine all societies to be derived from one 

        ancestral father.  While these great men existed, there's no guarantee that 

        the fathers named in the Cain and Seth genealogical trees belong in the 

        early period in which they now appear.  

                   The Cain & Abel story reflects the amazement of the tribe of Israel 

        that the tribe of Cain hadn't also established itself in Canaan,  but had 

        clung to the nomadic life.  The Noah-Canaan story assumes that Shem 

        founded the Israelites, Japheth founded the Philistines, & Canaan founded

        the Canaanites, and it assumes Israel’s settlement in Canaan.  The correct 

        place for the two narratives as far as time is concerned is actually the book 

        of Joshua. 

                   The forefathers assumed that the historical communities belong to a

        period in the distant past, having an almost mythical character, and there-

        fore were timeless.  This meant they could be put into any period of tribal 

        history.  The historical value of these stories is further limited by the fact 

        that the Genesis stories reflect very clearly conditions of the period of the 

        judges or even of the kings.  This does not mean that they are mere reflec-

        tions of later conditions that yield nothing for the time about which they 

        claim to speak.  Actually, the features coinciding with the time of judges 

        has been blended with traditions which have clung to reliable memories of

        figures, conditions, and events in the prehistory of Israel. The tradition that

        Abraham came from Haran to Canaan in the period before Moses, is pro-

        bably correct.   

                   While in the case of Abraham it probably is actually a question of a 

        single individual, it is very questionable whether this is also true for Isaac 

        and Jacob.  The association that made Isaac the son of Abraham & Jacob 

        the son of Isaac,  is probably just as non-historical as the derivation of the 

        twelve tribes of Israel from the twelve sons of Jacob.  

                   It is probable that Abraham spent some time as a guest in southern 

        Palestine, and that the other two spent time, not as individuals but rather 

        as tribes, Isaac in the extreme south, and Jacob in the land east of the Jor-

        dan.  The stories do not permit a more exact placing in time of the figures.  

        While many have examined accounts outside of the Old Testament having

        to do with the period from 2000 to 1000 B.C., such investigations have 

        not led to results in any way guaranteed or even probable. 

                   The situation is very similar in the case of the Joseph stories.  If one 

        probes the stories for historical elements, one might discover that perhaps 

        one or two centuries before the conquest of the land of Israel, ancestors, 

        apparently of Joseph and Levi, had gone to Egypt out of concern for food 

        & had stayed there for several decades at least. 

                   The biblical traditions seem to indicate the movements of two dif-

        ferent groups of Israelites into Canaan: the Abraham/ Isaac/ Jacob group 

        from Mesopotamia; and a later group of them, after a temporary residence

        in Egypt, coming from the south and east under Moses' leadership.  The 

        first group worshiped El as the authoritative God, the Mosaic group wor-

        shiped Yahweh.  El is used in conjunction with other titles. 

                   It's clear that the patriarchs worshiped other lower gods, brought to

        Canaan from abroad.  But the narrative leaves no doubt that El & El alone

        is the god to whom respect is due.   We may consider it a historical fact 

        that the ancestors of later Israel, who came in the pre-Mosaic period were 

        worshipers of El.  This is confirmed by the fact that the names of people

        & places formed with “Yahweh” were preceded in history by other names 

        which contained “El.”         

                   Genesis contains a whole series of features which are of a national 

        rather than a religious nature, or at least they are so judged by us.  It is 

        actually difficult to separate the national or political from the religious.  

        The blessings of the patriarchs are not only concerned with religion, but 

        are aimed at the same time at the possession of economic and political 

        power.  One should recognize those portions of Genesis which give strong

        expression to national sentiments, should see the unique character of 

        those portions, and should not attempt to understand them as expression 

        of pure religiosity.

                   Creation stories in Genesis give powerful expression to the joyous 

        certainty of faith in God.  The stories of the Fall and the Flood say that 

        because of man’s guilt, man and the world did not remain as God had 

        desired them and created them, but even so, the world and man aren't for-

        saken by God.  Even if obstacles appear again and again, God can over-

        come them all and bring the story to the conclusion God intended and 

        wants to have.  Joseph replies to his brothers, “You meant evil against me;

        but God meant it for good . . .”

G-31

                   Just as the religious content of Genesis has lasting meaning, so too 

        does the ethical content.  These stories have lifted the figures of their pro-

        totypes into the eternal and universally human realm & now cause human 

        beings to appear before our eyes as members of families as they have 

        always existed & always will.  These figures are presented without any 

        embellishment; but precisely because this is the case they make an irre-

        sistible impression on hearers and readers all over the world, and radiate 

        to them educational forces such as can scarcely be found elsewhere. 

GESHEM  (גשם, rain)  An “Arab” who joined with Sanballat the Horonite and 

        Tobiah the Ammonite in opposing the reconstruction of Jerusalem's wall 

        under Nehemiah.  Their opposition consisted of ridicule, an plot to trap 

        Nehemiah, and the threat to send a letter to the Persian king, charging 

        him with sedition. 

GESHUR  (גשור, bridge)  A small kingdom located to the north of Bashan and 

        south of Syria. It served as a buffer state between Israel & Aram. David 

        was on friendly terms with it when he was still only Judah’s king and 

        sealed the alliance by marrying Maacah, King Talmai‘s daughter; she 

        became Absalom‘s mother.  Geshur was Israel’s vassal state, but after the

        kingdom’s division, it joined in alliance with Aram and raided Bashan. 

GESTAS  A name given the unrepentant thief in the stories prompted by 

        Luke 23. 

GETHER  (תרג)   According to Genesis 10, one of the sons of Aram; hence 

        an Aramean town and kingdom. 

GETHSEMANE  ( Geqshmanei)  The site on the Mount of Olives where

        Jesus agonized in prayer before his betrayal there by Judas.  The story is 

        told in each of the four gospels.  Mark and Matthew identified it by name,

        Luke calls it simply “the place,” and John calls it a garden. 

                   To ascertain the site of this episode seems impossible today, both 

        because the gospels afford scant data & because the ancient olive groves 

        were destroyed when Titus besieged Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Clearly it was 

        not far from the city gate.  Early tradition placed it east of the valley at 

        the base of the Mount of Olives, outside the eastern gate.  Another early 

        identification located Gethsemane higher on the slope.  From the lan-

        guage of John, some have deduced that Gethsemane was walled in, be-

        cause Jesus “entered” and “went out.”  However, the two Greek verbs do

        not require or support such an assumption. 

                   The Gospel of John states that Judas knew this grove from the dis-

        ciples’ repeatedly gathering here with Jesus.  The Synoptic accounts sug-

        gest that is was an extensive area within which members of the party 

        could separate at a distance from one another. 

GEUEL  (גאואל, majesty of God )  A member of the tribe of Gad sent to spy 

        out Canaan; son of Machi. 

GEZER  (גזר, piece, part)  A city in the plain of Palestine, 32 km west of 

        Jerusalem.
              The name Gezer can be recognized in hieroglyphic and Akkadian

        renderings.  Rock inscriptions marking the “boundary of Gezer” have been

        found in a rough arc encircling Tell el-Jazar, between 1.6 and 2.4 km from

        the south and east sides of the city. 

                   The site lay at the inner edge of the coastal plain, at a spot well sup-

        plied with water from different springs.  It overlooked both the coastal 

        road approaching Lydda and Aphek.  Gezer was settled around 4000 B.C.  

        The first inhabitants mostly lived in natural caves which they roughly adap-

        ted.  Subsequent architecture was of the usual Palestinian village.  Three 

        defensive walls were built at different times, enclosing a narrow oblong 

        lying east and west, with two summits. 

                   The second wall, which might have been built in the Middle Bronze 

        Age, (around 2100 B.C.).  It contained 2 gates, one on the north & on the 

        south.  The latest wall which was the outermost, presumably existed in the 

        Maccabean Wars.  At all times of Egyptian imperial expansion, Gezer was 

        sure to attract the Pharaohs' notice.  Commercial relations are revealed by 

        many imported objects, & the beginnings of an alphabet on a stray pot-

        sherd from the later part of Middle Bronze Age (about 1700 B.C.).

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            Thut-mose III included Gezer among the captured Canaanite cities 

        enumerated on the walls of the temple at Karnak.  As the “Handmaid of 

        the King,” Gezer was plundered and had to buy off raiders with gifts of 

        food and oil.  No signs of these troubles appear in the excavations. 

                   The Canaanites were early concerned with safeguarding their water 

        supply, and their most impressive monument was a rock-cut shaft and pas-

        sage which descended by steps from a point in the western half of the city 

        to a subterranean cavern and spring.  Also, a great reservoir was excava-

        ted near the center of the city.  Neither of these works can be exactly dated;

        but the tunnel went out of use toward the end of the Bronze Age.  

                    Another impressive relic of Canaanite Gezer was a row of 8 stan-

        ding monoliths.  Their majestic size and careful alignment strongly sugges-

        ted a religious purpose.  W. F. Albright suggests that the monoliths are to 

        be explained as funeral stelae.  Mer-ne-Ptah can't have destroyed Gezer, 

        for the Israelites, who were active at about the same time, failed to capture 

        the town.  Gezer lay on the boundary of Ephraim; allotted to the Levitical 

        tribe of Kohath, it remained a Canaanite city. 

                   Pharaoh Shishak (around 945-924 B.C.), took Gezer from the Cana-

        anites & gave it as a dowry to Solomon’s Egyptian wife.  Solomon fortified 

        the city, & it must be assumed that Israelites formed the garrison.  The style

        of building matches Megiddo's and Hazor's, which I Kings indicates was 

        built by Solomon. 

                   To the earliest Israelite period belongs the “Gezer Calendar,” a dog-

        gerel list of agricultural operations for 12 months, inscribed in early Hebrew

        characters on a clay pendant.  Tiglath-pileser III left an inscription showing 

        the Assyrian army storming the town of Gazru, & when Sargon destroyed 

        the northern kingdom in 721 B.C., Gezer must have passed into Assyrian 

        control  (See also the entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/ Influences 

        Outside the Bible section of the Appendix.). 

GHOST  (אוב (obe), spirit of divination; fantasμa (fan tas ma), phantom)

        The apparition of a deceased person. 

GIAH  (גיה, breaking forth)  An unidentified site along Abner’s path of flight 

        from Gibeon toward the wilderness descent to the Arabah.  In the place of 

        “Gibeon,” the similar “Geba” should perhaps be read, which was on the 

        threshold of the wilderness descent to the Jordan. 

GIANT  (נפילים (neh fih leem), from the verb “to fall”; רפאים (ref ah yeem), 

        from the verb “to heal”; גבור (gib bore), mighty warrior)  In common with 

        other peoples the early Hebrews believed in a race of giants.  Biologists ac-

        cept the position that giants deviated from the norm, & usually were sterile.

        2 circumstances undoubtedly led to belief in giants. 1st, the Hebrew knew 

        of the existence of individuals of giant proportions; several are listed in the

        Bible, most famous of whom is Goliath. 2nd, the Hebrews found in many 

        megalithic structures for whose erection they assumed a giant strength.  

        Giants were thought of as coming from a divine father & human mother, or 

        they were associated with certain tribes & nations. It should be observed 

        that physical size, as well as long life, was thought to have spiritual 

        significance. 

GIBBAR  (גבר, hero)  The head of a family that returned to Palestine after the 

        Exile.

GIBBETHON  (גבתון, hilly)  A town in west central Palestine assigned to the 

        tribe of Dan, several km west of Gezer.  It was also supposed to be a Levi-

        tical city of the clan of Kohath.  In actual fact, it fell into & remained in the

        hands of the Philistines. 

GIBEA  (גבעא, hill)  A grandson of Caleb, in the lineage of Judah.  The geo-

        graphical associations of Judah’s descendants through Caleb suggest that 

        it is the name of a town in the hill country south of Hebron. 

GIBEAH  (בעהג, hill)  The Hebrew word commonly designates a hill or 

        “height.” In three of the following cases, it is employed as a place name.  

        The fourth case is a hill of special note.  1.  A city in the hill country of 

        Judah, possibly 12 km southwest of Bethlehem, although it is listed among

        a group of cities southeast of Hebron. 

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             2.  A city of Benjamin identified in various forms, located most likely 

        5.6 km north of Jerusalem, at a place now called “the mound of beans.” 

        The city first enters upon the scene of Hebrew history for its inhospitable 

        treatment of a journeying Ephraimite and the fatal raping of his concubine.  

        As both the city & the tribe of Benjamin refused to deliver the culprits to jus-

        tice, Gibah became the focal point of Israel’s war against Benjamin, resul-

        ting in the destruction of the city and the near annihilation of the tribe.

                   Gibeah was Saul's home.   It remained his home & became his pro-

        vincial capital after he was acclaimed king at Mizpah.  As such it played an 

        important role in his struggles with the Philistines.  From Gibeah came 3

        Mighty Men who helped him in war: Ittai, Ahiezer, and Joash.  

                   The city occupied a place of prominence in the prophetic thinking of

        the 700s B.C.  Isaiah envisions it standing in the fearful path of an Assyrian

        advance on Jerusalem.  From the Old Testament it is clear that Gibeah lay 

        north of Jerusalem, between Jerusalem and Ramah.  Thus its position on 

        the central mountain ridge made it an important watch tower over the hill 

        towns of southern Benjamin. 

                   Excavations at the “mound of beans” match up very well with the 

        biblical history of Saul’s Gibeah.  A small village of the 1100s B.C. was 

        found to have been destroyed by fire, which perhaps ties in with Judges 

        19-20.  The village which followed had near 1020 B.C. a fortress of mas-

        sive, rough-hewn masonry, perhaps representing Saul’s citadel.  Around 

        1000 B.C., a 2nd fortress of less massive masonry quickly rose on the de-

        struction of the first, only to be abandoned after Jerusalem became the 

        capital of the kingdom.  

                   3.  A town in the northern hill country of Ephraim, given to Phine-

        has, Eleazar's son, and Aaron's grandson; it was the burial place of Elea-

        zar and Phinehas.  4 places it could be include 2 northwest of Gophna 

        (modern-day Jifna), one northeast of Gophna, and one southeast of 

        Nablus.      4.  A hill at Kiriath-jearim where the ark of the Lord was 

        lodged in the house of Abinadab.

GIBEATH-ELOHIM (בעת האלהיםג, hill of (the) God)  A site where Saul, in 

        accordance with prediction of Samuel, prophesied with a band of pro-

        phets.  It is the same as 2 in the entry above, and has both a high place & 

        a symbol of Philistine hegemony, the symbol being either a garrison, a 

        pillar or a prefect.  The presence of this symbol would seem to equate 

        Gibeath-elohim with the Gibeah of I Samuel 13, or Saul’s own city. 

GIBEATH-HA-ARALOTH  (גבעת הערלות, hill of the foreskins)  A location 

        in the vicinity of Gilgal, between Jericho and the Jordan, commemorating 

        the circumcision of the Israelites following their entry into Canaan. 

GIBEON  (גבעון, hill-city)  A city of the tribe of Benjamin 9.6 km northwest of 

        Jerusalem. 
           The earliest occurrence of Gibeon is in connection with the conquest

        of central Palestine by Joshua. After Jericho’s & Ai’s destruction, the men

        of Gibeon secured through a ruse a peace covenant, which the Israelites 

        felt obligated to keep regardless.  5 Amorite kings, on hearing of collabo-

        ration of the strong warriors of Gibeon with the invaders, besieged the 

        town until they were routed by Joshua in a surprise attack. 

                   Gibeon is mentioned in Joshua 9 along with 3 other cities, Chephi-

        rah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.  Mizpeh, Ramah, Chephirah, & Beeroth,

        are listed with Gibeon in Joshua 18, which consists of a list of Benjamin's 

        cities.  Around 1000 B.C., the site is the setting for a spectacular contest 

        between David and Saul's forces, where 12 men from each side transfixed

        their 12 opponents with swords.  A tradition in II Samuel 21 attributes the 

        hanging of the seven sons of Saul to Gibeonites.  At the beginning of the 

        reign of Solomon, Gibeon was the place of sacrifice; it was here that 

        Solomon had his famous dream (I Kings 3).

                   After 4 centuries Gibeon's name comes to the fore in an account of

        the events of the years 586 B.C. The false prophet Hananiah was from 

        Gibeon.  The men of Gibeon were among those who helped rebuild the 

        wall of Jerusalem in the 400s B.C.  In the Egyptian king Sheshonk I's list 

        (biblical Shishak), Gibeon is mentioned as one of the cities he either visi-

        ted or took.

                   The hill on which el-Jib stands rises some 66 meters above the 

        plain and is watered by eight springs which flow from the base.  Leading 

        up from the main spring into the hill is a rock-cut tunnel which was partly

        entered in 1889.  The area of the south hill’s top, the site of the ancient 

        settlement, is approximately 64,000 square meters or 16 acres.  The earli-

        est settlement was in the Early Bronze Period (around 2800 B.C.).  

                   In the Middle Bronze Period (1800 B.C.), the tell's northwest por-

        tion was inhabited.  At the time of the Hebrew monarchy (1000 B.C.), 

        buildings covered the northwest part of the mound.  The most extensive 

        settlement appears to have been during the Iron II Period (900-600 B.C.), 

        when a city wall with a width ranging from 3 to 8 meters, surrounded the 

        entire area of the top of the hill.  From 100-1 B.C., there was extensive 

        settlement. 

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            At the north side of the site was a round, rock-cut pool, which mea-

        sured slightly more than 11 meters in diameter.  79 rock-cut steps were 

        uncovered down the shaft's sides.  The pool is almost 25 meters deep.  A 

        tunnel, which extends from inside the Iron II Age (900 B.C.) city wall for 

        50 meters through solid rock to the spring of the village below, was used 

        as means of reaching the vital water supply of the city when it was under 

        siege; The tunnel has 93 steps.  In the debris which has washed down into 

        the rock-cut pool from the hill to the South there were found 56 jar han-

        dles, many of them inscribed with the name Gibeon. 

                   Excavations have also found 66 bell-shaped vats, cut from the solid 

        rock of the hill.  Fermenting vats, wine presses, and channels were found 

        cut in the rock of the winery area.  After the wine was pressed from the 

        grapes, it was placed in large jars and lowered into the cellars, where a 

        constant temperature of 65 degrees could be maintained.  12 shaft tombs 

        were discovered on the hill's western side.  The tombs had been cut during

        the Middle Bronze period, 2 of them had been reused in the Late Bronze 

        period.  

GIDDALTI  גדלתי) , I praise God) A son of Heman; one of those designated 

        by King David to prophesy with music in the sanctuary. 

GIDDEL  (גדל, over-grown ) 1.  Ancestor of one of the families of temple ser-

        vants among the returned exiles.      2.  Ancestor of one of the families of 

        the “sons of Solomon’s servants.” 

GIDEON  (גדעון, cutter)  Son of Joash of the clan of Abiezer of the tribe of 

        Manasseh.  He was distinguished by unusual signs from Yahweh and by 

        his completely delivering Israel from annual Midianite raids.  Bedouin 

        bands from across the Jordan would descend at harvest time like a plague

        of locust, seizing the hard-earned products of the western Jordan Israe-

        lites’ labor.  The harassed farmers fled into caves and mountain hideouts.  

        These were the first raids of camel riders known to Near Eastern history.  

        The Midianite raiders could come from their home 320 km to the south-

        east , sometimes going as far west as Gaza on the Mediterranean coast 

        and return again unscathed.  

                   Gideon’s story is clearly a composite of at least 2 sources: an ex-

        tension of the J(Y)ahwist source and a later Elohist source.  According to

        the earlier source, Gideon’s call to his task came when he entertained 

        God or his angel unawares.  The huge meal became a sacrifice, as the 

        messenger brought divine fire from the rock.  In the later source, his loy-

        alty to Yahweh was shown by his breaking down his family’s and com-

        munity’s Baal altar and its sacred pole or Asherah, thus receiving the 

        name Jerubbaal.  

                   There are different theories as to the origins of the names “Gide-

        on” & “Jerubbaal.”  The first theory is that the name came from the earlier 

        period of cultural syncretism when “baal,” meaning “lord” or “master,” was 

        also used for Yahweh.  Jerubbaal was then the name given Gideon at 

        birth, and “Gideon” was perhaps an honorific title.  The second theory is 

        that Jerubbaal & Gideon were actually 2 different heroes.  The third view 

        is that whatever the validity of either of the above 2 views, the real point 

        of the story is the conflict between Yahwism and Baalism. 

                  The story of Gideon’s rout of the Midianite camp by a surprise attack

        is apparently a composite of both early and late narratives.  Gideon’s own 

        Abiezrite clansmen were the fighting force both in this attack and in the 

        eastern Jordan pursuit.  This emphasizes the marvelous deeds of God-

        empowered men.  The water-drinking contest served the purpose of selec-

        ting the 300 most alert warriors.   The question of psychological fitness for 

        battle lay behind the excusing of the 22,000. 

                   Stung by their defeat at the foot of Mount Gilboa, the Midianite fugi-

        tives headed for the highlands beyond the Jordan.  Two traditions record 

        Gideon’s pursuit.  In the earlier tradition, Gideon valiantly pursued the 

        15,000 survivors of the one-time 135,000 Midianites raiders to their camp 

        at Karkor, east of the Dead Sea, & later killed their kings Zebah & Zal-

        munna.  In the later tradition, the leader of the Midianite fugitives were two 

        princes, Oreb (“Raven”)  and  Zeeb (“Wolf”).  These 2 princes stayed on the

        western side of the Jordan and fled south into Ephraimite territory, where 

        they were beheaded by the Ephraimites, who were incensed at not having 

        been called into the fray sooner, rather than simply guarding the Jordan 

        River.  Gideon appeased them by praise and self-disparagement.     

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                   Historically very significant was Gideon’s ridding the Israelites, ap-

        parently permanently, of the Midianite camel raids.  Politically and religi-

        ously significant was Gideon’s refusal to inaugurate a hereditary monar-

        chy; he refused the offer of kingship made by the people to their hero in 

        favor of primitive tribal democracy.  Not only would he not be king over the

        tribes, but at his death his own authority over his clan would be dissipated 

        among his numerous sons.  The language of Gideon’s refusal, that Israel 

        is a theocracy and God alone is ruler is the language used in the 700s or 

        later by the author of I Samuel. 

                   Religiously significant was the charismatic nature of Gideon’s 

        judgeship.  He was peculiarly Yahweh’s man, favored with special divine 

        revelations and unusual power.  The ephod he fashioned from the spoils of 

        his campaign became a source of contention after his death, & the people 

        “made Baal-berith their "god” and “did not show kindness to [Gideon’s] 

        family.”  In the New Testament, Gideon appears as the first of the her-

        oes of faith whom the author of the Letter to the Hebrews would have told 

        about if time had permitted.

GIDEONI  (גדעוני, cutter )  The father of Abidan, who was the leader of Ben-

        jamin in the wilderness. 

GIDOM  (גדעם, cutting down)  A site in Benjamin, near the Rock Rimmon in 

        the wilderness east of Gibeah, which marks the terminus of Israel’s pursuit 

        of Benjamin. 

GIER EAGLE (רחם (ra khawm); in the King James Version “gier-eagle”; in 

        the Revised Standard Version, “carrion vulture”)). 

GIFT  (שחד (sha khad); מﬨנה (ma  taw naw); δωρον (doe ron); χαισμα 

        (kar is ma)) There are three types of gifts in the Bible. 

                   1st, a “gift” may be a euphemism for “tribute.”  Some gifts from peo-

        ple to other people are also gifts from God, like the “spiritual gift” which 

        Paul desired to impart to the Roman Christians in Romans 1.  2nd are the 

        gifts from God to humans.  “Every good endowment and every perfect gift 

        is from above” (James 1).  God’s crowning gift to humankind is God’s Son. 

        Among things called “gifts of God” are honest labor, salvation, eternal life, 

        & the Holy Spirit.  (See also the entry on Spiritual Gifts).  3rd are the gifts 

        from humans to God.  Various sacrificial offerings are called “gifts.”  The 

        gift to be presented by the healed leper in Matthew 8 was required accor-

        ding to Leviticus 14.  The gifts of Luke 21 are freewill offerings for the 

        temple treasury.  

GIHON (RIVER)  (גיחון, from the root meaning “gush forth”)  One of 4 rivers of 

        Paradise (See the Eden entry.)

GIHON (SPRING)  (גיהון, from the root meaning to “gush forth”)  A spring in 

        the Kidron Valley, beneath the City of David.  Its identification with the 

        Fountain of the Virgin is certain.  It is mentioned in connection with the 

        anointing of Solomon and with Hezekiah’s defense of the City of David, 

        when he diverted its waters to the west of the City of David.   

                   The spring gushes forth intermittently from a natural cave, once 

        or twice a day at the end of the dry season, four or five times a day after 

        a rainy winter.  The pre-Israelite inhabitants of Jerusalem had dug an 

        underground passage which permitted them to draw the water of Gihon 

        without being exposed to an enemy.  After the conquest of Jerusalem by 

        David, the water was collected in a reservoir for irrigating the valley.  

        The Assyrian threat prompted Hezekiah to block the spring and the 

        aqueduct & to make a tunnel which led the water to new reservoirs with-

        in the fortified perimeter of the city. 

GILALAI  (גללי, from the root meaning to roll stones)  A musician who took 

        part in the great procession at the dedication of the rebuilt wall of Jerusa-

        lem in the 500s B.C. 

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GILBOA, MOUNT  (גלבע הר, boiling fountain)  A ridge of limestone hills rea-

        ching an elevation of 526 meters above the Mediterranean, at the east 

        end of the Valley of Jezreel about 9.6 km west of Beth-shean. 

                   Gilboa is best known as the place where Saul was slain in a battle

        with the Philistines.  Because it was near one of the two valleys leading 

        into the Plain of Jezreel from the Jordan Valley, it was frequently the

        scene of military strife.  It was probably the place of Gideon’s camp 

        when the Midianites were located on the north side of the valley.  

                    In choosing to defend Gilboa against the Philistines, Saul was 

        taking advantage of the heights offered by the mountain where the ene-

        my's superior equipment would be less effective.  The famous lament of 

        David over Saul & Jonathon contains what seems to be a curse on Gil-

        boa (II Samuel 1). 

GILEAD (גלעד, heap of testimony)  1.  Son of Machir and grandson of Manas-

        seh; his name was given to the tribe or territory of Gilead.  It's often difficult

        to tell whether a given occurrence of the name refers to a person, a tribe, 

        or a place.  2. Jephthah's father.  3. A clan or family of the territory of Gad  

                   4. The name of a territory, a tribe, & possibly a city situated in the 

        region east of the Jordan.  Gilead is mentioned as a “city of evildoers” in 

        Hosea 6, but here it may stand for such a city as Jabesh-gilead or Ramoth-

        gilead.  In the Song of Deborah (Judge 5), Gilead is evidently a tribe.  Else-

        where, Gilead is always used for a stretch of territory, and its inhabitants, 

        which may be of more than one tribe, as Gileadites.

                   The term “Gilead” is used somewhat loosely in the Bible. In its nar-

        rowest sense it refers to the area bounded by the Arnon on the south, the 

        Jordan Valley on the west, the south-to-north beginning of the Jabbok & the

        desert to the east, and the limit of Bashan, several kilometers south of the 

        Yarmuk, on the north, roughly 25 km east-to-west and 125 km north-south. 

         In a broader sense, it extended farther north into Bashan & even beyond 

        the Yarmuk.  Manasseh is sometimes mentioned as overlapping into Gile-

        ad, and in others it is only the tribes of Reuben & Gad who were settled 

        there.

                   Gilead is in general a highland region, rising from the valley of the 

        Jordan, at least 210 meters below sea level, to heights of more than 1,000 

        meters.  One outstanding feature is the river Jabbok, which flows east to 

        west across its entire width.  There is no single “Mount Gilead”; the Re-

        vised Standard Version’s use of “hill country” is more accurate.  There, 

        hills and valleys were well watered, and the region was well-forested. 

                   Northern Gilead had a permanent settlement from the 2200s B.C.; 

        but southern Gilead, below the Jabbok, had in the same period less popu-

        lation from the 1900s-1200s as other southern regions.  Before the Israe-

        lites it was occupied by Amorites and Moabites.  The Israelites under 

        Moses forced the Amorites out, & Gilead was given to Reuben, Gad, and 

        Manasseh, who often refused to come to the aid of the western tribes. 

                   Soon, however, they in turn were assailed by enemies from the 

        east.  Midianites and Amalekites, overran the entire country.  Gideon, 

        from western Manasseh came and drove back the invaders.  Later Ammo-

        nites took possession of the area, and the Gilead elders had to summon 

        Jephthah to deliver them from this oppressive rule.  Despite Jephthah's 

        victory, the Ammonites remained a constant menace.

                  Saul rescued Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites; after he was slain, 

        Abner set up Ishbaal’s kingdom in Gilead, from which, as the Philistines 

        withdrew, he could extend his reign over the greater part of Palestine.   

        David had to fight the Ammonites; Gilead became a place of refuge for 

        him when he was fleeing from Absalom, and it was in Gilead that the deci-

        sive battle was fought that restored him to the throne.  

                   During the 800s & 700s B.C. a new menace arose in the Syrian 

        kingdom of Damascus.  The territory became the scene of battles in which

        first Syria & then Israel prevailed; Ramoth-gilead was fiercely contested 

        for.  There was a faction which preferred an alliance with Syria. Shallum 

        overthrew the dynasty of Jehu, but was slain by pro-Assyrian Menahem.  

        The 20 years of his reign can only be explained if he set up an independent

        kingdom in 750 that he ruled until 735.  He attempted to unite all the sur-

        rounding regions against Assyria.  The result was that the Assyrians carried

        away all the Israelite population of Gilead. 

GILEAD, BALM OF  An aromatic resin reputed in antiquity for its medicinal 

        properties.  It probably received its name by being exported from Gilead to 

        Egypt and Phoenicia, since it is not native to Gilead.

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GILGAL  (גלגל, wheel)  The word means “circle or stones”;  such “circles” are

        still to be found in eastern Palestine. The name was applied to many towns,

        but always with the definite article.

                   1.  There was a Gilgal near Jericho, a city of the tribe of Benjamin., 

        about 3.7 km east of modern Jericho at Khirbet en-Nitleh.  A second site at 

        Khirbet Mefjir, about 2 km from ancient Jericho has received some scho-

        lars' support, as the historical data fits Khirbet Mefjir much more precisely. 

                   The 1st encampment after the crossing of the Jordan was at Gilgal.  

        The Israelites erected the twelve memorial stones taken from the bed of the

        Jordan there.  It was also a base of operations in the Conquest & a great 

        sanctuary if only for the tribe of Benjamin. Joshua had his extraordinary 

        encounter with God, and made a treaty with the Gibeonites here. 

                   It is clear that Gilgal was a center of the loose tribal government. 

        Gilgal was one of the towns the prophet Samuel visited on his yearly cir-

        cuit.  It was there that Saul was made king, but there too that he was re-

        jected.  It is probably to this Gilgal that we must assign the references in 

        the prophets of the 700s B.C.

                   2.  There is a second Gilgal mentioned in connection with Elijah 

        & Elisha (II Kings 2 & 4).  Although some scholars assume the one men-

        tioned is the same as the first, other scholars locate it 10 km north of 

        Beth-el.  It was from here that the prophets went to the Jordan River 

        where Elijah was taken up to heaven. 

                   3.  The Masoretic text contains a reference to a Gilgal in Canaa-

        nite kings' list in Joshua 12.  It is variously placed in the mountains of 

        Samaria, on the Plain of Sharon, and 24 km northeast of Joppa.

                   4.  The reference to Gilgal in Deuteronomy 11 is difficult, as the

        context would lead us to the first Gilgal mentioned above, but the lan-

        guage seems to suggest a region near Shechem. 

                   5.  In Joshua 15 there is reference to Gilgal, but in the parallel 

        passage of Joshua 18 we read instead “Geliloth,” which agrees with the

        Syrian version of the Old Testament.

GILOH  ( גלה, captivity)  A village of Judah in the hill-country district of Debir, 

        8 km north-northwest of Hebron. 

GIMEL  ( ג )  The Hebrew alphabet 3rd letter, placed in the King James Version 

         at the head of the 3rd section of Psalm 119, where each verse of this sec-

         tion begins with this letter. 

GIMZO  (גמזו, place of sycamores)  A city of Judah in the Shephelah; about 

        4.8 km southeast of Lod and 6.4 miles east of er-Ramleh.  Gimzo was 

        captured by the Philistines during the reign of Ahaz  (735-715 B.C.) 

GIN  (מוקש (mo kash), snare)  The word is a contracted form of  “engine,” 

        now obsolete but formerly used of a mechanical device employed as a 

        trap.  

GINATH  (גיגת, garden)  The father of Tibni, the pretender to the Israelite

        throne.     

GINNETHON  (גנתון, gardener)  1.  A priest who witnessed the covenant 

        renewal under Ezra.    2. Head of a family of priests in Joaikim's period 

        (Nehemiah 12).  

GIRDLE  (אבנט (ab nate); חגור (khaw gore), girded; zwnη (zo nay))  

        Abnat is the linen sash of a priest or official (Exodus 28, 29, 39; Isaiah 

        22). Hagor is being wrapped around with an article of clothing, though

        frequently with the specialized meaning of a soldier’s belt.  Zone was 

        originally the lower of two girdles worn by women; in the New Testa-

        ment, it is sometimes an article of clothing worn by men, as by John the 

        Baptist. 

GIRGASHITE  (גרגשי)  A Canaanite tribe named 7 times. They have been 

        identified with the Hittite tribe name of Qaraqisha. It may mean “client

        of Gesh,” a Sumerian god of light. 

GIRZITES  (גרזי, inhabitants of a sterile land)  An otherwise unknown people

        probably living between the Philistines and Egypt.  They were the vic-

        tims of raids by David during his sojourn at Ziklag. 

GITTAIM  (גתים, two wine-presses)  The village to which the Amorite inha-

        bitants of Beeroth fled for refuge, perhaps from Saul’s cruel persecu-

        tion.  A location in the vicinity of modern Ramleh is most probable. 

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GITTITE.  See Gath. 

GITTITH.  See Music. 

GIZONITE  (גזוני)  A gentilic name linked with the name Hashem, whose 

        name appears in the catalogue of the Mighty Men of David known as

        the “Thirty.”  The place upon which the word is based is unknown.