Biblical Encyclopedia: G

Gaal

(Judg. 9:26) (rejection, abomination) — was the son of Ebed and the leader of the revolt of the men of Shechem against their king Abimelech, by whom he was defeated and put to flight, while his followers were partly scattered, partly slain.

Gaash

(earthquake) (Judg. 2:9) — a mountain in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim, near the city of Timnath-serah, where Joshua lived and died (Josh. 24:29, 30). The valley of Nahale-gaash was also located, in all likelihood, near Mount Gaash (2 Sam. 23:30; 1 Chron. 11:32).

Gaatha

(a Persian word, meaning: garden, gardener) (Esther 1:1 [as given]; 2:21) — one of the eunuchs guarding the threshold of the royal palace in the days of Artaxerxes (2:21; 6:2). He, together with another eunuch, Teresh, formed a plot against the king’s life; but the plot was discovered by Mordecai and the conspirators were hanged (Esther 2:21–23; 6:2). The name Gaatha occurs in the Septuagint only at the beginning of the Book of Esther; in the Hebrew, in its place, stands: Bigthan.

Gabael

(God is high) — the name of two men: a) (Tobit 1:1) one of Tobit’s ancestors; b) (Tobit 9:2) a Jew living in Rages of Media, to whom Tobit had lent 10 talents of silver on a note, which Gabael repaid to Tobias, Tobit’s son.

Gabai

(Judg. 3:10) — a locality in the tribe of Issachar, near Dothan and Jezreel [as given].

Gabbai Gebe Seli

(tax collector) (Neh. 11:8) — head of a considerable clan of the tribe of Benjamin, who lived in Jerusalem after the return from Babylon.

Gabbai, or Geba

(2 Sam. 5:25) (hill) — a border city on the north of the tribe of Benjamin, also called Geba of Benjamin, and Geba. Hence the expression: “from Geba to Beersheba” (2 Kings 23:8) means the whole length of the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Near Geba the Philistines were routed by David’s army (2 Sam. 5:25). Past Geba, from Ai and Michmash, in the direction of Jerusalem, passed the army of the Assyrians (Isa. 10:29). According to learned investigators, biblical Geba corresponds to the present-day village of Jeba, situated on a picturesque hill, a few versts to the south of Mukhmas, or biblical Michmash.

Gabbatha

(John 19:13) — a Hebrew word, denoting an elevated place or platform, in the manner of a judge’s tribunal in present-day courts. The floor of this stone platform was paved with variegated stones in mosaic work, as was generally customary among the Romans and Hebrews in palaces and public buildings. Hence in Greek it is called Lithostroton [Pavement]. Mosaic paving was generally in use among the Romans. This platform was situated outside the praetorium, for Pilate, before pronouncing sentence, brought Jesus Christ out of the praetorium to this tribunal.

Gabbig

— a city of Judah. See 2 Esdras 5:20. In the book of Nehemiah (7:30) it stands: Geba.

Gabri

(man of God) (Tobit 1:14; 4:20) — brother of Gabael, Tobit’s creditor; in another place (4:20) he is called the father of Gabael.

Gabriel

(Luke 1:19) — one of the seven chief angels, who brings up the prayers of men to God. He was sent by God to announce to Zacharias the birth of John, and to the Most Holy Virgin Mary the birth from her of the Savior (Luke 1:11–19, 26, 30, 31). Before this, God had commanded the Archangel Gabriel to explain to the prophet Daniel the vision of the ram and the he-goat, and also the mystery of the seventy weeks (Dan. 8:16; 9:21). The name Gabriel signifies “strength of God.” In the Koran of Muhammad he is given special honor and praise.

Gad

(a troop, but according to others, fortune) — the name of two persons mentioned in the Bible: a) (Gen. 30:11–13) the seventh son of Jacob, firstborn of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, full brother of Asher. Dying, the patriarch Jacob foretold the following concerning Gad: “Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last” (Gen. 49:19). Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy (33:20, 21), predicts in still more detail the events that would distinguish the history of the tribe of Gad from the others.

After the defeat of the kings of Bashan, the tribes of Reuben and Gad asked Moses to assign them territory in the former dominions of Bashan, since they seemed especially suited for cattle-raising. Moses granted their request, and the tribe of Gad was settled to the south of Reuben, between the mountains of Gilead and the river Jordan. In this territory both tribes were repeatedly subjected to attacks by neighboring pagan peoples, but always proved themselves brave and victorious (1 Chron.

5:19, 20–22; 12:8), and under David they overcame all their enemies. In the Song of Moses (Deut. 33:20, 21) there is an indication of the expansion of the tribe of Gad and its bravery, as well as of its faithfulness to its promise to go together with the other tribes to the conquest of the Promised Land, notwithstanding that it already had its own territory in Bashan.

Gadara, the country of the Gadarenes

(Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) — the chief and fortified city of the region of Gadara beyond the Jordan, in Perea, southeast of Tiberias, from which it took its name. The city of Gadara was situated on the summit of a hill, at the foot of which, on both banks of the Yarmuk, were hot mineral springs called Amatha. The city of Gadara is not mentioned in the Bible, but it is evident that it is identical with the country of the Gadarenes. At present, at a distance of 16 miles from Tiberias, there are extensive and remarkable ruins called Umm Qais, belonging to ancient Gadara, and at the foot of the hill lies the deep bed of the ancient river Yarmuk, now called the Sheriat el-Mandhur, and here to this day hot mineral springs are still found.

Gadara belonged to the Decapolis (Matt. 4:25; Mark 5:1; 7:31), and is mentioned for the first time by Josephus among the cities occupied by Antiochus III the Great, king of Syria. Gadara, or the country of the Gadarenes, is especially notable as the place where the Lord healed the demoniac (Mark 5:1–21; Luke 8:26–40). A remarkable feature of Gadara is its caves, or tombs, in which the demoniac hid, cut into the limestone ground and presenting hollows of various sizes with niches along the sides for placing bodies.

The present-day inhabitants of Umm Qais all live in these caves. The remains of the city gates and the colonnades of the theaters still vividly attest to the former prosperity of Gadara. The ruins of another city, Gerasa, are even more extensive and beautiful than those of Gadara; they are now called Jerash. The remains of three temples, two magnificent marble amphitheaters, and numerous columns still testify, among other monuments, to the might of the Roman Empire. Regarding Gadara it must also be noted here that the locality where the demoniac was healed is called the country of the Gergesenes (Matt. 8:28).

Gadara, as said above, lay not far from the Sea, or Lake, of Tiberias to the southeast, while Gergesa lay somewhat further in the same direction from the lake, and both cities were located in one and the same region (Perea, or ancient Gilead). Thus the difference is only that one evangelist named one city, and the other — the other, but of the same district.

Gaddi

(Num. 13:11) — son of Susi, representative of the tribe of Manasseh among the spies of the Promised Land.

Gaddi

(fortunate) (2 Kings 15:14) — father of Menahem of Tirzah, murderer of King Shallum.

Gaddiel Phalti

(Num. 13:10) — son of Sodi, of the tribe of Zebulun, who took part in the reconnaissance of the Promised Land under Moses.

Gaddis Joannan Caddis

(fortunate) (1 Macc. 2:2) — thus was called John, the eldest son of the priest Mattathias, who fought against Antiochus Epiphanes for the faith and the fatherland.

Gaham

(burning, scorched) (Gen. 22:24) — son of Nahor and nephew of Abraham.

Gahar Gaar

(refuge, den) (Ezra 2:47; Neh. 7:49) — of the Nethinim who returned from Babylon to Judea. In 2 Esdras (5:30) instead of Gahar it reads: Geddur.

Gaius

(from Greek: earthly; from Latin: lord) — four persons mentioned under this name in the New Testament: a) a man of Corinth, in whose house the Apostle Paul stayed during his evangelistic preaching to the inhabitants of that city (Rom. 16:23); b) (Acts 19:29) a Macedonian, companion of the Apostle Paul, who was with the apostle at Ephesus during the uprising raised by Demetrius the silversmith; c) (Acts 20:4) likewise a companion of the Apostle Paul, a native of Derbe, who accompanied the apostle on his journey through Asia Minor from Corinth; d) (3 John 1–5) a disciple of John the Theologian, to whom he wrote his third epistle, and, as is evident from the epistle, very much loved by the beloved disciple of the Lord.

Galal

(lump, dung, refuse): a) a Levite mentioned in 1 Chronicles (9:15); b) another Levite, son of the singer Jeduthun, one of the ancestors of Obadiah (1 Chron. 9:16); c) a third Levite — one of the ancestors of the singer Abda, chosen to live in Jerusalem after the captivity (Neh. 11:17).

Galatia, or Eastern Gaul

(Acts 16:6) — a region of Asia Minor, lying to the east of Phrygia, and taking its name Galatia from the Galatians, warlike tribes of Gallic, or Celtic, origin, who settled there, having crossed the Hellespont around the year 280 B.C. and taken up residence in Asia Minor. After a brief resistance, Galatia submitted before the Roman legions and became a Roman province in the year 26 A.D. Because of the intermixture of Celts with Greeks, who made up its population, it was sometimes called Gallo-Graecia, since Gauls, Celts, and Galatians are only different forms of one and the same designation.

Christianity was planted in Galatia by St. the Apostle Paul, who was there once with Silas and Timothy (Acts 16:6) around 53 A.D., and a second time some 4 or 5 years later, upon his return from Corinth (Acts 18:23). The Galatian church, soon after Paul’s second visit to it, was disturbed by the false teaching of Judaizing Christians, who, out of their attachment to the ancient rites, tried to place this yoke also upon Christians from among the pagans (Gal. 4:17; 5:1), and, in order to accomplish this more effectively, they tried to belittle the dignity of the Apostle Paul (Gal. 1:11).

Many of the believers were drawn over to their side (Gal. 1:6; 3:1; 5:1–9). This was not a little assisted by the circumstance that, sheltering behind the name of the circumcised, they hoped to escape persecution for their faith in Christ (Gal. 6:12). Through this there began to spread distorted notions about the law and the faith of the Gospel (1:6; 3:1), and other vices crept in as well (4:9–11; 5:13–15). As a consequence of these circumstances the Apostle Paul wrote the epistle to the Galatians at Ephesus in the year 56, with his own hand (6:11).

In this epistle the Apostle Paul defends his apostolic ministry against slander, gives a sketch of his life since his conversion, explains the errors concerning the ceremonial law, explains the essence of justification through faith in Christ, and not from the works of the law, and offers various moral instructions (5 and 11 [as given]). The epistle consists of 6 chapters and occupies the eleventh place in the series of apostolic epistles. In it, among other things, it speaks with particular force of the redemption of the human race through the crucifixion-sufferings of the Lord Jesus, in the following words: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (3:13).

“For it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Deut. 21:23); and likewise concerning the incarnation of the Son of God: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son (the Only-begotten), made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (4:4, 5).

Galbanum

(Exod. 30:34)—an aromatic gum resin included with stacte, onycha, and frankincense in the sacred incense. Its exact botanical source is uncertain; species of Ferula have often been proposed.

Galilee

(district, country) (Matt. 4:12; Mark 1:9; Luke 2:39). In the days of the Lord Jesus Christ, Palestine was divided into three parts, of which the northern was called Galilee; it bordered on the north on Anti-Lebanon, on the east on the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee, on the south on Samaria, and on the west on Phoenicia, which occupied the northern shore of it from Mount Carmel to Tyre. Galilee was divided into Upper and Lower; the former lay to the north and was inhabited partly by Syrians, Phoenicians, and Arabs, and was therefore called Galilee of the Gentiles (Matt. 4:15); the latter, occupying chiefly the plain along the Sea of Tiberias, was famed for its fertility and numerous population.

In antiquity Galilee comprised the territories of the tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Asher. Christ is called Jesus the Galilean (Matt. 26:69), because it was here that the Lord spent His whole childhood and youth; here He lived, taught, called His first disciples, and worked many miracles. The greater part of the parables were spoken by Him in Galilee, and the content of many of the parables is taken directly from the very nature of this or that Galilean locality, which the Lord happened to pass through with His disciples.

It was from Galilee that the Lord undertook His journeys to Jerusalem for the feasts. It was in Galilee and from among Galileans that He chose all His apostles. In Galilee He appeared to the apostles after His resurrection from the dead, and so on. But the Jews did not love the Galileans, both for their close and constant association with pagans, and for their not entirely pure and correct dialect. The conversation of the Apostle Peter with the servants at once betrayed the place of his birth (Matt. 26:69, 73; Mark 14:70).

Galilee was a very flourishing and fruitful country; it contained many rich cities and villages: Cana, Nazareth, Nain, Gennesaret, Tiberias, and others. To which of us, from the earliest childhood, are these Galilean cities, mentioned in the Gospel, not familiar and dear through sacred memory! The broad plains of Jezreel are to this day still occupied by Arab tribes; around their tents goats and sheep frisk to the sound of the pipe, which, as night falls, calls them to the gathering place.

“There shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches” (Isa. 27:10). Thus, precisely and strikingly, was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning Galilee, once the richest and most fertile country in Palestine.

Gallim

(waves, heaps of stones) (1 Sam. 25:44): a) a city of the tribe of Benjamin to the north of Jerusalem, mentioned as the place from which came Palti, to whom Saul gave his daughter Michal in marriage; b) (Isa. 10:30) a locality mentioned by the prophet Isaiah among the cities threatened by the invasion of Sennacherib: “Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim (that is, its inhabitant),” he exclaims, “cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.” It must be supposed that it lay in the tribe of Benjamin, not far to the north of Jerusalem; according to Eusebius, “Gallim” lay near Ekron; c) among the cities added by the LXX to the cities of the tribe of Judah (Josh. 15:59), between Karem and Bethhur, we encounter Gallim.

Gallio

(Acts 18:12, 14, 17) (milk-fed) — brother of the famous philosopher Seneca, who dedicated to him his books “On Anger” (de Ira). The Roman emperor Claudius appointed him proconsul in Achaia in the year 53 A.D., where he lived in the city of Corinth. During his proconsulship, on the occasion of the uprising in Corinth of the Jews against the Apostle Paul, he showed himself a fair-minded and just man (14–16). According to the testimony of Jerome, Gallio ended his life by suicide in the year 65 A.D.

Gallohesh

(fortune-teller, enchanter) (see Neh. 3:12; 10:24) — father of Shallum, chief of half the district of Jerusalem, who together with his daughters repaired the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah.

Gamaliel

(according to Fürst, “God the rewarder,” but according to others, “reward of God”) — the name of three men: a) (Num. 1:10; 2:20, and elsewhere) son of Pedahzur, chief or head of the tribe of Manasseh, at the census of the people at Sinai and during the encampment in the wilderness (10:23); b) (Acts 5:34–40) the most renowned Jewish teacher of the law, of the Pharisees, called for his learning “the glory of the Law” and a rabbi (that is, first, chief teacher), who gave the Sanhedrin advice favorable to the apostles.

The Apostle Paul, as is evident from the book of Acts (22:3), was educated at Tarsus in Cilicia, at the feet of Gamaliel, and was carefully instructed by him in the law of the fathers. There is a tradition that Gamaliel was for 32 years president of the Jewish Sanhedrin (under the emperors Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius); but according to the same tradition, he was baptized by the apostles Peter and John, died 18 years before the destruction of Jerusalem, and his relics were discovered at Kfar Gamla in Palestine in the year 416 by the presbyter Lucian. His feast day is August 2; c) (2 Esdras 8:29) of the sons of Tamar [as given]. In 1 Ezra (8:2) instead of Gamaliel it reads: Daniel.

Games.

Regarding the games of children, youths, and adults, very little is said in the Bible in general; from this, however, it cannot be concluded that Hebrew children and young people were entirely deprived of the amusements natural to their age. Hebrew children, as can be seen from the reference in the book of the prophet Zechariah (8:5) and the Gospel of Matthew (11:16), amused themselves and played in the streets. “The streets of the city [of Jerusalem] shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.” From the book of Job (40:24 [41:5 in English numbering]) it can be seen that Hebrew children amused themselves with tamed birds and sometimes imitated in their games the rites of Hebrew weddings and funerals.

“Whereunto shall I liken this generation?” the Savior said to the people. “It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented” (Matt 11:16-17). For grown Hebrews, conversation seasoned with jokes at gatherings was considered a pastime and amusement (Jer 15:17). “I sat not in the assembly of the mockers,” says the prophet of himself, “nor rejoiced”… and the solving of various riddles was another, as for instance at the wedding feast of Samson (Judg 14:10-14).

The Talmudists also mention a game of dice, probably borrowed, along with certain other games, from their neighbors the Egyptians. As for the public games that existed in antiquity among the Greeks and Romans, no such games existed among the Hebrews until a later period. Gymnastic exercises were first introduced among them by the high priest Jason, who even set up a school in Jerusalem in which the chief exercise was discus-throwing (1 Macc 1:14, 2 Macc 4:12-14); and later by Herod, who built amphitheaters in Jerusalem and other cities, in which gymnastic exercises were held, such as chariot races, musical contests, combat with wild beasts, and the like.

The Jews, however, regarded these games and entertainments with great disfavor, quite rightly considering them pagan. The passion for theatrical spectacles was especially strong among the Greeks. The apostle Paul, well acquainted with this attachment of theirs, frequently uses in his epistles words and terms relating to this kind of spectacle. Thus, for example, the metaphorical expression: “when I fought with beasts at Ephesus” (1 Cor 15:32) points to the combat of men with beasts that existed as a form of entertainment in Greek and Roman circuses.

Although this expression of the apostle is taken by most commentators in a figurative sense, it may also be understood literally. “For bodily exercise profiteth little” (1 Tim 4:8), and “if a man also strive for masteries” (2 Tim 2:5)—these point to the fact that those competing in the arena of circuses and amphitheaters abstained from all things and disciplined their bodies through a more or less lengthy regimen (1 Cor 9:25-27). The contest itself took place in the presence of numerous spectators.

This custom explains the following expression of the apostle: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses”… (Heb 12:1). The victor in the contest usually received a reward—a crown, made of the leaves of the wild olive, or of pine and ivy. Referring to this custom, the apostle Paul says: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (2 Tim 4:8). Sometimes palm branches were placed in the victor’s hands (Rev 7:9). The holy apostle vividly represents to our imagination the caution of contestants in laying aside every encumbrance that hinders them in reaching the goal, especially long, flowing garments: “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” he says (Heb 12:1).

“Know ye not,” he writes elsewhere, “that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” (1 Cor 9:24-27). And he continues: “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection”… “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” he likewise says of himself in the epistle to the Philippians (3:13-14), “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” All these terms and expressions, which relate more or less to the gymnastic exercises of antiquity, are unquestionably borrowed from the gymnastic exercises used in the ancient circuses.

Gammadim

(from Syriac and Arabic: brave warriors). This word occurs only in the prophet Ezekiel (27:11). “The Gammadim were in thy towers (of Tyre); they hung their quivers round about upon thy walls; they perfected thy beauty.” Probably by this designation is meant a garrison, a guard force, city watchmen. In ancient coastal fortresses it was customary to hang shields and quivers on the battlements of the walls, as can be seen from a depiction of such a fortress found by Layard at Kuyunjik.

Ganozan

— according to 2 Chronicles (36:8), the burial place of Eliakim, or Jehoiakim, king of Judah, father of Jeconiah, but this name does not occur in the Hebrew or the Vulgate.

Garden

(Num. 24:6)—gardens among the Hebrews were generally simple and only lightly cultivated. Scripture also mentions them in Job 8:16, 2 Kings 21:18, Song 4:12, and Ecclesiastes 2:5. They were chiefly planted with fruit and shade trees, aromatic plants, herbs, roses, and olives. A fountain, well, reservoir, or stream passing through the garden was considered indispensable. The gardens around Damascus were watered by small channels running through every part; Proverbs 21:1 and Isaiah 58:11 provide the source’s biblical comparisons.

Gethsemane is also remembered as the garden where the Lord often went with His disciples and where, before His Passion, He prayed in agony (Matt. 26:36 and elsewhere).

Gareb

(leprous, scabby) — a) (2 Sam. 23:38) one of David’s 37 renowned warriors, called an Ithrite, that is, an inhabitant of Jattir, a city in the hill country of Judah; b) (Jer. 31:39) a hill in the vicinity of Jerusalem, mentioned only in this passage, otherwise called Gareb.

Garlic

(Num. 11:5)—the familiar strongly scented bulb. Israelites in the wilderness remembered the garlic they had eaten in Egypt. Garlic was widely cultivated and eaten in Egypt and the ancient Mediterranean.

Gatam

(burnt valley) (1 Chron. 1:36) — son of Eliphaz and grandson of Esau, one of the chiefs in the land of the Edomites (Gen. 36:16).

Gate of Sur

(2 Kings 11:6)—one of the gates guarded during the coronation of Joash. The parallel account calls a corresponding station the Gate of the Foundation (2 Chron. 23:5); the exact relation between the names is uncertain.

Gates, doors

(1 Sam. 4:18). In cities enclosed by walls, one usually entered through gates of wood, or covered with iron or bronze (Acts 12:10). One also entered houses through gates, and there is reason to suppose that a small wicket-gate was sometimes built into the gates, so as not to have to open the whole gate whenever someone needed to enter the house (Acts 12:13). According to the testimony of Herodotus, Babylon had a hundred gates, all of which were made of bronze. In many Asian cities there are wide streets, paved partly or wholly, adapted for merchants and traders selling various daily necessities; on these streets were also found squares with shops and the tents of sellers.

They were especially numerous at the city gates, where a great many people usually gathered (2 Sam. 15:2; 2 Kings 6:1, and elsewhere). At the city gates judicial proceedings and punishments also took place (Deut. 17:5; Ruth 4:1–12; Amos 5:10, 12, 15); by them, too, free people would gather for rest or diversion. As a monument to this ancient eastern language and custom, there remains the designation of the Turkish court as the “Sublime Porte.” Since the right of ownership of the city gates belonged to the city itself, the word “gate” is sometimes used to denote strength, power, and might (Isa. 24:12 [as given]; Matt. 16:18).

“And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (the Church), said the Lord. City gates were carefully guarded by day and locked at night (Josh. 2:5–7; 1 Sam. 23:7). The gates of royal palaces, and even of private houses, were adorned with inscriptions from the Law of Moses (Deut. 6:9), and at them were found gatekeepers (1 Chron. 9:18, 19). Of the gates of the outer court of Herod’s Temple, nine were overlaid with gold and silver, and the tenth — the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:2) — was cast of Corinthian bronze and was considered, in value and beauty, superior to the other nine (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, V, 5, §3).

Gath

(winepress) — an ancient Philistine city, one of the five royal Philistine cities (Josh. 13:3; 1 Sam. 6:17). Here the Ark of the Covenant was brought from Ashdod, and from here to Ekron, on account of the tumors and sores that appeared on the people guarding the Ark (5:1–12). Gath was the birthplace of Goliath (1 Sam. 17:4, 23); in it David also stayed for a time, hiding from Saul. The servants of Achish, king of Gath, recognized in David the king to whom “they sang in dances and said: Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” David, wary of persecution by Achish (1 Sam. 21:10–15), saved his life by feigning madness before the eyes of the men of Gath, scrabbling on the doors of the gate (letting his hands fall upon it) and letting his spittle fall down upon his beard.

Biblical Gath, situated on a height (now Tell es-Safi), occupied a strong position (2 Chron. 11:8) on the border of the Philistines with the tribe of Judah. The calamities of war apparently destroyed Gath early, since it is no longer mentioned by later prophets (Zeph. 2:4; Zech. 9:5, 6) among the other royal Philistine cities. Several imposing ruins of a fortress and dwellings testify to the city’s ancient importance; but whether these belong to the earliest history of Gath, we do not know, since they are mentioned only from the time of the Crusades.

Gath-hepher

(winepress of the well) (2 Kings 14:25) — a city in the tribe of Zebulun, otherwise called Geth-hepher (Josh. 19:13), birthplace of the prophet Jonah, where to this day, in the village of El-Meshhad, between Nazareth and Tiberias, on the summit of a hill, his tomb is pointed out.

Gath-rimmon

(winepress, press for extracting juice from pomegranates) — the name of two cities mentioned in the book of Joshua: a) (Josh. 19:45) a city in the tribe of Dan, a Levitical city, to the west of Jerusalem; b) (Josh. 21:25) a Levitical city in the half-tribe of Manasseh, between Taanach and Megiddo, on the far side of the Jordan. In 1 Chronicles (6:60 [as given]) it is called Bileam.

Gathach

(an ancient Persian word) (Esther 4:5–10) — one of the eunuchs of Ahasuerus, appointed by him to attend upon Esther.

Gaza

(stronghold, fortress) (Gen. 10:19) — one of the five best-known Philistine cities, situated on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, on the southern border of the Canaanites, in the tribe of Judah (Judg. 1:18; 1 Sam. 6:17; Acts 8:12), and located 60 English miles southwest of Jerusalem. Joshua

Gazam

(devourer) (1 Ezra 2:48 [as given]; Neh. 7:51) — of the Nethinim, whose descendants returned from captivity with Zerubbabel. In 2 Esdras (5:31) he is called: Kasir [Gazir].

Gazara

(2 Macc. 10:32–36; 1 Macc. 9:52; 14:7, 33, and elsewhere) — a place often mentioned in the account of the Maccabean wars. There is full ground to consider Gazara identical with the ancient Gezer. In favor of this identity speaks both the similarity of the position of biblical Gezer with Gazara, and the name which the Septuagint translators give to Gezer and Gazara.

Gazeron.

See 1 Macc. 4:15.

Gazez Gezue

(shearer) — two persons mentioned in the Bible (1 Chron. 2:46): a) son of Caleb; b) son of Haran.

Geba, or Giva

(hill) (Josh. 21:17; 1 Kings 15:22) — a city in the tribe of Benjamin at its northern extremity, given, with its surrounding lands, together with 12 other cities, to the Levites (Josh. 18:24). Hence the expression “from Geba to Beersheba,” meaning the whole length of the land. Near Geba, David, soon after his accession to the throne, inflicted a heavy defeat on the Philistines (2 Sam. 5:25). At present this is a small village, Jeba, with the remains of ancient ruins, situated on a picturesque hill, about three hours’ journey to the north of Jerusalem, a few versts from Mukhmas (biblical Michmash).

Gebal

(bald, hairless) a) See Gerizim. Now among the Arabs, Gebal is called Imad-ed-Deba, meaning “pillar of Deba.” b) (Ps. 83:8 [82:7]) the name of a locality or people, probably hostile to Israel, mentioned in the list of its enemies. c) (Ezek. 27:9) a Phoenician city 20 English miles north of Beirut, called by the Greeks and Romans Byblos, and now the village of Jebeil, representing nothing but ruins. In the days of Tyre’s prosperity and might, the city was famous for shipbuilding. Solomon in particular employed the inhabitants of Gebal in the building of the Jerusalem Temple (1 Kings 5:18).

Gebim Gibbir

(ditches, wells) (Isa. 10:31) — mentioned only in the prophet Isaiah, as the proper name of a city to the north of Jerusalem, near Anathoth. Its exact location is unknown.

Gedaliah

(great is the Lord): a) (1 Chron. 25:3–9) a Levite of the sons of Jeduthun, who played at divine service on the harp in David’s time; b) (Ezra 10:18) a priest, one of those who had married foreign wives; c) in the prophet Zephaniah it reads (1:1) — an ancestor of the prophet Zephaniah.

Gedaliah

(great is the Lord): a) (Jer. 35:4) a man of God, father of Hanan, whose sons had a chamber in the Jerusalem Temple; b) (Jer. 39:14; 40:5, 9, and elsewhere) son of Ahikam, appointed by Nebuchadnezzar to govern Palestine after its conquest and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (2 Kings 25:22). He extended his protection to the prophet Jeremiah after his release from bonds (Jer. 40:1–6). Soon after, at the instigation of the king of the Ammonites, he was treacherously slain by Ishmael, one of the Jewish military commanders.

The details of this event are related in chapters 41 and 44 [as given] of the book of the prophet Jeremiah; c) (Jer. 38:1–13) son of Pashhur, of the nobles under King Zedekiah, who sought to put the prophet Jeremiah to death for his stern denunciations and prophecies (Jer. 38:1–13).

Geder Gader

(tower) (Gen. 35:21) — probably was a watchtower, mentioned in the Bible as the first place at which Jacob stopped on the way from Bethel to Bethlehem (v. 16). Here also Rachel died after the difficult birth of Benjamin (Gen. 36:16–20 [as given]).

Geder Gader

(wall, enclosure) (Josh. 12:13) — the name of an ancient royal city, to the south of the tribe of Judah, whose king was slain by Joshua. Perhaps this is the same city as Gederah, mentioned in the book of Joshua (15:36).

Gedor

(wall, fortification) a) — the name of two persons. One of them is mentioned in the genealogy of Saul (1 Chron. 8:31; 9:37), the other in the genealogy of the descendants of the patriarch Judah (1 Chron. 4:4), namely, the son of Penuel; b) the name of two cities: one of them lay in the hill country of the tribe of Judah, to the north of Hebron. It is thought that this is the present-day Jedur, between Hebron and Bethlehem (Josh. 15:58). The other, probably a city of the tribe of Benjamin (1 Chron. 12:7). From it came Joelah and Zebadiah, warriors of Saul who joined David at Ziklag.

Gehazi

(valley of vision, according to Gesenius) (2 Kings 4:12) — servant of the prophet Elisha. Having deceitfully obtained from Naaman two talents of silver and two changes of garments, for the healing of Naaman by the prophet Elisha from leprosy, Gehazi himself was punished for his avarice with leprosy and dismissal from the prophet’s service (2 Kings 5:20–27). After this we find Gehazi at the court of King Joram, recounting to him the miracles of the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 8:5, 6).

Gehenna

(from Hebrew: the valley of Hinnom) — the name of a deep and narrow ravine on the south side of Jerusalem, in which, under Ahaz, the idolatrous Jews burned their children in honor of the idol Moloch, to the accompaniment of musical instruments, in order to drown out their pitiful cries (see Topheth) (2 Chron. 28:3; Jer. 7:31). King Josiah, in rooting out idolatry, defiled this place — the city’s refuse, human bones, the corpses of executed criminals, and dead animals began to be thrown into it.

To dispel the stench and protect the city from infection, a fire was kept perpetually burning in this valley (Isa. 66:24; Mark 9:43–48), and for this reason this place afterward came to be called the “valley of eternal fire,” and became a place of horror and abomination for the Israelites. In later times this ravine became a symbol of eternal torment, “where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44). In this sense the word “Gehenna” is constantly used by the Lord, either alone or with the addition “of fire” (Matt. 5:29, 30; 10:28; 13:42 [as given]; Mark 9:43–45; Luke 12:5; Matt. 5:22; 18:9; Mark 9:47; James 3:6).

Geliloth

(region, country) (Josh. 18:17) — a locality on the southern border of the tribe of Benjamin. This name occurs only in the cited passage. In the parallel passage (Josh. 15:7) it is called Gilgal, and it is therefore thought that Geliloth is identical with Gilgal.

Gemalli Susi

(owner of camels) (Num. 13:12) — father of Ammiel, of the tribe of Dan, sent by Moses among the other spies to survey the Promised Land.

Geman

(tumultuous crowd) (Gen. 36:22) — son of Lotan, son of Seir, in the land of Edom. In 1 Chronicles (1:39) it reads: Homam.

Gemariah

(the Lord is the accomplisher) — the name of two persons: a) (Jer. 29:1–3) son of Hilkiah, probably one of the important officials of King Zedekiah. In 597 B.C. he was sent by King Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar, in Babylon, and delivered to the Jewish captives in Babylon a letter to them from the prophet Jeremiah. b) (Jer. 36:10, 12, 25) son of the scribe Shaphan (2 Kings 22:3), father of Micaiah, who lived in a separate chamber of the Jerusalem Temple. He urged King Jehoiakim not to burn the scroll written by the prophet Baruch, but to read it, as Jeremiah had commanded.

But neither the king nor any of his servants gave thought to amending their ways; they did not heed his exhortations, and the whole scroll was destroyed: after Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the fire in the brazier (Jer. 36:28).

Genealogy of Jesus Christ

—the genealogical record of Jesus Christ contained in Matthew 1:1–16 and Luke 3:23–38. Matthew begins, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”; Luke introduces his genealogy after Jesus began His ministry at about thirty years of age and was, “as was supposed,” the son of Joseph.

Generosity

—one of the perfections of God, manifested in his mercy, love, and longsuffering (Pss. 86:15; 103:8; 111:4; 145:8, and elsewhere). Generosity toward one’s neighbor was commanded to the children of Israel, especially toward a poor brother at his release from service (Deut. 15:10-14), and it is preeminently a Christian virtue. See also Mercy and Almsgiving.

Genesis

—consisting of fifty chapters, it tells of the beginning of the world and of man, of the origin of hereditary sin, on which the faith in redemption is founded, and contains the history of the patriarchs, beginning with Adam down to the death of Joseph in Egypt.

Gennesar, Gennesaret, the land of Gennesaret

(1 Macc. 11:67; Matt. 14:34; Mark 6:54; Luke 5:1) — under this name is meant, in general, the region or plain on the western side of the Sea of Gennesaret, in the tribe of Naphtali,

Genneus

(2 Macc. 12:2) — father of Apollonius, the local governor of Antioch in Judea, under Antiochus Eupator, in the days of Judas Maccabeus.

Gentile; Pagan

—a term used in Scripture for the nations outside Israel and, in some contexts, for those who do not know or call upon the true God (Jer. 10:25). In later Christian usage “pagan” could denote those who had not received the proclamation of the Gospel or embraced Christianity. The source’s statement that such people formed three quarters of the world’s population is a nineteenth-century estimate and is not retained as current demographic fact. In the New Testament the nations are not merely objects of condemnation: the Gospel is proclaimed to them, and believing Gentiles are incorporated into the people of God.

Genubath Ader Ganebath

(a word, in the opinion of some, Egyptian, meaning: theft, plunder) (1 Kings 11:20) — the name of a certain Edomite whose father Hadad was of noble lineage, and whose mother was the sister of Queen Tahpenes, wife of Pharaoh, who reigned in Egypt in the last years of David’s reign; he was raised and lived in Pharaoh’s palace together with his sons (1 Kings 11:19–21 [as given]).

Gera

(enmity, strife) — the name of four persons: a) one of the sons or descendants of Benjamin. In the book of Genesis (46:21) he is mentioned among those who migrated with Jacob to Egypt. He was the son of Bela (1 Chron. 8:3); b) (Judg. 3:15) father of the judge Ehud; c) (2 Sam. 16:5) father of Shimei of Bahurim, a Benjamite; d) (1 Chron. 8:7) one of the sons of Ehud, who lived at Geba.

Gerah

(grain) (Exod. 30:13; Ezek. 45:12) — the twentieth part of the sacred shekel, the smallest unit of Hebrew weight.

Gerar

(district) — an ancient Canaanite royal city. The hereditary title of the king of Gerar was Abimelech. Mention in Holy Scripture of this city as contemporary with Sodom and Gomorrah and as located in the south occurs in Holy Scripture from very ancient times (Gen. 10:19; 20:1, 2; 26:1–6). The city of Gerar, together with its region, was known to Abraham and Isaac, who lived for a time in Gerar, having their wells there. Both the city and the region of Gerar, according to the writer of Genesis, were the place of Abraham’s residence, but probably he lived not in the city itself, but in the region.

It is possible that Beersheba was among the possessions of Abimelech, and we see that Isaac, who was born in that region, lived in the valley of Gerar (26:17). It is not easy to determine the boundaries of this territory, but it must have been considerably larger. As for the valley of Gerar, abundant in water, it apparently is identical with the present-day locality called Wadi esh-Sharia. The last biblical reference to Gerar is found in 2 Chronicles (14:13, 14), in the days of Asa. The location of this city apparently corresponds to the location of the city of Khirbet el-Gerar, situated at some distance to the south of Gaza. It is quite possible that the wells discovered by the Englishman Robinson were dug by Abraham and reopened by Isaac (Gen. 26:18–22).

Geraza, or Gergesa

(Matt. 8:28) — of the cities of the Decapolis, from which the land of the Gergesenes took its name; it was situated on the far side of the Jordan, southeast of the Sea of Gennesaret, in Perea, or ancient Gilead. This first name of the city does not occur in Holy Scripture. In the parallel passages in Mark (5:1) and Luke (8:26) it reads: Gadara.

Gerizim

(to be cut off, separated) (Deut. 11:29; Josh. 8:33; Judg. 9:7; 2 Macc. 6:2) — the name of a mountain in the center of Palestine, in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. Together with Mount Ebal, Mount Gerizim was appointed by Moses for the annual reading of the Law at the general assembly of the people,

Gershom

(a stranger in that place) (Exod. 2:22; 18:3) — the first son of Moses and Zipporah. He was so named because Moses said of himself: “I have been a stranger in a strange land” (that is, of Midian).

Gershon

(banishment) — the names of three men mentioned in Holy Scripture: a) (Gen. 46:11) firstborn of Levi, son of the patriarch Jacob, born before the migration of Jacob and his sons into Egypt. His descendants, numbering 7,000 men (Num. 3:22), among them 2,630 men fit for service (4:40), were appointed by Moses to carry, during the wandering in the wilderness, the curtains and coverings of the Tabernacle of Testimony (4:24–26). They were assigned 13 cities to dwell in (Josh. 21:6), two of which were cities of refuge (v. 27).

Under David, the sons of Gershon were appointed, together with the rest of the sons of Levi, to praise the Lord in the customary services of the Church (1 Chron. 23:5–7) upon musical instruments. The well-known singer Asaph was one of their number (6:43–49); b) (Judg. 18:30) son of Manasseh, father of Jonathan the Levite, who set up the idol made by Micah at Dan, while the house of God remained at Shiloh; c) (Ezra 8:2; 2 Esdras 8:29) a person who accompanied Ezra together with others upon his return from Babylon, of the descendants of Phinehas.

Geshan Sogar

(a clod of earth) (1 Chron. 2:47) — one of the sons of Jahdai, mentioned in the genealogy of Judah and Caleb. Nothing more is known of him.

Geshur

(happy) (2 Sam. 2:9) — a region or country over which Abner, after Saul’s death, made his son Ish-bosheth king, among other regions. Some think this is the same as Ashurim, an Arabian people and region, while others take Geshur to be the region or kingdom of Geshur, located north of Gilead toward Damascus.

Geshur

(form of a valley) (Deut. 3:14; Josh. 12:5, and elsewhere) — a small region in the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, whose original inhabitants were never driven out of it (Josh. 13:13). The daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, Maacah, was David’s wife, and from this marriage Absalom was born. After the murder of his brother Amnon, Absalom took refuge in Geshur, remaining there for 3 years, until he was brought back to Jerusalem by Joab (2 Sam. 13:37). This was a wild and rocky country to the southeast of Bashan. It is now called El-Lejah.

Gethsemane

(oil press; according to others, olive garden) (Matt. 26:36; Mark 14:32; Luke 22:39; John 18:1) — the name of the most sacred place for all Christians, witness to the prayer, unto bloody sweat and soul’s anguish, of our Lord before His death on the cross. According to some interpreters, a village once stood here, but according to the testimony of St. John the Evangelist, it was simply a garden (John 18:1–3). It lay at the foot of the Mount of Olives, beyond the brook Kidron, which flowed between the mountain and the city, a stone’s throw from the former (Luke 22:41).

In the garden there still stand to this day eight large and very ancient olive trees. A low, half-ruined wall surrounds the garden. According to the accounts of travelers, the Franciscan monks who own this sacred place preserve the pits from the abundant olives that grow here and make rosaries from them. How many sacred, deeply moving Gospel memories are awakened beneath the shade of these age-old Gethsemane trees! Here the Lord often withdrew with His disciples; here, in the final hours, He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot to the servants of the high priest (Matt. 26:36).

Here the Son of God bore that terrible burden of boundless soul-anguish which wrung from His lips the harrowing cry: “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death!” (Mark 14:34); here also, beneath the shade of these age-old olive trees, in His prayer before death, the sweat of the divine Sufferer poured out like great drops of blood, falling to the ground (Luke 22:44). To this day

Geuel Nephthali Nabi

(majesty of God) (Num. 13:16) — son of Machi, chief of the tribe of Gad, one of the 12 sent by Moses from the wilderness of Paran to survey the Promised Land.

Gever

(man). See Ben-geber. a) (1 Kings 4:19) son of Uri, one of Solomon’s officers, in the land of Gilead, in the territory of Sihon and Og; b) (1 Kings 4:13) father of one of Solomon’s officers, in Ramoth-gilead and the surrounding territory. He is designated Ben-geber.

Gezer, or Gazer

(a part, a piece, a fragment) (Josh. 16:3) — an ancient Canaanite city, situated on the southern edge of the tribe of Ephraim, northwest of Jerusalem; it remained in the possession of the Canaanites (Josh. 10:33; 16:10; Judg. 1:29) until the king of Egypt took it and gave it as a dowry to his daughter, who married Solomon (1 Kings 9:16). Solomon restored and fortified it (1 Kings 9:17). As an important fortress, this city is frequently mentioned in Maccabean times (2 Macc. 10:32–36; 1 Macc. 9:52, and elsewhere).

Giah Amman Gai

(breach, breakthrough of water) (2 Sam. 2:24) — a locality mentioned only in the following words: “And Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.”

Giants

(Gen 6:4) - persons of extraordinary height and strength who existed even before the mingling of the race of the sons of God with the sons of men and became especially numerous after that mingling. They oppressed and enslaved their brethren and by their manner of life spread impiety and corruption even among the descendants of Seth, so that God condemned the corrupted human race to destruction by the Flood (Gen 6:5-7). As may be seen from Holy Scripture (Deut 3:11; Num 13:33; 1 Sam 17:4), similarly tall people existed after the Flood; the source further regards this as confirmed by human skeletons and bones, found in the earth in its own day, which were much larger than ordinary. See Emim, Anakim, Rephaim.

Gibbar Gaber

(strong, mighty) (Ezra 2:20). The descendants of Gibbar, numbering 95 persons, returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel to Judea. In the parallel passage in the book of Nehemiah (7:25) he is called: Gibeon.

Gibbethon

(1 Kings 15:27) — a Philistine city in the tribe of Dan, where Baasha slew Nadab, son of Jeroboam.

Gibbethon

(prominent place) (Josh. 19:44) — a city of the tribe of Dan, afterward given, with all its suburbs, to the Levites (Josh. 21:28). In the reign of Nadab, king of Israel, it belonged to the Philistines. During the siege of this city, Nadab was treacherously slain by Baasha, who afterward became king of Israel (1 Kings 15:27). The city of Gibbethon probably lay very close to the Philistine border and for that reason was occupied by the Philistines. The Israelites, it appears, tried without success to wrest it from their hands. In Eusebius’s Onomasticon it is called by the name Gale, 17 Roman miles from Caesarea.

Gibeon

(elevated) (Josh. 10:11; 11:19; 2 Sam. 21:2) — an ancient Canaanite city, which, together with the cities of Beeroth, Chephirah, and Kiriath-jearim, belonging to the Hivites, entered into a covenant with Joshua. Although this covenant was accepted and the Gibeonites were spared, the city nevertheless lost its independence and was afterward given to the tribe of Benjamin (Josh. 18:25) and, with its surrounding lands, given to the Levites (21:17). As a Levitical city it became a very significant place from the very beginning of David’s reign until the building of the Temple by Solomon.

David set up a new Tabernacle for the Ark of the Lord on Mount Zion, but another Tabernacle, with the altar for burnt offerings, was located at Gibeon, where sacrifices were offered daily under the high priest Zadok (1 Chron. 16:39–42). We cannot, however, indicate with precision at what time the altar for burnt offerings was set up at Gibeon. Here, at the beginning of his reign, Solomon offered to God a thousand burnt offerings and prayed that the Lord would grant him a wise heart (1 Kings 3:4–14).

Gibeon was the site of one of Joab’s brilliant victories (2 Sam. 2:12–17), and also witnessed one of his most infamous deeds, namely the treachery and murder by him of his brother, of whom he was jealous (2 Sam. 20:8–10) (see Amasa). At present, on the site of biblical Gibeon stands the small village of El-Jib, with ancient ruins and the remains of destroyed buildings. It lies about 2½ hours’ journey to the northwest of Jerusalem, on the road from there to Jaffa. The locality surrounding it belongs to the most picturesque and well-cultivated parts of Palestine.

Near the village of El-Jib travelers are still shown the remains of the pool of Gibeon, or, in the words of the prophet Jeremiah, the “great waters” (41:12), on the bank of which there once took place the bloody battle of Joab with Abner, which ended in the latter’s defeat. In Holy Scripture, Gibeon is sometimes rendered as Gibeah (1 Chron. 14:16, cf. 2 Sam. 5:25).

Gidda

(timely) (1 Kings 4:14) — father of Ahinadab, one of Solomon’s officers.

Giddalti

(to be great, important) (1 Chron. 25:4) — son of Heman, a Levite of the family of Kohath, who together with his brothers sang and played at divine service on cymbals, psalteries, and citherns (v. 5, 7). He was also chief of the 22nd priestly division in the House of the Lord (v. 29).

Giddel

(extremely great, giant, colossus) — the name of two men: a) (Ezra 2:47) of the Nethinim, who returned to Judea with Zerubbabel. In the parallel passage of 2 Esdras (5:30) he is called Pavua; b) (Ezra 2:51) of the number of Solomon’s servants, who returned to Judea together with the descendants of the preceding Giddel. In 2 Esdras (5:33) he is called Jedaiah [as given].

Gideoni Gadeoni

(destroyer) (Num. 1:11; 2:22) — father of Abidan, who, as head of the tribe of Benjamin, helped Moses in the numbering of the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai.

Gidom Gedan

(cutting off, hewing down) (Judg. 20:45) — a place in the tribe of Benjamin, at which the pursuit of the Benjamites, who had been routed at Giva of Benjamin, came to an end. Its location is unknown. It is mentioned in Holy Scripture only once.

Gihon

— this is the name given to a spring, or streams, near Jerusalem, at which Solomon was anointed king (1 Kings 1:33, 38, 39) and proclaimed king. From the details of the narrative it is evident that Gihon lay below Jerusalem: “…unto Gihon, and are come up from thence…” These details agree with later accounts of Gihon, where it is said that they flowed through a ravine (2 Chron. 32:30). Afterward King Hezekiah, in order to hide the streams from the enemy, ordered it covered over with earth above, and connected with the city below by underground channels (2 Chron. 32:30).

Gihon, otherwise Geon

(stormy, rushing) (Gen. 2:13) — the second river of Paradise, flowing out of Eden and watering the land of Cush. It is supposed that this is the present-day river Araxes, which flows into the Caspian Sea. Gihon means “stormy,” and the Araxes is just such a river even now. Others think that this is the present-day river Oxus, still called by the Arabs Gihon to this day. Still others wish to see here the Upper Nile, the Indus, or the Ganges, or the eastern channel of the river Shatt al-Arab, and so on. But no definite explanation of the course of this river exists.

Gilalai

(dung-covered, or, according to Fürst, heavy) (Neh. 12:36) — a priest, who together with others played on musical instruments of David, at the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem.

Gilboa Gelbue

(foaming, or surging spring) — the name of a mountain, or mountain heights, between the cities of Jezreel and Beth-shan, in the territory of the tribe of Issachar. Here, in a battle with the Philistines, three sons of Saul were slain, among them Jonathan, and Saul himself, covered with wounds and fearing to fall into the hands of the enemy, fell upon his own sword and died (1 Sam. 31:1–6; 1 Chron. 10:1–6). Upon receiving the sorrowful news of the death of Saul and Jonathan and the fatal outcome of the battle, David, in a lament, poured out his deep grief: “Ye mountains of Gilboa,” he cried out in sorrow, “let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away” (2 Sam. 1:21).

It cannot be thought, however, that this imprecation was fulfilled literally, or that it was uttered with the intent of calling down God’s wrath upon the mountains of Gilboa; no, it was merely an expression of deep sorrow, like that mournful outcry of Job when he cursed the day of his birth. On the southern slope of these mountains there still stands to this day a village called Jelbon, whose location corresponds to the description given by Eusebius of a village called Gelbus, on Mount Gilboa, 6 Roman miles from Scythopolis.

The range of the Gilboa mountains stretches from west to east for nearly 15 versts; the mountain slopes are for the most part bare. It is now called Jebel Fuqua.

Gilead

(hill, witness) (Gen. 31:47; 2 Kings 10:33) — thus is called the mountainous country beyond the Jordan, from Mount Hermon to the river Arnon, as well as also a particular mountain on that side of the Jordan, at which Jacob and Laban, after their reconciliation, erected a heap of stones as a sign of their peaceful covenant. In the time of Moses, the northern part of Gilead belonged to Og, king of Bashan, and the southern part to Sihon, king of the Amorites (Judg. 11:22). Then, after the conquest of Gilead by the Israelites, it was given as an inheritance to the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh (Num. 32:1, 33 and following), which abounded in cattle.

Of the judges, Jair and Jephthah belonged to the inhabitants of Gilead (Judg. 10:3; 11:1). The prophet Elijah the Tishbite was also of the inhabitants of Gilead (1 Kings 17:1). The lands of Gilead at first were frequently subjected to attacks by the Ammonites (Judg. 11:4–33). Thus, for example, the Ammonites in the days of Saul penetrated into Gilead, but Saul came to the aid of Jabesh, besieged by the Ammonites, and delivered the inhabitants of Gilead from the Ammonite yoke (1 Sam. 11:1).

After the division of the kingdom, Gilead formed part of the kingdom of Israel. In Psalm 60 [59] (v. 9) Gilead is spoken of as being under God’s special care: “Gilead is mine,” says the Lord, while in the Song of Songs (4:1) and in Jeremiah (8:22) reference is made to the wealth and fertility of the land; in the first place mention is made of the many flocks of goats coming down from Mount Gilead, and in the second — of the healing balm for which Gilead was so famous. And indeed, although Gilead was reckoned a rocky country, it possessed many springs of water, extensive pastures, and shady forests and groves.

“There is no place in Europe,” remarks one of our contemporary travelers, “where nature appears in such luxuriant beauty as in Gilead.” Sometimes to the name Gilead is added the word “land” — the land of Gilead (Deut. 34:1), and probably under this name is meant the whole country to the east of the Jordan as far as Arabia itself, including in this the present-day district of Belka. Mount Gilead, properly speaking, forms a ridge, or chain, rising 6 miles to the south of the Jabbok, and stretching 6 English miles from east to west.

It is now called Jebel Jelad. There is, however, another mountain of the same name to the west of the Jordan, near which part of Gideon’s army left him (Judg. 7:3).

Gilead

— three persons mentioned in the books of the Old Testament: a) (Num. 26:29, 30) son of Machir, great-grandson of the patriarch Joseph; b) (Judg. 11:1, 2) father of the judge of Israel, Jephthah; c) (1 Chron. 5:14) one of the descendants of Gad, who lived in Gilead.

Gilgal

(that which rolls to the ground, hence: overthrow) — the name of three localities: a) (Josh. 4:19, 20) a settlement in the plain of Jericho, to the east of Jericho and northeast of Jerusalem, at a distance of a few miles from the Jordan; this is the first place at which the Israelites, after crossing the Jordan, encamped, and here also, by God’s command, a memorial of 12 stones was erected as a sign of the miraculous crossing of this river (Josh. 4:2–9), the rite of circumcision was performed, and the Hebrews celebrated the first Passover after entering the Promised Land (Josh. 5:10–12).

At Gilgal, for a time, the Tabernacle with the Ark of the Covenant was located, until it was moved to Shiloh, and divine service was performed there (Josh. 5:10; 9:6). In this city, as also at Bethel and Mizpeh, the prophet Samuel judged Israel (1 Sam. 7:16; 10:8) and anointed Saul as king (1 Sam. 11:14, 15). Here also Samuel hewed Agag, king of the Amalekites, in pieces before the Lord (1 Sam. 15:33). Afterward the inhabitants of Gilgal gave themselves over to idol-worship (Hos. 12:12; Amos 4:4, 5).

The word “idols” in the book of Judges (3:19) points to the idolatry that prevailed at Gilgal. In the time of Eusebius and Jerome, Gilgal already lay in ruins, but in the 12th and 14th centuries, according to the testimony of some travelers, the 12 stones were still preserved on the site of biblical Gilgal; b) (elevation, hill) (2 Kings 4:38) an elevated locality 6 versts from Shiloh and at the same distance to the north of Bethel. Here the prophet Elisha, having put meal into the pot, healed the sons of the prophets who had been poisoned by a stew made from wild gourds; c) in the book of Joshua (12:23) a third locality is encountered under this same name.

The king of Goiim in Gilgal is mentioned among the kings defeated by Joshua. It is thought that this is the present-day locality of Jiljulieh, three versts to the southeast of Kefr Saba.

Giloh

(that which uncovers) (Josh. 15:51) — a city of the tribe of Judah, birthplace and dwelling place of Ahithophel, David’s counselor (2 Sam. 15:12), in which he also took his own life (17:23). The location of Giloh has not yet been precisely determined, although in the book of Joshua this city is mentioned together with others to the south or southwest of Hebron.

Gimzo Baethsamys

(place of sycamores, wild figs) (2 Chron. 28:18) — one of the cities of the tribe of Judah, taken with all its villages by the Philistines under King Ahaz; now the village of Jimzu, at a distance of half a mile southeast of Lydda.

Ginnethoi

(gardener) (Neh. 12:4) — of the chief priests who accompanied Zerubbabel on his return from Babylon and gave a written pledge to renounce pagan wives and to keep exactly the law of God given through Moses. He is without doubt identical with Ginnethon (Neh. 10:6).

Gishpa

(flattery) (Neh. 11:21) — one of two chiefs over the Nethinim living, after the return from captivity, at Ophel.

Gittaim Gethaim

(two winepresses) (2 Sam. 4:3) — a city of the tribe of Benjamin, to which the Beerothites, pursued by the Benjamites, to whom their city had been given, fled and settled. The location of the city is not known at present.

Giva

(elevation, hill): a) of Benjamin (Josh. 18:22; Judg. 19:12–16) — this Giva is mentioned for the first time in the days of the Judges, in connection with the history of the Levite who lived on Mount Ephraim, a history that ended in the destruction of nearly the whole tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 19, 20); it lay to the north of Jerusalem, not far from it, on the road to Nablus. At present this city is placed above Shafat and is identified with the locality of Tell el-Ful; b) of Saul (1 Sam. 10:26) — a city, birthplace of Saul, mentioned for the first time in the account of Saul’s anointing as king, after which Saul went to his home — to Giva. At Giva of Saul the Gibeonites hanged the seven sons of Saul (2 Sam. 21:6).

The locality corresponding to present-day Giva of Saul is calledTell el-Ful, which, as is thought, is also identical with Giva of Benjamin; c) (Josh. 15:57) Giva — a city in the hill country of the tribe of Judah, mentioned together with Maon, Carmel, and others. Its location has not yet been precisely determined.

Givea, otherwise Gibeath

: a) (Josh. 24:33, 34) — a city on Mount Ephraim, above Gaash. Here the priest Eleazar, son of Aaron, was buried. b) (1 Chron. 2:49) — son of Sheva, mentioned in the genealogy of the patriarch Judah.

Giveath

(Josh. 18:28) — a city usually held to be identical with Giva of Benjamin and of Saul.

Gizonite

(crossing, passage) (1 Chron. 11:34) — the designation of Hashem, one of David’s chief warriors.

Glass

(1 Cor. 13:12)—a material known in the ancient Near East from a very early period and used for vessels, ornaments, and in time windows. The “glass” through which Paul says we now see darkly is a mirror, normally made in antiquity from polished metal; his point is the indirect and imperfect character of present knowledge compared with seeing “face to face.” Job 37:18 likewise compares the firmament to a cast metal mirror. The encyclopedia’s archaeological and industrial survey reflects nineteenth-century knowledge.

Gluttony

(Phil. 3:19)—a sin in which bodily appetite is elevated above obedience to God. Paul says of such persons that “their god is their belly.” Food is God’s gift; the sin lies in making sensual gratification an idol and allowing appetite to rule the person.

Gnat, mosquito

(Matt 23:24) - a small but troublesome insect of the same general class as the mosquito. It is especially abundant in damp places and seldom appears by day except in dense forests. The irritation of its bite comes from a caustic fluid introduced into the skin. Scripture names it only in the Lord's figurative rebuke to the Pharisees: 'Ye blind guides, which strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel.' The meaning is that they attended scrupulously to minor demands of the Law while disregarding its weightiest requirements.

Gnats

. See Mosquitoes.

Goad

(Acts 26:14)—a long staff, commonly fitted with a point, used to direct oxen. The proverb “It hurts you to kick against the goads” depicts an animal injuring itself by resisting the instrument that guides it. The risen Christ applies the saying to Saul: resistance to the divine call harms the resister but cannot defeat God’s purpose. The sentence appears in Acts 26:14; its presence in Acts 9:5 in the King James tradition comes from later Greek manuscripts and should not be treated as the earliest form of that verse.

Goah

(place of horned cattle) — a locality mentioned only once (Jer. 31:39), and that in connection with the hill Gareb, on the southwest side of Jerusalem, near which it must have been located.

Goat, he-goat

(Lev 3:12) - flocks of goats were among the most important forms of household wealth in antiquity (Gen 27:9; 1 Sam 25:2). Though resembling sheep, goats are livelier and quicker. They eat bark and young shoots, and their feet are well adapted for climbing and leaping among rocks and mountains. Goat's milk was valued as food and was also used medicinally: 'And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens' (Prov 27:27).

Gob

(ridge, hill, ditch) — the site of two encounters of David’s warriors with the Philistines. It is thought that it is identical with Gezer.

God

— the Creator of heaven and earth and Provider for the universe (Gen. 1:1; John 1:1) has in Holy Scripture various names; these are, in particular, the following: a) Jehovah (I Am That I Am) (Exod. 3:14) — the self-existent Being, independent, unchangeable, absolute, eternal (Rev. 1:8). See Jehovah; b) the Hebrew Eloah, and plural Elohim, means the adorable God of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. The plural Elohim expresses the greatness and majesty of the being of God. These words are frequently used in Holy Scripture in speaking of imagined and false deities, even of idols, which are not gods at all (Exod. 12:12; 32:1, 4; 2 Chron.

13:9), and of earthly kings (Ps. 8:1 [as given]); but they are used chiefly of the one true God (Gen. 1:1; 5:22; 6:9, and elsewhere); c) Almighty (Gen. 17:1; 28:3; Exod. 6:3); d) Lord (Hebrew Adonai) (Judg. 13:8); e) Most High (Gen. 14:18; Ps. 7:18 [as given]). In Holy Scripture, the highest spiritual perfections are everywhere ascribed to God, such as: eternity, independence, self-existence, immutability, omnipresence, omniscience, wisdom, justice, goodness, boundless love, holiness and truth, creative power and omnipotence, boundless greatness and glory.

If Holy Scripture sometimes ascribes bodily members, properties, and human actions to God, in this it accommodates itself to ordinary human speech, but this must be understood in a higher and spiritual manner: thus, for example, hands signify omnipotence, eyes and ears — omniscience, feet — omnipresence, and so forth. God is One in essence, but Three in Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit — the Trinity, consubstantial and undivided (Matt. 28:19). To all three Persons of the Holy Trinity, Holy Scripture ascribes the same divine properties and actions, although They are essentially distinguished from one another by personal properties, such that: God the Father is not begotten and does not proceed from another Person of the Holy Trinity, God the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, God the Spirit proceeds from the Father.

God is, God provides, God reigns, God shall judge. God must be loved, praised, trusted, and obeyed. The chief duty of each of us is to live for God, just as we live by Him. Atheism is an unnatural monstrosity; pantheism is a philosophical, anti-Christian subtlety, entirely opposed to atheism. To say that all is God is, in essence, to deny the very existence of God.

God

(majesty, splendor) (1 Chron. 7:37): a) one of the sons of Zophah, a descendant of Asher; b) (from Hebrew: shanah) the highest unit for measuring time. The original Hebrew year was lunar, consisting of 12 lunar months, alternately of 29 and 30 days each; consequently, the Hebrew lunar year numbered only 354 days. In time it became necessary to bring the lunar year into correspondence with the solar year. For this purpose an additional, thirteenth month, Ve-Adar (the supplementary Adar), was added to the last month of the lunar year, and in this way the Hebrews came to have common years and leap years.

Besides this, the Hebrews divided the lunar year into civil and sacred. From the civil year, which began with the month Tishri (from the middle of September), contracts were reckoned, elections of officials were held, sabbatical and jubilee years were appointed, the births of children were recorded, and the beginnings of reigns. The sacred year was established after the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt and began with the vernal equinox, that is, with the month Nisan (Esther 3:7), corresponding to our March.

By the sacred year, feasts and holy seasons were reckoned. By this same year the prophets marked the time of their prophecies and visions (Zech. 7:1). The months of the civil and sacred year, with their festivals and corresponding seasons, are set forth in the following table:

God “Repenting” or “Relenting”

(Gen. 6:6; 1 Sam. 15:11, 35)—human language describing God’s grief over sin and a change in his dealings with people. Genesis says that the LORD regretted making humankind and was grieved to his heart; First Samuel says that he regretted making Saul king. Yet the same chapter declares that the Glory of Israel “will not lie or have regret, for he is not a mortal, that he should have regret” (1 Sam. 15:29).

Godaviah

(praise the Lord) — the names of three persons mentioned in Scripture: a) (1 Chron. 5:24) of the heads of the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh; b) (1 Chron. 9:7) of the ancestors of Sallu; c) (Ezra 2:40) of the Levites, whose sons returned with Zerubbabel from captivity.

Godaviahu

(1 Chron. 3:24) — one of the sons of Elioenai, mentioned in the genealogy of the descendants of David.

Godevah

(glory of God) (Neh. 7:43) — one of the Levites who lived in the days of Zerubbabel. In 2 Esdras (5:26) it reads: Judah.

Godiah

: a) (1 Chron. 4:19) one of the wives of Ezra [Ezrah], named in the genealogy of Judah; b) three different persons among the Levites who lived in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, namely: 1) Neh. 8:7; 9:5; 2) Neh. 10:10, 13; 3) Neh. 10:18.

Gog

: a) (1 Chron. 5:4) son of Shemaiah, son of Joel, of the descendants of the patriarch Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn; b) (Rev. 20:7) St. John the Evangelist and Theologian, speaking of the times of the antichrist, likewise uses the names Gog and Magog, meaning by these, apparently, not the names of rulers, but lands, peoples, and all the kingdoms that are to arise in the last times of the world, seduced by the devil, against the saints of God and the Kingdom of Christ, and destined to perish together with their seducer in the lake of fire and brimstone.

It goes without saying that this refers to the very last times of the world and of the Church; c) (Ezek. 38, 39) the name of a people settled in the land of Magog. According to the testimony of Pliny (5:25), the name Gog and Magog was given to the kings of Assyria and the countries neighboring Assyria.

Goiim, Goiim-related

(Gen. 14:1; Josh. 12:3). By the word “goyim” in the Hebrew text is generally meant pagan nations, that is, all peoples except the Israelites, but in the book of Joshua (12:23) the word “goyim” is used in the sense of a proper name, to designate a people or locality, namely: among the thirty-one kings defeated by Joshua on the western side of the Jordan, the king of Goiim in Gilgal is mentioned. In the book of Judges (4:2–13) another city, Harosheth of the Gentiles, is mentioned, which lay to the north of Palestine, near Kedesh of Naphtali, whereas the aforementioned Goiim was located at Gilgal (according to Eusebius: a small village 6 miles north of Antipatris).

Golan

(exile) (Deut. 4:43) — a city in Bashan, one of the cities of refuge, belonging to the tribe of Manasseh and situated on the eastern side of the Jordan (Josh. 20:8). Afterward it passed to the sons of Gershon (21:27). After this it is not mentioned again; nevertheless it was an important and significant city, remaining so even down to the time of Eusebius. From it the plateau region took its name, known in New Testament times as Gaulanitis, after Golan, its chief city, and lying along the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

During the earthly life of Jesus Christ this region belonged to the Tetrarch Philip. Densely populated in antiquity, Gaulanitis is now almost entirely a wasteland. At present only small patches of ground are cultivated in it, and the inhabitants of the East, once as numerous as locusts, or as camels without number (Judg. 7:12), appear in this country only at the beginning of May.

Gold

(Gen. 2:11, 12) — a metal of very hard composition, beautiful in appearance, and precious. “The name of the first is Pison,” relates the sacred historian, “that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good” (Gen. 2:11, 12). This is the first homeland of gold indicated in Holy Scripture, and is contemporary with creation itself; but where this land of Havilah, encircled by the river Pison, was located, remains an unresolved question to this day.

At present gold is found chiefly in Africa, South America, India, the island of Ceylon, Siberia, and other places. The lands noted for their abundance of gold, mentioned in Holy Scripture, are the following: Ophir (gold of Ophir) (Job 28:16), Parvaim, thought to be Ceylon (2 Chron. 3:6) (gold of Parvaim), Sheba and Raamah (Ezek. 27:22), and Uphaz (Jer. 10:9). The use of gold was very widespread among the Hebrews. Many parts of the tabernacle and the temple, its furnishings, and the sacred vessels, were made of this precious metal or overlaid with it (Exod. 36:34, 38; 1 Kings 7:48–50).

It was likewise used for making various costly items, such as coins, earrings, bracelets, rings, chains, and the like. Two hundred large shields and three hundred smaller ones were made by Solomon of beaten gold (1 Kings 10:16, 17). In Solomon’s days silver was accounted as almost nothing. At the feast of Ahasuerus, in the royal palace, gold and silver couches adorned the hall for the guests (Esth. 1:7). The abundance of gold in these ages so distant from us, according to the descriptions, surpasses almost all credibility.

The Hebrews also possessed the art of refining gold, as the prophet Zechariah says of this: “And I will refine them as silver is refined,” says the LORD through the prophet, of the third part of the Jews (13:9). In a figurative sense the word “gold” is often used by the sacred writers to denote the power of spiritual gifts (Job 28:15), of the LORD’s commandments (Ps. 19:10 [18:11]) — “more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold” (Ps. 19:10 [18:11]) — of the lips of the wise and of knowledge (Prov. 20:15), of tried faith (1 Pet. 1:7), and of redemption (v. 18).

In the book of the prophet Isaiah (13:12) gold serves as a symbol of might and wealth, and for this reason the Babylonian empire is represented under the image of a head of gold (Dan. 2:38).

Gold of Ophir

. See Ophir.

Gold of Parvaim Pharuim

(2 Chron. 3:6). The name and meaning of the region from which Solomon obtained gold for the building of the temple have never been determined with certainty. Some identify Parvaim with Sepharvaim on the Euphrates; others with Sephar in southern Arabia. The source regards it as most probably one of the Indian colonies in Arabia.

Golden Calf

(Exod. 32:4)—the molten image made by Aaron at Israel’s demand while Moses remained on Sinai. The people proclaimed a feast and worshiped before it, provoking severe divine judgment. Older interpreters compared the image with the Egyptian bulls Apis or Mnevis, but Exodus does not identify a specific model. Moses burned and ground the calf, and the episode became a lasting warning against attempting to worship the LORD through an idolatrous image.

Golden Calves of Jeroboam

(1 Kings 12:28–33)—two calf images established by Jeroboam I at Bethel and Dan so that the northern tribes would not return to Jerusalem for worship. His words echoed the proclamation at Sinai: “Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” The source speculates that Jeroboam learned the form in Egypt, but the text does not state this. The shrines, non-Levitical priesthood, and altered festival became the enduring biblical standard for “the sin of Jeroboam” (1 Kings 14:16).

Golden mice

(1 Sam. 6:4, 5). When the Philistines were punished by the Lord with mice and diseases for keeping the Ark of the Covenant captive among them, their priests and diviners advised them, among other things, to make five golden mice and offer them as a guilt offering before the God of Israel (1 Sam. 6:4, 5). When this was done, the diseases and the devastation of the fields by mice ceased among the Philistines. Some see in this an indication of the pagans’ deification of this animal.

According to the testimony of Fürst, the field mouse was consecrated and offered in sacrifice to some obscure pagan deity, and its flesh was used as food offered to idols. Among sorcerers the mouse was considered a demonic animal.

Golgotha

(skull), otherwise called the place of the skull, or Calvary (Matt. 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17; Luke 23:33) — a rocky elevation to the northwest of Jerusalem, on which the Lord was crucified. Golgotha lay not far from the city, outside the gate (Heb. 13:12), but is now situated within the city itself, near its western extremity, and is entirely built up with sacred edifices, in commemoration of the sacred places and events — the crucifixion, the passion, the burial, and the resurrection of the Savior.

The name Golgotha was given to this sacred place, probably, from the resemblance of the locality to the form of a skull, or because skulls of executed criminals were often to be seen there; but according to Church tradition, Adam is buried here. The events of Golgotha, described by the evangelists, are full of the most moving interest for every true Christian. Behold, amid the mockery and taunts of the soldiers and the crowd, the Lord Jesus, in terrible agony on the cross, gave up the ghost.

And what terrible signs accompanied the death of the God-man! Darkness over all the land. The sun grew dim and could not look upon the terrible sight, the earth shook, as though sympathizing with the sufferings of its Lord and Master, the rocks were split, and the bodies of many of the sleeping saints arose. With the Lord’s last, dying word — “It is finished!” — a new religious era begins, and the veil of the Temple is torn in two from top to bottom. There is fulfilled the ancient prophecy of the Old Testament evangelist, the prophet Isaiah (53:12): “and he was numbered with the transgressors,” for He was crucified between two thieves.

The Old Testament ceremonial law ceased, when He offered Himself a spotless sacrifice to God. This age-old struggle with the prince of this world was solemnly ended in the victory of the cross. “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15). Yes, in truth, upon these greatest moments of humiliation and triumph, of shame and glory, humanity in every age will look with deep trembling and reverence, and will always see in them redemption from sin, the defeat of Satan, reconciliation with God, and the salvation of the world.

Goliath

— the name of two men mentioned in the First and Second Books of Samuel: a) (1 Sam. 17:4) the well-known Philistine giant, a native of Gath. In height Goliath measured 6 cubits and a span (over 9 feet), his coat of mail weighed 5,000 shekels (about 125 pounds), the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron head of the spear alone weighed 600 shekels (about 15 pounds). The details of Goliath’s single combat with David, which took place in the valley of the terebinth between Socoh and Azekah, are described in 1 Samuel (chapter 17).

The last psalm of the Psalter (151), inscribed in the Septuagint “when he fought in single combat with Goliath,” was written by David after the defeat of Goliath. Goliath’s sword, kept by David, was preserved first at Nob, and afterward brought by him to Jerusalem; b) (2 Sam. 21:19) another giant, Goliath, also of Gath, of whom it is likewise said that the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam. He was slain by Elhanan, son of Jaare-oregim of Bethlehem.

Gomer

(completeness, perfection) — the name of two persons: a) (Gen. 10:2, 3) eldest son of Japheth and progenitor of a people that, it appears, preserved its national identity even down to the time of Ezekiel (38:6). Opinions differ regarding the later history of Gomer’s descendants: Josephus says that he was the progenitor of those whom the Greeks call the Galatians, but who in his time were called the Gomerians. Others think that they are identical with the ancient Cimmerians. To this day the descendants of the ancient Cimmerians remain in Ireland and Wales; b) (Hos. 1:3) name of the daughter of Diblaim, wife of the prophet Hosea, a woman given to harlotry, whom he was commanded to take to himself, in token of the unfaithfulness and apostasy from God of the people of Israel.

Gomorrah

(submersion, drowning) (Gen. 14:2–8) — one of the five cities in the valley of Siddim, destroyed for their wickedness by the Lord with fire and brimstone (see the Sea of Asphalt). Gomorrah is frequently mentioned together with Sodom, and the names of both are often used to denote extreme wickedness among a people (Isa. 1:10) and the strictness of God’s judgment against the wicked (Zeph. 2:9; Rom. 9:29). See Sodom.

Gonath

(defense, protection) (1 Kings 16:21, 22) — father of Tibni, who, after the death of Zimri, contested the throne of Israel with Omri.

Gopher wood

(strong, resinous wood) (Gen. 6:14) — the wood from which Noah’s ark was built. This word occurs only in this citation. The majority of interpreters of Holy Scripture think that this was cypress or cedar wood. The Greek name “kyparissos” bears a resemblance to the Hebrew “gopher.” It was reckoned the hardest and most durable of woods, and among all woods was least subject to rot and worm.

Gopher Wood

(Gen. 6:14)—the material from which Noah was commanded to build the ark. The Hebrew term gopher occurs only here, so the species cannot be identified with certainty. Cypress, cedar, pine, and other resinous or durable woods have been proposed, but “gopher wood” is best retained as a transliteration rather than turned into a confident botanical claim.

Goren-atad, or Abel-mizraim

(threshing floor, or floor of Atad) (Gen. 50:10, 11) — the word “Abel” here means “mourning,” and the whole phrase means “the mourning of Egypt,” or “the mourning of the Egyptians.” The reason for this name is given in the first chapter of Genesis [50th chapter] (v. 11). This place was formerly called “the threshing floor of Atad.” Jerome testifies that in his time it was called Beth-hoglah (Josh. 15:6; 18:19), which he placed near Jericho. It appears, however, that this locality was located closer to Hebron, though its exact location remains unknown to this day.

Gorgias

(1 Macc. 3:38) — a military commander of Antiochus Epiphanes, utterly defeated by Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc. 4:1–26).

Gortyna

(1 Macc. 15:23) — a very large and ancient city on the island of Crete, mentioned in 1 Maccabees on the occasion of the renewal by the Jews of their alliance with the Romans under the high priest and leader Simon. Gortyna lay midway between the eastern and western extremities of the island and was not far from the locality of Fair Havens, so that St. Paul the Apostle, on his way to Rome, could have preached the Gospel at Gortyna.

Goshen

(land of rain) (Gen. 45:10; 46:28, 29) — a region in Lower Egypt, in which Pharaoh, at Joseph’s request, settled Jacob together with his sons, and in which the Israelites lived for more than 200 years before their exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land. This fertile, pastoral country lay between the Red Sea and the river Nile, or, more precisely, between the Pelusiac branch of it, on the southern border of Canaan. “Thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me,” said Joseph (Gen. 45:10).

From these words it is evident that Goshen lay near the residence of Pharaoh and Joseph. Upon the patriarch’s arrival, Joseph ordered his chariot made ready and went out to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen (Gen. 46:29). Consequently, this land lay on the way from Palestine to Egypt, on the border of the land of Egypt and Palestine. It is certain that Joseph chose the land of Goshen for the dwelling of the Hebrews as the best place in it (47:6), both for its proximity to his own residence (45:10) and for the abundance of its pastures (46:34), and in order to keep the Hebrews apart from the Egyptians, who abhorred shepherds: for “every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians” (46:34), while the Hebrews led a predominantly pastoral life. Today the land of Goshen is placed in the province of esh-Sharkiyeh, still regarded as the best in Egypt.

Goshen

— the names of a land and a city, mentioned in the book of Joshua: a) (Josh. 10:41; 11:16) the land of Goshen is mentioned twice as a region in southern Palestine. From the first passage it may be concluded that it lay between Gaza and Gibeon, but in the second passage the coastal plain of the Shephelah is mentioned separately from Goshen; b) (Josh. 15:51) the city of Goshen is mentioned together with Socoh, Debir, and other cities located in the hill country of the tribe of Judah.

Gospel

(Mark 1:1, and elsewhere) — a Greek word meaning “good tidings,” that is, good, joyful news. The Gospels comprise the four books of the evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In them is proclaimed the good news of the Godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ, of His coming into the world, of His life on earth, of His wondrous deeds and saving teaching, and finally of His death on the cross, glorious resurrection, and ascension into heaven. These books are called “Gospel” because there can be no better or more joyful news for man than the news of the divine Savior and of eternal salvation.

It is for this reason that the reading of the Gospel in church is on each occasion accompanied by the joyful exclamation: “Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee!”

Gospel according to Luke

- the third canonical Gospel, a legislative book of the New Testament consisting of twenty-four chapters. Luke says that the example of many earlier narrators and his desire to establish the God-fearing Theophilus in true faith moved him to write an exact and fully reliable account of the Gospel history (Luke 1:1-4). It begins with the circumstances surrounding the births of the Forerunner and the Lord Jesus Christ and ends with the Lord's ascension.

Gourd (Jonah’s Plant)

(Jonah 4:6–11)—the rapidly growing plant appointed by God to shade Jonah and then struck by a worm. The Hebrew qiqayon does not securely identify a modern species; castor-oil plant, bottle gourd, and other plants have been proposed. The point of the narrative is God’s compassionate rebuke of Jonah, not botanical certainty. The “wild gourds” gathered during the famine in 2 Kings 4:38–41 are named by a different Hebrew term and may refer to colocynth; they should not be treated as the same plant. The illustration represents a member of the gourd family in accordance with the source’s nineteenth-century identification.

Governor

(Matt. 27:2)—a general New Testament term for a provincial ruler. After Archelaus was removed in AD 6, Judea came under Roman prefects of equestrian rank who normally resided at Caesarea Maritima and came to Jerusalem, especially during festivals, with troops to maintain order. Coponius was the first prefect; Pontius Pilate, who governed from AD 26 to 36, was the fifth in the usual reckoning. Later rulers could bear the title procurator. The source’s “sixth” reflects an older enumeration.

Gozan

(defile, ravine, perhaps a quarry, from a root meaning to break into pieces) — a river in Assyria, on whose banks the captive Israelites were settled by Pul, Tiglath-pileser, and Shalmaneser (2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; 1 Chron. 5:26). The location of this river and the surrounding region is variously determined. Most likely, it flowed through Gauzanitis (a Median city) or Mygdonia. Near Gozan flowed the Habor (now the Khabur), a tributary of the Euphrates. The region neighboring Gozan was apparently Halah.

Grace

(1 Tim. 1:2)—God’s free and gracious gift, given not as a wage owed to human merit but from divine mercy. The word may also denote God’s active favor and power at work in the human heart, forgiving, healing, strengthening, and sanctifying. In Christian theology grace does not abolish human response; it awakens and enables faith, obedience, and communion with God.

Grain

—see Agriculture.

Grass

(Isa. 51:12)—a general biblical term for green growth, including vegetation used as fodder. Its rapid growth and brief life make it a frequent image of human frailty: grass flourishes in the morning and withers by evening (Ps. 90:5–6), the wicked spring up like grass only to perish (Ps. 92:7), and human days are like grass and the flower of the field (Ps. 103:15). Isaiah declares, “All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isa. 40:6–8; compare 1 Pet. 1:24–25).

Graven Image

(a carved image, a carved idol) (Judg 17:3-4; 18:14 and elsewhere) - the metal idol in Micah's house at Laish. See Idol; Idolatry.

Graves, or burial places

. See Burial.

Greece

— in the prophet Zechariah (9:13) called Javan, and in the prophet Daniel (8:21) Javan [as given], in general was known to the Hebrews under the name Javan (Ezek. 27:13). In the New Testament, under this name, in a more general sense, are meant properly Greece, Ionia, and Asia Minor. In the days of Alexander the Great, the Greeks were masters of Egypt, Syria, as well as of the lands and regions lying beyond the Euphrates; hence the name “Greek” became rather indefinite and was applied by the Jews to all pagans who were under the rule of the Greek empire.

The word “Greek” was for the Jews synonymous with the word “pagan,” so that for them the whole world was divided into Jews and pagans. All those who did not belong to the Jewish people were called Hellenes, or Greeks (Acts 20:21; Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:22–24), while for the Greeks all others were barbarians — uncultured, unlearned people, or those who did not speak the language of the country in which they lived. The victories and conquests of Alexander of Macedon in the East, nearly three centuries before the Christian era, served as one of the chief causes of the almost universal spread of the Greek language, and 270 years before Christ the Holy Scripture of the Old Testament was translated into the Greek language, and thereafter all the books of the New Testament, with the possible exception of the Gospel of Matthew, written in Hebrew, were written in the Greek language.

The well-known apostolic men also wrote in Greek. The Lord and Savior, His apostles, and probably the Jewish people spoke predominantly in the Syriac language, though it may be thought that commercial relations acquainted the Jews with the Greek language as well; undoubtedly the Syriac language predominated because it was the native tongue. The Greek language, spoken in Palestine and in which the New Testament was written, was Greco-Alexandrian. The Jerusalem crowd also understood the Greek language somewhat, and on one occasion was ready to listen to the Apostle Paul’s preaching in Greek; but when they heard that he spoke in Hebrew, or more precisely in Syro-Chaldean, then, according to the testimony of the writer of the book of Acts, they kept silence all the more.

The name “Greek” in many places in the book of Acts does not properly mean natives of Greece, but Hellenistic Jews, who used the Greek language in their conversations. To these are opposed the Hebrews — Jews native to Palestine, and speaking predominantly in the Aramaic language. As nations, Jews and Greeks were naturally distinct from one another, but with respect to language, within the same nation, sometimes the Hebrew and sometimes the Hellenistic language was in use.

Greeks (Hellenes)

— a word occurring only once in the Old Testament, namely in the prophet Joel (3:6), and in the New Testament in the book of Acts (11:20), in the Epistle to the Colossians (3:11), and elsewhere. By this name Holy Scripture denotes: 1) the Greeks proper, so called to distinguish them from other peoples, whom they called barbarians; 2) pagans in general, both Greeks and other peoples, since many of them at that time spoke the Greek language; 3) those Jews who lived among pagans (the Hellenists); 4) those pagans who had converted to the Jewish faith; and finally, 5) Christians from among the pagans who had come to believe in Christ.

Greetings, Bowing, and Kissing

(Matt. 10:12; Luke 1:41). Hebrew greetings usually had a religious character, at least in form, and were accompanied by many ceremonies. Sometimes they consisted only of the simple exclamation “The LORD be with you” (Ruth 2:4) or “Peace be unto thee” (1 Sam. 25:5–6), a common form to which the Savior Himself gave striking significance (John 14:27).

Grove

(Gen. 21:33 and elsewhere). Pagans worshiped their gods on mountains and hills and in groves. Sacred groves were used from deep antiquity; Genesis says that Abraham planted a grove at Beersheba and called there upon the name of the everlasting God (Gen. 21:33). The source suggests that shade and seclusion inspired religious awe or concealed immoral pagan rites, and that burial beneath trees encouraged associations between groves and the spirits of the dead (Gen. 35:8; 1 Sam. 31:13).

Guni

(adorned with flowers) — the name of two persons: a) second son of Naphtali (Gen. 46:24; 1 Chron. 7:13), progenitor of the Gunites (Num. 26:48); b) (1 Chron. 5:15) father of Abdiel, father of Ahi, of the descendants of Gad.

Gur

(shelter, dwelling place) (2 Kings 9:27) — the place where Ahaziah was struck down in his chariot, by order of Jehu. It was located near Ibleam, close to Megiddo, on the road from Jezreel to En-gannim, not far from the field of Naboth, who had his vineyard at Jezreel.

Gur-baal

(dwelling of Baal) (2 Chron. 26:7) — a city, or country, inhabited by Arabians. From the context it is evident that it lay between Palestine and the Arabian peninsula.

Gymnasium

, or a school for the bodily exercise of youths (1 Macc. 1:14; 2 Macc. 4:9–12). Among the ancient Greeks, a gymnasium was the name for a school, or institute, for physical wrestling and other bodily exercises. In these extensive educational establishments took place various contests in wrestling, running, horsemanship, and the like. The victor in these contests received a palm branch, was crowned with a wreath, and so on (1 Cor. 9:24, 25). The high priest Jason, who bought the high priesthood for himself from Antiochus Epiphanes for several hundred talents of silver, sought and obtained his permission to build in Jerusalem itself a Greek gymnasium, or palaestra, with all its pagan rites (2 Macc. 4:7–11).

It was built within the city, right beneath the citadel; here young men of the best Jewish families wrestled unclothed before spectators. The passion for such spectacles infected even the priests, who preferred to spend their time at the palaestra rather than at the altar. Thus, little by little, there developed among the Hebrews an assimilation to a foreign spirit and a departure from the laws of their fathers (1 Macc. 1 and 2; 2 Macc. 4:16, 17).

Gyrfalcon

(Deut 14:13) - a bird of prey, described by the source as a kind of kite and named for its swift flight. The Mosaic ceremonial law counted it unclean. Such birds gather in numbers over battlefields and feed on carcasses, thereby helping to clear the air of harmful decay that might spread disease. Their exceptionally keen sight enables them to see prey at immense distances. Job says of the eagle, a bird of the same broad family, 'Her eyes behold afar off' (Job 39:29), and elsewhere, 'There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen' (Job 28:7).