• Gershonites
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • GERSHONITES

      (Gerʹshon·ites).

      The descendants of Gershon, or Gershom, the first named of the three sons of Levi, through his two sons Libni and Shimei. (1 Chron. 6:1, 16, 17) The Gershonites constituted one of the three great divisions of the Levites. At the first census in the wilderness they numbered 7,500 males from a month old and upward. Those from thirty to fifty years of age who served at the tabernacle numbered 2,630 males. (Num. 3:21, 22; 4:38-41) The service of the Gershonites in the wilderness included caring for the tent cloths of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting, the screen of the entrance of the tent of meeting, the hangings of the courtyard and the screen of the courtyard entrance. (Num. 3:23-26; 4:21-28) In the camp in the wilderness their place was on the W side of the tabernacle. Behind them, at a distance from the tabernacle, camped the three-tribe division of Ephraim. (Num. 3:23; 2:18) When the chieftains of Israel presented six covered wagons and twelve bulls for tabernacle service, Moses gave two wagons and four bulls to the sons of Gershon. (Num. 7:1-7) When moving camp the Gershonites marched with the Merarites between the leading three-tribe divisions of Judah and the three-tribe division of Reuben.—Num. 10:14-20.

      The Gershonites were allotted thirteen cities with pasture grounds in the territories of Manasseh, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali. Kedesh, in Galilee, and Golan, in Bashan, allotted to them, were two of the nation’s six cities of refuge. (Josh. 21:27-33) When David reorganized the Levites, special singing, treasury and other duties were given to some of the Gershonites. (1 Chron. 6:31, 32, 39-43; 23:4-11; 26:21, 22) Gershonites were among the Levites who engaged in the work of cleansing the temple in the days of King Hezekiah.—2 Chron. 29:12-17.

  • Geshem
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    • GESHEM

      (Geʹshem) [rain].

      An Arabian, who, along with Sanballat and Tobiah, opposed Nehemiah in the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall. These enemies first derided Nehemiah and his co-workers. (Neh. 2:19) Then they conspired and plotted against Nehemiah, to no avail. (Neh. 6:1-4) Finally these opposers sent a letter to Nehemiah quoting Geshem’s accusation that Nehemiah and the Jews were scheming to rebel and that he was becoming a king to them. In this, too, these enemies failed. (Neh. 6:5-7) Their quoting of Geshem in the letter seems to indicate that he was a man of influence. It may be noted that relations between the Persian court and the Arab tribes were reportedly good following Persia’s invasion of Egypt.

      A dialect form of Geshem, the name Jasm, is mentioned in an inscription found in ancient Dedan, in the northern part of Arabia. The name Geshem appears in an Aramaic inscription on a silver bowl found in Egypt. The text reads: “What Qaynu son of Geshem, king of Kedar, brought (as offering) to (the goddess) Han-ʼIlat.”

  • Geshur
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • GESHUR

      (Geshʹur) [bridge].

      1. An Aramaean kingdom bordering on the Argob region of Bashan E of the Jordan River. Its northerly neighbor was Maacath. Although Israel’s early conquests extended as far as Geshur, the region itself was not taken. (Deut. 3:14; Josh. 12:1, 4, 5; 13:13) It was to Geshur, the realm of his maternal grandfather Talmai, that Absalom fled after murdering his half-brother Amnon. There he continued in banishment for three years, until brought back to Jerusalem by Joab. (2 Sam. 3:2, 3; 13:28-38; 14:23; 15:8) At a later period Geshur and Syria annexed many Israelite cities E of the Jordan.—1 Chron. 2:23.

      2. Domain of the Geshurites in southern Palestine, near Philistine territory. (Josh. 13:2; 1 Sam. 27:7-11) With reference to this area the form “Geshur” is not specifically employed.

  • Gethsemane
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • GETHSEMANE

      (Geth·semʹa·ne) [an oil press].

      Probably a garden of olive trees that was equipped with a press for squeezing oil from olives. Gethsemane was located E of Jerusalem, across the Kidron valley (John 18:1), on or near the Mount of Olives. (Luke 22:39) Here Jesus Christ often met with his disciples. (John 18:2) On Passover night of 33 C.E., he, with his faithful disciples, retired to this garden to pray. Found and betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus was there seized by an armed mob.—Matt. 26:36-56; Mark 14:32-52; Luke 22:39-53; John 18:1-12.

      The exact location of the garden of Gethsemane cannot be determined, because (according to the testimony of Josephus) all the trees around Jerusalem were cut down during the Roman siege in 70 C.E. (Wars of the Jews, Book V, chap. XII, par. 4) One tradition identifies Gethsemane with the garden that was enclosed by the Franciscans in 1848. It measures about 150 by 140 feet (46 by 43 meters) and is located at the fork of the road on the W slope and at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Eight olive trees in this garden have been there for centuries.

      [Picture on page 649]

      Traditional location of the garden of Gethsemane, with the Golden Gate and a portion of the Dome of the Rock visible across the Kidron Valley

  • Gezer
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • GEZER

      (Geʹzer) [portion].

      A royal city on the inland side of the Palestinian coastal plain. Gezer is first mentioned when its king unsuccessfully tried to save Lachish from the Israelite army under Joshua. (Josh. 10:33; 12:7, 8, 12) Gezer was assigned as a boundary site to the Ephraimites (Josh. 16:3; 1 Chron. 7:28) but they did not entirely dispossess the Canaanite inhabitants. (Josh. 16:10; Judg. 1:29) Gezer was also appointed to the Kohathites as a Levitical city.—Josh. 21:20, 21; 1 Chron. 6:66, 67.

      The city was associated with the Philistines in David’s time, as when he broke their power “from Geba to as far as Gezer.” (2 Sam. 5:25; 1 Chron. 14:16) Also, Sibbecai the Hushathite distinguished himself during the defeat of the Philistines at Gezer by striking down Sippai, a descendant of the Rephaim. (1 Chron. 20:4) Egypt’s Pharaoh later came against Gezer for some unstated reason. After burning the city and killing its Canaanite population, he gave it as a dowry to Solomon’s wife. Solomon rebuilt and possibly fortified the city.—1 Ki. 9:15-17.

      Gezer also finds frequent mention in secular records. On the walls of the temple at Karnak, Thutmose III recorded the capture of Gezer. The city later played a prominent role in the Tell el-Amarna letters, being mentioned by name at least nine times. Pharaoh Mer-ne-Ptah boasted on his stele that he ‘seized Gezer.’

      Geographers consider ancient Gezer to be modern Tell el-Jazar, located about midway on the route between Jerusalem and Jaffa (Joppa). It thus lay near another great highway that has for millennia connected Egypt with Mesopotamia for trade and military purposes. Tell el-Jazar’s elevated position on a ridge of the Shephelah allowed it to command use of both these roads.

      Archaeological digging first began at this tell early in the twentieth century. Since then it has become one of the most thoroughly excavated and explored sites in Palestine. Among the finds there are the “Solomonic gate and casemate wall” (stratum six), built upon a layer of destruction debris that some conjecture to be the result of Pharaoh’s burning of Gezer. Its architecture is considered so similar to that found in structures at Hazor and Megiddo as to indicate that all three were built from the same plans. Earlier strata show Philistine pottery in abundance.Perhaps the most famous find to come out of Tell el-Jazar, however, is the Gezer “calendar,” a plaque containing what appear to be a schoolboy’s memory exercises. It has proved to be of value by informing modern researchers of ancient Israel’s agricultural seasons and in providing a glimpse into the Hebrew script and language of Solomon’s day.

  • Giah
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • GIAH

      (Giʹah) [burst forth (from a spring?)].

      A site near “the hill of Ammah” mentioned in describing the pursuit of Abner by Joab and Abishai. (2 Sam. 2:24) The context suggests to some that Giah was NE of Gibeon in Benjamin’s territory. Certain scholars have proposed sites based on textual emendation, but Giah’s exact location remains unknown.—See AMMAH.

  • Giant
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    • GIANT

      The Bible gives accounts of men of extraordinary size. There was Og, king of Bashan, one of the Rephaim, whose bier was nine cubits (c. 13 feet; 4 meters) in length and four cubits (5 feet 10 inches;