the case of Jesus, who was judged by Pilate.—Matt. 27:11-14; John 19:10.

Governors of the nations in general were referred to by Jesus when he told his followers that they would be brought before such men to give a witness. Christians should not fear such rulers, though powerful, nor be worried about what to say when giving testimony before them. (Matt. 10:18-20, 26) All such governors are part of the superior authorities to which Christians owe relative, not total, subjection. (Rom. 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13, 14; Acts 4:19, 20; 5:29; Matt. 22:21) Paul addressed Governor Festus, before whom he was on trial, with the respect due his office, saying: “Your Excellency Festus.” (Acts 26:25) Differently from the apostles, who rendered respect and honor first to Jehovah, who governs all, the nation of Israel sank to the point where they accorded earthly governors more respect than they gave Jehovah. This circumstance was used by Jehovah in strong reproof to the nation through his prophet Malachi.—Mal. 1:6-8.

Matthew, quoting from Micah 5:2, shows that Bethlehem, though very insignificant as far as governing power in Judah was concerned, would become significant by reason of the fact that the greatest of governors would come from this city to shepherd Jehovah’s people Israel. This prophecy finds its fulfillment in Christ Jesus the Great Governor under his Father Jehovah God.—Matt. 2:6; see SUPERIOR AUTHORITIES; TIRSHATHA.

GOVERNOR’S PALACE

The official residence of the Roman governors. In the governor’s palace at Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate questioned Christ Jesus and, in its courtyard, Roman soldiers mocked him. (Mark 15:16; John 18:28, 33; 19:9) Some have identified the governor’s palace with the Castle of Antonia, but others suggest that it was probably the palace built by Herod the Great. The following reasons have been presented in support of the latter view: (1) According to the first-century Jewish philosopher Philo, Herod’s palace was called the “house of the procurators [or, governors],” and it was there that Governor Pilate hung shields in honor of Tiberius Caesar. (2) The Jewish historian Josephus reports that the procurator Gessius Florus took up his quarters there. (Wars of the Jews, Book II, chap. XIV, par. 8) (3) Herod’s palace in Caesarea served as the governor’s palace in that city.—Acts 23:33-35.

The palace of Herod at Jerusalem was situated in the NW corner of the upper city. According to Josephus’ description, it was surrounded by a 30-cubit (44-foot; 13-meter)-high wall equipped with towers at equidistant intervals. Within the walls there were porticoes, courts and groves of trees. The rooms were luxuriously furnished with gold and silver vessels and marble seats. One hundred guests could be accommodated in each of the bedrooms.—Antiquities of the Jews, Book XV, chap. IX, par. 3; Wars of the Jews, Book V, chap. IV, par. 4.

GOZAN

(Goʹzan).

A name seemingly applied both to a place and to a river. At 2 Kings 19:12 and Isaiah 37:12, Gozan appears to embrace an area larger than a city, for its inhabitants are listed among the “nations” conquered by the Assyrians. Many scholars, evidently basing their conclusions on word similarities, believe that Gozan may correspond to Gausanitis, a district of Mesopotamia referred to by Ptolemy and considered to be the same as the “Guzana” mentioned in Assyrian records. Ancient Guzana is commonly linked with modern Tell Halaf on the upper Khabur River, about 365 miles (587 kilometers) E-NE of the Sea of Galilee.

At 2 Kings 17:6 and 18:11 some translations read “Habor, the river of Gozan” (AS, RS) instead of “Habor at [or, by] the river Gozan” (NW, Yg), thus also making Gozan a place in these texts. But the rendering “Habor, the river of Gozan” does not harmonize with 1 Chronicles 5:26. In this passage Habor is listed between Halah and Hara; and Hara, not Habor, is listed before Gozan. This indicates that Habor and the “river of Gozan” (AS) are not synonymous. Hence, those who identify Gozan as a place throughout are obliged to reject the Chronicles reference. However, since the Hebrew allows for a consistent rendering of “river Gozan” in all three texts there is reason to believe that it was in the vicinity of a river called Gozan that the king of Assyria settled some of the exiled Israelites of the northern kingdom. The Qizil Uzun of NW Iran has been suggested as a possible identification of the “river Gozan.” It rises in the mountains SE of Lake Urmia (in what used to be the land of the Medes) and finally empties as the Sefid Rud or White River (the name applied to its lower course) into the SW section of the Caspian Sea. According to another view, the Gozan is a river of Mesopotamia.

GRAFTING

The process of joining the scion (shoot, twig) of a tree known to produce good fruit with the stock of another tree bearing inferior fruit so as to bring about a permanent union. Often grafting is done with a view to combining the advantageous characteristics of both scion (its good fruit) and stock (its vigor and strength). After grafted-in branches are established, though deriving nourishment from a different stock, they will produce the same kind of fruit as the tree from which they were taken.

The apostle Paul, writing to Christians in Rome, compared non-Jewish Christians to the branches of a wild olive that were grafted into the garden olive to replace natural branches that had been broken off. These natural branches corresponded to the Jews who, because of their lack of faith, lost out on their opportunity to be among those in line for Messiah’s heavenly kingdom. As this procedure of grafting wild olive branches into the garden olive was one “contrary to nature,” this was no reason for non-Jewish Christians to have lofty ideas, for only by faith could they maintain their position. Also, the grafting of branches from the wild olive into the garden olive illustrates the permanent union that has been effected between Jews and Gentiles as fellow members of the “Israel of God.”—Rom. 11:17-24; Gal. 3:28; 6:16; compare John 15:1-6; see OLIVE.

GRAIN OFFERING

See OFFERINGS.

GRANARY

See STOREHOUSE.

GRANDPARENTS

This term, as well as “grandfather” and “grandmother,” is rarely found in Bible translations. “Grandmother” at 1 Kings 15:10, 13 is translated from the same word as “mother” and is appropriately so rendered because Maacah was Asa’s grandmother, not his mother. (1 Ki. 15:1, 2, 8) It appears that Maacah continued as the queen mother during Asa’s reign until she was removed for her idolatry. (1 Ki. 15:13) Correspondingly, “father” on occasion indicated a grandfather or forefather. (Gen. 28:13) Grandparents are also identified by such expressions as “the father of your mother” and “mother’s father.”—Gen. 28:2; Judg. 9:1.

“Children or grandchildren,” the apostle says, should “keep paying a due compensation to their parents and grandparents [Gr., pro·goʹnois].” (1 Tim. 5:4) Another form of the same word (pro·goʹnon) is rendered “forefathers” at 2 Timothy 1:3. Timothy’s grandmother (Gr., mamʹme) Lois is commended for having ‘faith without hypocrisy,’ and she apparently assisted in the development of Timothy’s faith and spiritual growth.—2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14, 15.

GRAPE

See VINE; WINE AND STRONG DRINK.

GRASS

Any of the plants belonging to the family Gramineae, the grasses, including the cereal grains, the plants of meadow and pasture, sugarcane and bamboo. However, even today, in common usage, this scientific classification is not strictly adhered to, and it is therefore unlikely that the ancient Hebrews differentiated between the true grasses and grasslike herbs.

Brought into existence during the third creative day (Gen. 1:11-13), the grasses have served as a direct as well as an indirect source of food for man and the animals. Also, along with other plants, they have played a significant role in purifying the air by taking in carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen. The extensive root system of grasses serves as a deterrent to soil érosion. Appropriately, grass is referred to as one of Jehovah’s provisions, as are also the sunlight and the rain that are so vital for grass to flourish.—Ps. 104:14; 147:8; Zech. 10:1; 2 Sam. 23:3, 4; Job 38:25-27; Matt. 5:45.

The Israelites were very familiar with the withering of grass under the sun’s intense heat during the dry season. So the transitoriness of man’s life is fittingly likened to that of grass and is contrasted with the everlastingness of Jehovah and that of his “word” or “saying.” (Ps. 90:4-6; 103:15-17; Isa. 40:6-8; 51:12; 1 Pet. 1:24, 25) Evildoers also are compared to grass that quickly withers. (Ps. 37:1, 2) The haters of Zion as well as people about to be subjugated by military conquest are likened to shallow-rooted grass growing on earthen roofs, grass that withers even before being pulled up or that is scorched in the wake of the E wind.—Ps. 129:5, 6; 2 Ki. 19:25, 26; Isa. 37:26, 27.

A restoration prophecy foretold that the bones of God’s servants would ‘sprout like tender grass,’ that is, be invigorated with fresh strength.—Isa. 66:14; compare Isaiah 58:9-11.

GRASSHOPPER

This translates the word hha·gavʹ, but there is uncertainty as to the insect or insects designated by this Hebrew term. It is considered to be derived from a root meaning “to hide, to cover over.” Hence, hha·gavʹ may denote a variety of flying locust whose vast swarms virtually hide the sun and cover the ground. Or, since the fully developed, winged stage of locust (Heb., ʼar·behʹ) is mentioned along with the hha·gavʹ at Leviticus 11:22 (as being clean for food), hha·gavʹ may refer to a leaper rather than a flier.

The English designation “grasshopper” is applied to any of numerous leaping insects of the families Acridiidae (including the migratory locusts and the grasshoppers having short feelers) and Locustidae (including the grasshoppers with long feelers).

Aside from its being listed as an insect clean for food and the allusion to its destructiveness to vegetation (2 Chron. 7:13), the grasshopper appears in an illustrative setting in Scripture. The unfaithful Israelite spies reported that in size they were as grasshoppers in comparison with the inhabitants of Canaan. (Num. 13:33) Men are as grasshoppers from Jehovah’s standpoint and in view of his greatness. (Isa. 40:22) In portraying the difficulties of old age, the congregator employed the figure of a grasshopper dragging itself along, perhaps thereby depicting the aged person as bent and stiff in figure, arms thrust somewhat backward.—Eccl. 12:5; see LOCUST.

GRAVE

The English word “grave” is generally understood as applying to an excavation in the earth for use as a place of burial, though it may also apply to any place of interment. Since a common method of burial among the Hebrews and other Oriental peoples was by use of a natural cave or a rock-cut tomb or vault, the word “grave” may easily convey an inaccurate idea to the mind of the Occidental reader of the Bible accounts. The broader, more general term “burial place” may, therefore, be a preferable translation for the Hebrew word qeʹver, the common word used to designate a place of interment, a grave or graveyard. (Gen. 23:7-9; Isa. 22:16) The related word q^evu·rahʹ similarly may refer to an earthen grave or to a tomb excavated in rock.—Gen. 35:20; Deut. 34:6.

In Greek the common word for grave is taʹphos (Matt. 28:1), related to the verb (thaʹpto), meaning “to bury.” (Matt. 8:21, 22) The words mneʹma (Luke 23:53) and mne·meiʹon (Luke 23:55) refer to a tomb or memorial tomb.

Since these Hebrew and Greek words refer to an individual burial place or grave site, they are often used in the plural as referring to many such graves. They are, therefore, distinct from the Hebrew sh^eʼohlʹ and its Greek equivalent haiʹdes, which refer to the common grave of all mankind or gravedom and hence are always used in the singular. For this reason many modern translations have not followed the practice of the Authorized Version, in which sh^eʼohlʹ and haiʹdes are alternately rendered by the words “hell,” “grave” and “pit,” but have instead simply transliterated them into English.—See HADES; SHEOL.

Nevertheless, since one’s entry into Sheol is represented as taking place through burial in an individual grave or at a burial site, words pertaining to such places of interment are used as parallel though not equivalent terms with Sheol. (Job 17:1, 13-16; 21:13, 32, 33; Ps. 88:3-12) The grave may also be represented by such figurative expressions as man’s “long-lasting house,” and, perhaps, “the land down below” (in contrast with “the land of those alive”), although these expressions may well refer to Sheol, which, standing for gravedom, is a term of greater magnitude and extent.—Compare Ecclesiastes 12:5-7 with Job 17:13; and Ezekiel 32:24, 25 with Ezekiel 32:21.

At Romans 3:13 the apostle Paul quotes Psalm 5:9, likening the throat of wicked and deceitful men to “an opened grave.” As an opened grave is to be filled with the dead and with corruption, their throat opens for speech that is deadly and corrupt.—Compare Matthew 15:18-20.

Although the grave is likened to a pit from which man rightly desires to be delivered, Job draws attention to the despair of those suffering persons who, lacking a clear hope or understanding of their Creator’s purposes, seek death and “exult because they find a burial place.” (Job 3:21, 22) Such attitude contrasts sharply with that of men who devoted their lives to their Creator’s service and confidently embraced the promise of a resurrection.—Ps. 16:9-11; Acts 24:15; Phil. 1:21-26; 2 Tim. 4:6-8; Heb. 11:17-19; see BURIAL, BURIAL PLACES.

GRAVEL

Small stones or pebbles. In the Scriptures, “gravel” is used in an illustrative sense. The injurious aftereffects of gaining bread by falsehood are compared to having one’s mouth filled with gravel. (Prov. 20:17) Also, the severe treatment Jehovah meted out to unfaithful Jerusalem by means of the Babylonians is likened to ‘breaking teeth with gravel.’ (Lam. 3:16) According to traditional Jewish thought, this was actually experienced by those taken into Babylonian exile. The tradition claims that they were forced to bake bread in pits dug in the ground and that, as a result, the bread contained grit.

GRAY-HEADEDNESS

Caused by the reduction of pigment granules in the hair due to changes in body chemistry. There are infrequent cases of premature graying, but usually it accompanies older age. It is in this latter association that the Hebrew verb siv (grow, be gray, old), and more frequently the Hebrew noun seh·vahʹ (gray-headedness, age), occur in the Bible. (Ruth 4:15; 1 Sam. 12:2; 1 Ki. 2:6, 9; Job 15:10; Ps. 71:18) Abraham, Gideon and David lived to “a good old age [seh·vahʹ].”—Gen. 15:15; 25:8; Judg. 8:32; 1 Chron. 29:28.

The Bible recognizes both the beauty of youth and the splendor of old age. “The beauty of young men is their power, and the splendor of old men is their gray-headedness.” (Prov. 20:29) Especially is the latter true if such ones are found worshiping and serving Jehovah. “Gray-headedness is a crown of beauty when it is found in the way of righteousness.”