Atlas Biblica

    place · also Gittite · Metheg-ammah

    Gath

    גַּת

    Gath, one of the five major Philistine cities, was the hometown of Goliath and a place of refuge for David during his flight from Saul.

    Where the story of Gath happensGath, and 1 place the claims reach, framed to them: Gath, Philistia. Each dot is a coordinate from the gazetteer. The coastline is a modern one, simplified; no border, road or settlement of any period is drawn, and no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.GathPhilistia
    Gath, and 1 place the claims reach
    verses
    41
    first named
    Joshua 11:22
    last named
    Micah 1:10
    feature
    settlement
    coordinates
    31.70°N · 34.85°E
    settlement31.70°N · 34.85°E

    Tell es Safi (OpenBible)

    Scholarship offers 8 identifications for this place. The leading one is shown; the others are recorded in the gazetteer.

    Description

    Gath in the text

    In the words of STEPBible TIPNR:

    Gath was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines, along with Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron (Joshua 13:3). It was located in the coastal plain of Philistia, near the border with Judah. The city is mentioned numerous times throughout the Old Testament, often in the context of conflicts between the Israelites and the Philistines.

    During the conquest of Canaan, Gath was one of the last strongholds of the Anakim, a race of giants (Joshua 11:22). The city gained prominence as the hometown of Goliath, the giant warrior who was defeated by David in single combat (1Sa.17.4, 23).

    Gath played a significant role in the life of David. When fleeing from King Saul, David sought refuge in Gath, where he pretended to be insane to avoid arousing suspicion (1Sa.21.10-15). Later, David returned to Gath and served under King Achish, who gave him the town of Ziklag (1Sa.27.2-6).

    The city was captured by David during his reign as king (1Ch.18.1), and it was also attacked by later Israelite kings, such as Uzziah (2Ch.26.6) and Hezekiah (2Ki.18.8). The term "Gittite" is used to refer to people from Gath, such as Obed-Edom, in whose house the Ark of the Covenant was temporarily kept (2Sa.6.10-11).

    Gath is also mentioned in prophetic texts, such as Amo.6.2 and Micah 1:10, which speak of the city's destruction and the fate of its inhabitants. The exact location of Gath is uncertain, but it is believed to be Tell es-Safi, an archaeological site in modern-day Israel.

    Relations

    Direct connections

    Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.

    Associated with

    Site of

    Stands in the same events as

    and 7 more, ordered by how many events they share.

    Read it

    Where to read it

    Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 41, across 10 books. The name is written 45 times in them.

    1. Joshua2 verses

      11:2213:3

    2. 1 Samuel12 verses

      5:86:177:1417:417:2317:5221:1021:1227:227:327:427:11

    3. 2 Samuel11 verses

      1:206:106:118:115:1815:1915:2218:221:1921:2021:22

    4. 1 Kings3 verses

      2:392:402:41

    5. 2 Kings1 verse

      12:17

    6. 1 Chronicles7 verses

      7:218:1313:1318:120:520:620:8

    7. 2 Chronicles2 verses

      11:826:6

    8. Psalms1 verse

      56:1

    9. Amos1 verse

      6:2

    10. Micah1 verse

      1:10

    Onward

    Where this page goes

    Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.

    via IttaiDavid and Troops’ sending out of TroopsDavid and Troops’ sending out of Troops is an event attested across 2 verses, connecting 4 pageable entities.via David’s escapeDavidAnointed king of Israel, ancestor of Jesus Christvia David’s escapeEscapeEscape is a concept gathering 29 labelled instances in the text.via David’s escapePhilistiaAn ancient people and region in Canaanvia Shimei’s setting outAchishPhilistine king of Gath, gave refuge to Davidvia Shimei’s setting outSetting OutSetting Out is a concept gathering 32 labelled instances in the text.via Shimei’s setting outShimeiBenjamite who cursed David during Absalom's rebellion.via Shimei’s setting outShimeis SlavesShimeis Slaves is a group attested across 2 verses, connecting 2 pageable entities.via Obed-edomAmmielLevite gatekeeper during David's reign

    Where they appear

    What happened here

    Atlas's reading of each chapter this place appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.

    Sources

    What this rests on