Atlas Biblica

    place · also Ayyah · Gazite

    Gaza

    עַזָּהΓάζα

    Gaza, one of the five major Philistine cities, was the site of Samson's exploits and a place visited by Philip the evangelist in the early church.

    Where the story of Gaza happensGaza, and 5 places the claims reach, framed to them: Gaza, Egypt, Hazerim, Kadesh, Negeb, Shephelah. 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.GazaEgyptHazerimKadeshNegebShephelah
    Gaza, and 5 places the claims reach
    verses
    23
    first named
    Genesis 10:19
    last named
    Acts 8:26
    feature
    settlement
    coordinates
    31.50°N · 34.46°E
    settlement31.50°N · 34.46°E

    Tell Harube (OpenBible)

    Scholarship offers 3 identifications for this place. The leading one is shown; the others are recorded in the gazetteer.

    Description

    Gaza in the text

    In the words of STEPBible TIPNR:

    Gaza, also known as Ayyah, was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines, along with Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron (Joshua 13:3). Located in the southwestern coastal plain of Canaan, Gaza was situated near the border with Egypt and served as an important trade center.

    The city is first mentioned in Genesis 10:19 as part of the description of the Canaanite territories. During the conquest of Canaan, Joshua defeated the king of Gaza (Joshua 10:41), but the city remained under Philistine control (Joshua 11:22).

    Gaza is perhaps best known for its association with Samson, the Israelite judge with extraordinary strength. Samson visited Gaza and fell in love with a Philistine woman named Delilah (Judges 16:1). Later, after being betrayed by Delilah and captured by the Philistines, Samson was imprisoned in Gaza and ultimately brought down the temple of Dagon, killing himself and many Philistines (Judges 16:21-30).

    Throughout the Old Testament, Gaza is mentioned in the context of conflicts between the Israelites and the Philistines (Judges 6:4; 1Sa.6.17) and as a target of prophetic judgment (Jeremiah 47:5; Amo.1.6-7; Zephaniah 2:4; Zechariah 9:5).

    In the New Testament, Gaza is mentioned in Act.8.26, where an angel directs Philip the evangelist to travel on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. Along this road, Philip encounters an Ethiopian eunuch and shares the gospel with him, leading to the eunuch's conversion and baptism.

    The name Gaza is believed to be derived from the Hebrew root meaning "to be strong" or "to be fierce," possibly reflecting the city's reputation as a well-fortified and powerful center. The name Ayyah, mentioned in 1Ch.7.28, is thought to be an alternate name for Gaza or a nearby town.

    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.

    Took part in

    Stands in the same events as

    and 31 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 — 23, across 13 books. The name is written 24 times in them.

    1. Genesis1 verse

      10:19

    2. Deuteronomy1 verse

      2:23

    3. Joshua4 verses

      10:4111:2213:315:47

    4. Judges5 verses

      1:186:416:116:216:21

    5. 1 Samuel1 verse

      6:17

    6. 1 Kings1 verse

      4:24

    7. 2 Kings1 verse

      18:8

    8. 1 Chronicles1 verse

      7:28

    9. Jeremiah3 verses

      25:2047:147:5

    10. Amos2 verses

      1:61:7

    11. Zephaniah1 verse

      2:4

    12. Zechariah1 verse

      9:5

    13. Acts1 verse

      8:26

    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 Joshua’s conquest of Kings Of The RegionConquestConquest is a concept gathering 7 labelled instances in the text.via Solomon’s reignEuphratesMajor river in ancient Near East; boundary of Promised Landvia Joshua’s conquest of Kings Of The RegionGibeonHivite city that tricked Joshua into a peace treaty.via Joshua’s conquest of Kings Of The RegionGoshenA town and region in the hill country of Judah.via Joshua’s conquest of Kings Of The RegionJoshuaMoses' assistant who led Israel into Canaanvia Solomon’s reignKingdomKingdom is a concept gathering 135 labelled instances in the text.via Joshua’s conquest of Kings Of The RegionNegebThe southern region of Israel, a semi-arid areavia Solomon’s reignPhilistiaAn ancient people and region in Canaanvia Solomon’s reignReignReign is a concept gathering 158 labelled instances in the text.

    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