Gath (גת Hebrew: "winepress"), a common place name in ancient Israel and the surrounding regions. Various cities are mentioned in the Bible with such names as Gath of the Philistines, Gath-Gittaim, and Gath Carmel, and other sites with similar names appear in various ancient sources, including the Amarna letters. Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. ... The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hÄ“ biblos) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Word of God, The Word Scripture, Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the name used by Jews and Christians for their (differing but overlapping) canons of sacred texts. ... The historic Philistines (see note Philistines below) were a people that inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. ... One of the Amarna letters The designation Amarna letters denotes an archive of correspondence, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru. ...

'Gath of the Philistines' was one of the five Philistine city states, established in northwestern Philistia. According to the Bible, the king of the city was Achish, in the times of both David and Solomon. It is not certain whether this refers to two kings of this name or not. Gath was also the home city of Goliath, as well as of Ittai and his 600 soldiers who aided David in his exile from Absalom. David, while running from Saul, escaped to Gath, and served under its king Achish. During Solomon's reign, Shemei goes to Gath to return his escaped slave (II Kings 2). In II Kings 12:18, the city of Gath of mentioned as being captured by Hazael of Aram Damascus. Recent excavations at the site have produced dramatic evidence of a siege and subsequent of the site in the late 9th cent. BCE, most probably related to this event. This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... David and Goliath by Caravaggio, c. ... Solomon (Hebrew, Shlomo from Shalom for peace, also Arabic as Suleiman or Sulyaman meaning peace) can mean any of the following: 1. ... David faces Goliath in single combat. ... Absalom or Avshalom (אַבְשָׁלוֹם Father/Leader of/is peace, Standard Hebrew Avšalom, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAḇšālôm), in the Bible, is the third son of David, king of Israel. ... Saul (Hebrew Shaul meaning demanded) is: 1. ... Solomon (Hebrew, Shlomo from Shalom for peace, also Arabic as Suleiman or Sulyaman meaning peace) can mean any of the following: 1. ... Hazael (Hebrew Hazael, meaning God has seen) was a court official and later an Aramean king who appeared in the Bible. ...

Although in the past various suggestions were raised on the location of Gath of the Philistines, currently, based on analysis of the references to the site, most scholars (in particular following Anson Rainey) identify the Philistine Gath at Tell es-Safi (aka Tel Zafit). Gath is also mentioned in the El-Amarna letters as "Gimti", ruled by a king Shuwardata, and possibly by Abdi-Ashirti as well. Tell es-Safi is a large multi-period site (ancient mound; Tell) that is located in central Israel, approximately half way between Jerusalem and Ashkelon, on the border between the southern Coastal Plain of Israel and the Judean foothills. ... Amarna (commonly known as el-Amarna) is the name given to an extensive archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty (c. ...

Recent excavations at the site appear to confirm this identification, due to abundant finds from the relevant Late Bronze and Iron Age periods — roughly when Gath is mentioned as existing in the various Biblical and other historical sources. Recently, an inscription dating to the Iron Age IIA (ca. 10th-9th cent. BCE), mentioning names very similar to the name Goliath was discovered at the site. David faces Goliath in single combat. ...

References

• Maeir, A.M. 2004. "The Historical Background and Dating of Amos VI 2: An Archaeological Perspective from Tell es-Safi/Gath." Vetus Testamentum 54(3):319–34.
• Rainey, A. 1975. "The Identification of Philistine Gath - a Problem in Source Analysis for Historical Geography." Eretz Israel 12:63*-76*.
• Schniedewind, W. 1998. "The Geopolitical History of Philistine Gath." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 309:69–77.

External links

• http://www.bridgesforpeace.com/publications/dispatch/archaeology/Article-8.html
• dig-gath.org
• Tell es-Safi/Gath Excavations blog