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Gath (city)

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'''Gath''' (גת Hebrew language 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. '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. 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). This site is also mentioned in the Amarna letters as "''Gimti''", ruled by a king Shuwardata. 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 mentioning names very similar to the name ''Goliath'' was discovered at the site.

External links

- http://www.bridgesforpeace.com/publications/dispatch/archaeology/Article-8.html
- dig-gath.org
- Tell es-Safi/Gath Excavations blog {{HeBible-stub}} Category:Tanakh places Category:Sea Peoples es:Gath he:גת (עיר פלשתית) pl:Gat