Reference: Gate
American
The gates of eastern walled towns were usually of wood, Jg 16:3, often covered with thick plates of iron or copper, Ps 107:16; Isa 45:2; Ac 12:10, secured by bolts and bars, De 3:5; 1Ki 4:13, and flanked by towers, 2Sa 18:24,33. A city was usually regarded as taken when its gates were won, De 28:52; Jg 5:8. Hence "gate" sometimes signifies power, dominion; almost in the same sense as the Turkish sultan's palace is called the Porte, or Gate. God promises Abraham that his posterity shall possess the gates of their enemies- their towns, their fortresses, Ge 22:17. So too, "the gates of hell," that is, the power of hell, or hell itself.
In oriental cities there was always an open space or place adjacent to each gate, and these were at the same time the market places, and the place of justice, Ge 23:10-18; Ru 4:1-12; De 16:18; 21:19; 25:6-7; Pr 22:22; Am 5:10,12,15. There, too, people assembled to spend their leisure hours, Ge 19:1. Hence "they that sit in the gate" is put for idlers, loungers, who are coupled with drunkards, Ps 69:12. The woes of a city were disclosed in the mourning or loneliness of these places of resort, Isa 14:31; Jer 14:2. Here too the public proclamations were made, and the messages of prophets delivered, Pr 1:21; 8:3; Isa 29:21; Jer 17:19; 26:10. Near the gate of a city, but without it, executions took place, 1Ki 21:13; Ac 7:58; Heb 13:12. To exalt the gate of a house through pride, increased one's exposure to robbery, Pr 17:19. To open it wide and high was significant of joy and welcome, as when the Savior ascended to heaven, Ps 24:7,9; and the open gates of the new Jerusalem in contrast with those of earthly cities carefully closed and guarded at nightfall, indicate the happy security of that world of light, Re 21:25.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while Lot was sitting in the city's gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the strongholds of their enemies.
(Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite replied to Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth -- before all who entered the gate of his city -- "No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell you both the field and the cave that is in it. In the presence of my people I sell it to you. Bury your dead." read more. Abraham bowed before the local people and said to Ephron in their hearing, "Hear me, if you will. I pay to you the price of the field. Take it from me so that I may bury my dead there." Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, "Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver, but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead." So Abraham agreed to Ephron's price and weighed out for him the price that Ephron had quoted in the hearing of the sons of Heth -- 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. So Abraham secured Ephron's field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron's city.
All of these cities were fortified by high walls, gates, and locking bars; in addition there were a great many open villages.
You must appoint judges and civil servants for each tribe in all your villages that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly.
his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city.
Then the first son she bears will continue the name of the dead brother, thus preventing his name from being blotted out of Israel. But if the man does not want to marry his brother's widow, then she must go to the elders at the town gate and say, "My husband's brother refuses to preserve his brother's name in Israel; he is unwilling to perform the duty of a brother-in-law to me!"
They will besiege all of your villages until all of your high and fortified walls collapse -- those in which you put your confidence throughout the land. They will besiege all your villages throughout the land the Lord your God has given you.
God chose new leaders, then fighters appeared in the city gates; but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, among forty military units in Israel.
Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left. He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron.
Now Boaz went up to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! Boaz said, "Come here and sit down, 'John Doe'!" So he came and sat down. Boaz chose ten of the village leaders and said, "Sit down here!" So they sat down. read more. Then Boaz said to the guardian, "Naomi, who has returned from the region of Moab, is selling the portion of land that belongs to our relative Elimelech. So I am legally informing you: Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people! If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so. But if not, then tell me so I will know. For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you." He replied, "I will redeem it." Then Boaz said, "When you acquire the field from Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the wife of our deceased relative, in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property." The guardian said, "Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it." (Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel: A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party. This was a legally binding act in Israel.) So the guardian said to Boaz, "You may acquire it," and he removed his sandal. Then Boaz said to the leaders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have acquired from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property so the name of the deceased might not disappear from among his relatives and from his village. You are witnesses today." All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May you prosper in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. May your family become like the family of Perez -- whom Tamar bore to Judah -- through the descendants the Lord gives you by this young woman."
Now David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate at the wall. When he looked, he saw a man running by himself.
The king then became very upset. He went up to the upper room over the gate and wept. As he went he said, "My son, Absalom! My son, my son, Absalom! If only I could have died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!"
The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king." So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death.
Look up, you gates! Rise up, you eternal doors! Then the majestic king will enter!
Look up, you gates! Rise up, you eternal doors! Then the majestic king will enter!
Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me; drunkards mock me in their songs.
at the head of the noisy streets she calls, in the entrances of the gates in the city she utters her words:
beside the gates opening into the city, at the entrance of the doorways she cries out:
The one who loves a quarrel loves transgression; whoever builds his gate high seeks destruction.
Do not exploit a poor person because he is poor and do not crush the needy in court,
Wail, O city gate! Cry out, O city! Melt with fear, all you Philistines! For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke, and there are no stragglers in its ranks.
those who bear false testimony against a person, who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges.
"I will go before you and level mountains. Bronze doors I will shatter and iron bars I will hack through.
"The people of Judah are in mourning. The people in her cities are pining away. They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow. Cries of distress come up to me from Jerusalem.
The Lord told me, "Go and stand in the People's Gate through which the kings of Judah enter and leave the city. Then go and stand in all the other gates of the city of Jerusalem.
However, some of the officials of Judah heard about what was happening and they rushed up to the Lord's temple from the royal palace. They set up court at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord's temple.
The Israelites hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; they despise anyone who speaks honestly.
Certainly I am aware of your many rebellious acts and your numerous sins. You torment the innocent, you take bribes, and you deny justice to the needy at the city gate.
Hate what is wrong, love what is right! Promote justice at the city gate! Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on those who are left from Joseph.
When they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him, and the witnesses laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.
After they had passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, when at once the angel left him.
Therefore, to sanctify the people by his own blood, Jesus also suffered outside the camp.
Its gates will never be closed during the day (and there will be no night there).
Easton
(1.) Of cities, as of Jerusalem (Jer 37:13; Ne 1:3; 2:3; 3:3), of Sodom (Ge 19:1), of Gaza (Jg 16:3).
(2.) Of royal palaces (Ne 2:8).
(3.) Of the temple of Solomon (1Ki 6:34-35; 2Ki 18:16); of the holy place (1Ki 6:31-32; Eze 41:23-24); of the outer courts of the temple, the beautiful gate (Ac 3:2).
(4.) Tombs (Mt 27:60).
(5.) Prisons (Ac 12:10; 16:27).
(6.) Caverns (1Ki 19:13).
(7.) Camps (Ex 32:26-27; Heb 13:12).
The materials of which gates were made were,
(1.) Iron and brass (Ps 107:16; Isa 45:2; Ac 12:10).
(2.) Stones and pearls (Isa 54:12; Re 21:21).
(3.) Wood (Jg 16:3) probably.
At the gates of cities courts of justice were frequently held, and hence "judges of the gate" are spoken of (De 16:18; 17:8; 21:19; 25:6-7, etc.). At the gates prophets also frequently delivered their messages (Pr 1:21; 8:3; Isa 29:21; Jer 17:19-20; 26:10). Criminals were punished without the gates (1Ki 21:13; Ac 7:59). By the "gates of righteousness" we are probably to understand those of the temple (Ps 118:19). "The gates of hell" (R.V., "gates of Hades") Mt 16:18, are generally interpreted as meaning the power of Satan, but probably they may mean the power of death, denoting that the Church of Christ shall never die.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while Lot was sitting in the city's gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, "Whoever is for the Lord, come to me." All the Levites gathered around him, and he said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Each man fasten his sword on his side, and go back and forth from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and each one kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.'"
You must appoint judges and civil servants for each tribe in all your villages that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly.
If a matter is too difficult for you to judge -- bloodshed, legal claim, or assault -- matters of controversy in your villages -- you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses.
his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city.
Then the first son she bears will continue the name of the dead brother, thus preventing his name from being blotted out of Israel. But if the man does not want to marry his brother's widow, then she must go to the elders at the town gate and say, "My husband's brother refuses to preserve his brother's name in Israel; he is unwilling to perform the duty of a brother-in-law to me!"
Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left. He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron.
Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left. He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron.
He made doors of olive wood at the entrance to the inner sanctuary; the pillar on each doorpost was five-sided. On the two doors made of olive wood he carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom, and he plated them with gold. He plated the cherubs and the palm trees with hammered gold.
He also made two doors out of wood from evergreens; each door had two folding leaves. He carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom and plated them with gold, leveled out over the carvings.
When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him, "Why are you here, Elijah?"
The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king." So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death.
They said to me, "The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!"
I replied to the king, "O king, live forever! Why would I not appear dejected when the city with the graves of my ancestors lies desolate and its gates destroyed by fire?"
and a letter for Asaph the keeper of the king's nature preserve, so that he will give me timber for beams for the gates of the fortress adjacent to the temple and for the city wall and for the house to which I go." So the king granted me these requests, for the good hand of my God was on me.
The sons of Hassenaah rebuilt the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and positioned its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
Open for me the gates of the just king's temple! I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
at the head of the noisy streets she calls, in the entrances of the gates in the city she utters her words:
beside the gates opening into the city, at the entrance of the doorways she cries out:
those who bear false testimony against a person, who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges.
"I will go before you and level mountains. Bronze doors I will shatter and iron bars I will hack through.
I will make your pinnacles out of gems, your gates out of beryl, and your outer wall out of beautiful stones.
The Lord told me, "Go and stand in the People's Gate through which the kings of Judah enter and leave the city. Then go and stand in all the other gates of the city of Jerusalem. As you stand in those places announce, 'Listen, all you people who pass through these gates. Listen, all you kings of Judah, all you people of Judah and all you citizens of Jerusalem. Listen to what the Lord says.
However, some of the officials of Judah heard about what was happening and they rushed up to the Lord's temple from the royal palace. They set up court at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord's temple.
But he only got as far as the Benjamin Gate. There an officer in charge of the guards named Irijah, who was the son of Shelemiah and the grandson of Hananiah, stopped him. He seized Jeremiah and said, "You are deserting to the Babylonians!"
The outer sanctuary and the inner sanctuary each had a double door. Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away.
And a man lame from birth was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called "the Beautiful Gate" every day so he could beg for money from those going into the temple courts.
They continued to stone Stephen while he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"
After they had passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, when at once the angel left him.
After they had passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, when at once the angel left him.
When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he assumed the prisoners had escaped.
Therefore, to sanctify the people by his own blood, Jesus also suffered outside the camp.
And the twelve gates are twelve pearls -- each one of the gates is made from just one pearl! The main street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.
Fausets
The oriental resort for business, converse, bargaining, and news (Ge 19:1; 23:10; Ps 69:12), for addresses and reading the law (2Ch 32:6; Ne 8:1,3; Pr 1:21; Jer 17:19), or administering justice (Jos 20:4; Ru 4:1; De 16:18; 21:19). Pr 22:22, "neither oppress the afflicted in the gate," i.e. in the place of justice, in lawsuits. Ps 69:12, "they that sit in the gate speak against Me (Messiah), and I was the song of the drunkards," i.e., not only among drunken revelers, but in the grave deliberations of the judges in the place of justice I was an object of obloquy. Am 5:12, "they turn aside the poor in the gate," i.e. they refuse them their right in the place of justice; (Am 5:10) "they hate him that rebuketh in the gate," namely, the judge who condemns them (Zec 8:16).
Isa 29:21, "they lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate," i.e., they try by bribes and misrepresentations to ensnare into a false decision the judge who would in public court reprove them for their iniquity, or to ensnare the prophet who publicly reproves them (Jer 7:2). "The Sublime Porte," the title for the Sultan of Turkey, is derived from the eastern usage of dispensing law in the gateway. The king's or chief's place of audience (1Ki 22:10; 2Sa 19:8; Job 29:7; La 5:14). The object of a foe's attack and therefore strengthened especially (Jg 5:8; Ps 147:18), shut at nightfall (De 3:5; Jos 2:5,7; 1Sa 23:7). The market place for country produce (2Ki 7:1; Ne 13:16-19). The open spaces near the gates were used for pagan sacrifices (Ac 14:13; 2Ki 23:8).
Josiah defiled "the high places of the gates in the entering in of the gate." The larger gates had two valves, and were plated with metal and secured with locks and bars. Those without iron plating were easily set on fire (Jg 9:52). Sentences of the law were inscribed on and above them, to which allusion occurs De 6:9; an usage followed by Muslims in modern times. Some gates were of solid stones (Re 21:21; Isa 54:12). Massive stone doors are found in ancient houses of Syria, single slabs, several inches thick, 10 ft. high, turning on stone pivots above and below. The king's principal gate at Ispahan afforded sanctuary to criminals (Chardin, 7:368). In Esther's time "none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth" (Es 4:2). "The Beautiful Gate" of Herod's temple (Ac 3:2) was the outer one, made of Corinthian brass, surpassing in costliness even nine others of the outer court, which were covered with gold and silver.
It was so heavy that twenty men were required to close it, but it was found open unexpectedly shortly before the overthrow of Jerusalem (Josephus, B. J., 5:5, sec. 3; 6: 5, sec. 3; contra Apion, 2:9). The doorway consisted of lintel, threshold, and side-posts (Ex 12:7,22). In Ge 22:17, "thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies," the sense is, shall sit in judgment on them, as in the Assyrian sculptures the king is represented sitting in judgment upon prisoners. Thus the Persian satrap in the Lycian Xanthus monument sits at the gate dictating terms to the Greek ambassadors, and Sennacherib, at his tent door, gives judgment on the Jews taken at Lachish (British Museum, 59). In front of the larger edifices in the remains at Persepolis and Nineveh (Khorsabad) are propylaea, or "porches," like that "for Solomon's throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment, covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other" (1Ki 7:7).
The threshold in the Assyrian palaces is one slab of gypsum with cuneatic inscriptions; human-headed bulls with eagles' wings guard the portals, like and probably borrowed from the cherubim which guarded the gate of Eden; besides there are holes 12 in. square, lined round with tiles, with a brick to cover them above and containing small baked clay idols with lynx head and human body, or human head and lion's body, probably like the teraphim, from Arabic tarf "a boundary," and akin to the Persian "telifin" talismans. (See TERAPHIM.) Thus the place of going out and coming in was guarded, as especially sacred, from all evil by the inscriptions, the compound figured gods outside, and the hidden teraphim. Daniel "sat in" such a "gate" before the palace of Babylon as "ruler over the whole province of Babylon" (Da 2:48-49) The courtiers of Ahasuerus attended him "in the gate" similarly (Es 3:2).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while Lot was sitting in the city's gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the strongholds of their enemies.
(Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite replied to Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth -- before all who entered the gate of his city --
They will take some of the blood and put it on the two side posts and top of the doorframe of the houses where they will eat it.
Take a branch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply to the top of the doorframe and the two side posts some of the blood that is in the basin. Not one of you is to go out the door of his house until morning.
All of these cities were fortified by high walls, gates, and locking bars; in addition there were a great many open villages.
You must appoint judges and civil servants for each tribe in all your villages that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly.
his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city.
When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left. I don't know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!"
Meanwhile the king's men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River near the fords. The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them.
The one who committed manslaughter should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city. They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there.
God chose new leaders, then fighters appeared in the city gates; but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, among forty military units in Israel.
Abimelech came and attacked the tower. When he approached the entrance of the tower to set it on fire,
Now Boaz went up to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! Boaz said, "Come here and sit down, 'John Doe'!" So he came and sat down.
He also made a throne room, called "The Hall of Judgment," where he made judicial decisions. It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.
Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their respective thrones, dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying before them.
Elisha replied, "Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says, 'About this time tomorrow a seah of finely milled flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.'"
He appointed military officers over the army and assembled them in the square at the city gate. He encouraged them, saying,
all the people gathered together in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded Israel.
So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon before the men and women and those children who could understand. All the people were eager to hear the book of the law.
The people from Tyre who lived there were bringing fish and all kinds of merchandise and were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah -- and in Jerusalem, of all places! So I registered a complaint with the nobles of Judah, saying to them, "What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? read more. Isn't this the way your ancestors acted, causing our God to bring on them and on this city all this misfortune? And now you are causing even more wrath on Israel, profaning the Sabbath like this!" When the evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be closed. I further directed that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I positioned some of my young men at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.
As a result, all the king's servants who were at the king's gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow, nor did he pay him homage.
But he went no further than the king's gate, for no one was permitted to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth.
Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me; drunkards mock me in their songs.
Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me; drunkards mock me in their songs.
at the head of the noisy streets she calls, in the entrances of the gates in the city she utters her words:
Do not exploit a poor person because he is poor and do not crush the needy in court,
those who bear false testimony against a person, who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges.
I will make your pinnacles out of gems, your gates out of beryl, and your outer wall out of beautiful stones.
"Stand in the gate of the Lord's temple and proclaim this message: 'Listen, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord. Hear what the Lord has to say.
The Lord told me, "Go and stand in the People's Gate through which the kings of Judah enter and leave the city. Then go and stand in all the other gates of the city of Jerusalem.
The elders are gone from the city gate; the young men have stopped playing their music.
Then the king elevated Daniel to high position and bestowed on him many marvelous gifts. He granted him authority over the entire province of Babylon and made him the main prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. And at Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the administration of the province of Babylon. Daniel himself served in the king's court.
The Israelites hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; they despise anyone who speaks honestly.
Certainly I am aware of your many rebellious acts and your numerous sins. You torment the innocent, you take bribes, and you deny justice to the needy at the city gate.
These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts.
And a man lame from birth was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called "the Beautiful Gate" every day so he could beg for money from those going into the temple courts.
The priest of the temple of Zeus, located just outside the city, brought bulls and garlands to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
And the twelve gates are twelve pearls -- each one of the gates is made from just one pearl! The main street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.
Hastings
Morish
Beside the ordinary use of gates for the protection of a city, 'in the gate' was the place where many important things were transacted. When Boaz wanted the question settled respecting Ruth and the inheritance, he went up to the gate: the subject was debated with a nearer relative, then concluded, and witnessed by the elders. Ru 4:1-12; cf. Jos 20:4; 1Sa 4:18; 2Sa 15:2; Ac 14:13. To 'sit in the gate' was a place of honour: "they that sit in the gate speak against me." Ps 69:12. It should have been the place of true judgement and justice, but was not always so. Isa 29:21; Am 5:10,12; Zec 8:16. It was, at least at times, the king's chief place of audience. 2Sa 19:8; 1Ki 22:10; Job 29:7; La 5:14. From this it would be a symbol of power: thus the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church which Christ builds. Mt 16:18.
The gates of cities were of wood cased with iron to strengthen them and prevent them being burnt with fire. cf. Jg 9:52. The prison at Jerusalem had an outer gate of iron, the only iron one we read of. Ac 12:10.
Doubtless the gates of Solomon's temple were adorned to agree with the rest of the work. In the N.T. we read of THE BEAUTIFUL GATE of the temple, Ac 3:10; and Josephus relates that Herod made an outer gate of Corinthian brass, costing more than those adorned with gold and silver. The gates of the New Jerusalem are described as pearls: "every several gate was of one pearl," Re 21:12-25: the entrances must be in keeping with the rest of the city. The pearls represent the glories of Christ as seen in the church: cf. Mt 13:46.
The gate is used symbolically as the entrance both to life and to destruction: the former is narrow and the way straitened, and alas, there are but few that find it; whereas for the latter the gate is wide and the way is broad, and many there are that enter through it. Mt 7:13-14.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The one who committed manslaughter should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city. They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there.
Abimelech came and attacked the tower. When he approached the entrance of the tower to set it on fire,
Now Boaz went up to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! Boaz said, "Come here and sit down, 'John Doe'!" So he came and sat down. Boaz chose ten of the village leaders and said, "Sit down here!" So they sat down. read more. Then Boaz said to the guardian, "Naomi, who has returned from the region of Moab, is selling the portion of land that belongs to our relative Elimelech. So I am legally informing you: Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people! If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so. But if not, then tell me so I will know. For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you." He replied, "I will redeem it." Then Boaz said, "When you acquire the field from Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the wife of our deceased relative, in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property." The guardian said, "Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it." (Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel: A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party. This was a legally binding act in Israel.) So the guardian said to Boaz, "You may acquire it," and he removed his sandal. Then Boaz said to the leaders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have acquired from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property so the name of the deceased might not disappear from among his relatives and from his village. You are witnesses today." All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May you prosper in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. May your family become like the family of Perez -- whom Tamar bore to Judah -- through the descendants the Lord gives you by this young woman."
But the Israelite soldiers had all fled to their own homes.
Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me; drunkards mock me in their songs.
those who bear false testimony against a person, who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges.
The elders are gone from the city gate; the young men have stopped playing their music.
The Israelites hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; they despise anyone who speaks honestly.
Certainly I am aware of your many rebellious acts and your numerous sins. You torment the innocent, you take bribes, and you deny justice to the needy at the city gate.
These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts.
"Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement at what had happened to him.
After they had passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, when at once the angel left him.
The priest of the temple of Zeus, located just outside the city, brought bulls and garlands to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
It has a massive, high wall with twelve gates, with twelve angels at the gates, and the names of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel are written on the gates. There are three gates on the east side, three gates on the north side, three gates on the south side and three gates on the west side. read more. The wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall. Now the city is laid out as a square, its length and width the same. He measured the city with the measuring rod at fourteen hundred miles (its length and width and height are equal). He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits according to human measurement, which is also the angel's. The city's wall is made of jasper and the city is pure gold, like transparent glass. The foundations of the city's wall are decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates are twelve pearls -- each one of the gates is made from just one pearl! The main street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass. Now I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God -- the All-Powerful -- and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God lights it up, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their grandeur into it. Its gates will never be closed during the day (and there will be no night there).
Smith
Gate.
The gate and gateways of eastern cities anciently held and still hold an important part, not only in the defence but in the public economy of the place. They are thus sometimes taken as representing the city itself.
Ge 22:17; 24:60; De 12:12; Jg 5:8; Ru 4:10; Ps 87:2; 122:2
Among the special purposes for which they were used may be mentioned.
1. As places of public resort.
Ge 19:1; 23:10; 34:20,24; 1Sa 4:18
etc.
2. Places for public deliberation, administration of Justice, or of audience for kings and rulers or ambassadors.
De 16:18; 21:19; 25:7; Jos 20:4; Jg 9:35
etc.
3. Public markets.
In heathen towns the open spaces near the gates appear to have been sometimes used as places for sacrifice.
comp 2Kin 23:8 Regarded therefore as positions of great importance, the gates of cities were carefully guarded, and closed at nightfall.
They contained chambers over the gateway.
The doors themselves of the larger gates mentioned in Scripture were two leaved, plated with metal, closed with locks and fastened with metal bars.
De 3:6; Ps 107:16; Isa 46:1-2
Gates not defended by iron were of course liable to be set on fire by an enemy.
The gateways of royal palaces and even of private houses were often richly ornamented. Sentences from the law were inscribed on and above the gates.
The gates of Solomon's temple were very massive and costly, being overlaid with gold and carving.
Those of the holy place were of olive wood, two-leaved and overlaid with gold; those of the temple of fir.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while Lot was sitting in the city's gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the strongholds of their enemies.
(Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite replied to Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth -- before all who entered the gate of his city --
They blessed Rebekah with these words: "Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands! May your descendants possess the strongholds of their enemies."
So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city,
All the men who assembled at the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate was circumcised.
All of these cities were fortified by high walls, gates, and locking bars; in addition there were a great many open villages. We put all of these under divine judgment just as we had done to King Sihon of Heshbon -- every occupied city, including women and children.
You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God, along with your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you).
You must appoint judges and civil servants for each tribe in all your villages that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly.
his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city.
But if the man does not want to marry his brother's widow, then she must go to the elders at the town gate and say, "My husband's brother refuses to preserve his brother's name in Israel; he is unwilling to perform the duty of a brother-in-law to me!"
When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left. I don't know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!"
Meanwhile the king's men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River near the fords. The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them.
The one who committed manslaughter should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city. They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there.
God chose new leaders, then fighters appeared in the city gates; but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, among forty military units in Israel.
When Gaal son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city's gate, Abimelech and his men got up from their hiding places.
Abimelech chased him, and Gaal ran from him. Many Shechemites fell wounded at the entrance of the gate.
Abimelech and his units attacked and blocked the entrance to the city's gate. Two units then attacked all the people in the field and struck them down.
Abimelech came and attacked the tower. When he approached the entrance of the tower to set it on fire,
I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property so the name of the deceased might not disappear from among his relatives and from his village. You are witnesses today."
Now David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate at the wall. When he looked, he saw a man running by himself.
He made doors of olive wood at the entrance to the inner sanctuary; the pillar on each doorpost was five-sided. On the two doors made of olive wood he carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom, and he plated them with gold. He plated the cherubs and the palm trees with hammered gold.
He also made two doors out of wood from evergreens; each door had two folding leaves.
He also made two doors out of wood from evergreens; each door had two folding leaves. He carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom and plated them with gold, leveled out over the carvings.
Elisha replied, "Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says, 'About this time tomorrow a seah of finely milled flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.'"
He brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and ruined the high places where the priests had offered sacrifices, from Geba to Beer Sheba. He tore down the high place of the goat idols situated at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city official, on the left side of the city gate.
Bel kneels down, Nebo bends low. Their images weigh down animals and beasts. Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals. Together they bend low and kneel down; they are unable to rescue the images; they themselves head off into captivity.
In light of all this, how can you still hold back, Lord? How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?
The outer sanctuary and the inner sanctuary each had a double door. Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other.
The priest of the temple of Zeus, located just outside the city, brought bulls and garlands to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
And the twelve gates are twelve pearls -- each one of the gates is made from just one pearl! The main street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.
Watsons
GATE is often used in Scripture to denote a place of public assembly, where justice was administered, De 17:5,8; 21:19; 22:15; 25:6-7, &c. One instance of these judgments appears in that given at the gate of Bethlehem, between Boaz and a relation of Naomi, on the subject of Ruth, Ru 4:2; another in Abraham's purchase of a field to bury Sarah, Ge 23:10,18. The gate of judgment is a term still common to the Arabians to express a court of justice, and even introduced by the Saracens into Spain. "I had several times," says Jacob, "visited the Alhambra, the ancient palace and fortress of the Moorish kings: it is situated on the top of a hill, overlooking the city, and is surrounded by a wall of great height and thickness. The entrance is through an archway, over which is carved a key, the symbol of the Mohammedan monarchs. This gate, called the gate of judgment, according to eastern forms, was the place where the kings administered justice." In Morocco, the gate is still the place where judgment is held. "All complaints," says Host, "are brought, in the first instance, to the cadi, or governor, who, for that purpose, passes certain hours of the day in the gate of the city, partly for the sake of the fresh air, and partly to see all those who go out; and, lastly, to observe a custom which has long prevailed, of holding judgment there. The gate is contrived accordingly, being built like a square chamber, with two doors, which are not directly opposite to each other, but on two adjoining sides, with seats on the other sides. In this manner David sat between two gates," 2Sa 18:24. Gate sometimes signifies power, dominion, almost in the same sense as the Turkish emperor's palace is called the Porte. God promises Abraham that his posterity shall possess the gates of their enemies, their towns, their fortresses, Ge 22:17. Jesus Christ says to Peter, "Thou art Peter; and on this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," Mt 16:18. This may mean either the powers of hell, or invisible spirits; or simply death,
See Verses Found in Dictionary
I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the strongholds of their enemies.
(Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite replied to Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth -- before all who entered the gate of his city --
as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron's city.
you must bring to your city gates that man or woman who has done this wicked thing -- that very man or woman -- and you must stone that person to death.
If a matter is too difficult for you to judge -- bloodshed, legal claim, or assault -- matters of controversy in your villages -- you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses.
his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city.
Then the father and mother of the young woman must produce the evidence of virginity for the elders of the city at the gate.
Then the first son she bears will continue the name of the dead brother, thus preventing his name from being blotted out of Israel. But if the man does not want to marry his brother's widow, then she must go to the elders at the town gate and say, "My husband's brother refuses to preserve his brother's name in Israel; he is unwilling to perform the duty of a brother-in-law to me!"
Boaz chose ten of the village leaders and said, "Sit down here!" So they sat down.
Now David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate at the wall. When he looked, he saw a man running by himself.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.