Reference: Gerar
American
An ancient town or place of the Philistines in the times of Abraham and Isaac, Ge 10:19; 20:1; 6/1/type/bbe'>26:1,6,17. It lay not far from Gaza, in the south of Judah, but its exact site is now unknown. See 2Ch 14:13-14.
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Their country stretching from Zidon to Gaza, in the direction of Gerar; and to Lasha, in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim.
And Abraham went on his way from there to the land of the South, and was living between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar.
Then came a time of great need in the land, like that which had been before in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.
So Isaac went away from there, and put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, making his living-place there.
And Asa and the people who were with him went after them as far as Gerar; and so great was the destruction among the Ethiopians that they were not able to get their army together again, for they were broken before the Lord and before his army; and they took away a great amount of their goods. And they overcame all the towns round Gerar, because the Lord sent fear on them; and they took away their goods from the towns, for there were stores of wealth in them.
Easton
a region; lodging-place, a very ancient town and district in the south border of Palestine, which was ruled over by a king named Abimelech (Ge 10:19; 20:1-2). Abraham sojourned here, and perhaps Isaac was born in this place. Both of these patriarchs were guilty of the sin of here denying their wives, and both of them entered into a treaty with the king before they departed to Beersheba (Ge 21:23-34; 26). It seems to have been a rich pastoral country (2Ch 14:12-15). Isaac here reaped an hundred-fold, and was blessed of God (Ge 26:12). The "valley of Gerar" (Ge 26:17) was probably the modern Wady el-Jerdr.
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Their country stretching from Zidon to Gaza, in the direction of Gerar; and to Lasha, in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim.
And Abraham went on his way from there to the land of the South, and was living between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah, his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah.
Now, then, give me your oath, in the name of God, that you will not be false to me or to my sons after me, but that as I have been good to you, so you will be to me and to this land where you have been living. And Abraham said, I will give you my oath. read more. But Abraham made a protest to Abimelech because of a water-hole which Abimelech's servants had taken by force. But Abimelech said, I have no idea who has done this thing; you never gave me word of it, and I had no knowledge of it till this day. And Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement together. And Abraham put seven young lambs of the flock on one side by themselves. Then Abimelech said, What are these seven lambs which you have put on one side? And he said, Take these seven lambs from me as a witness that I have made this water-hole. So he gave that place the name Beer-sheba, because there the two of them had given their oaths. So they made an agreement at Beer-sheba, and Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines. And Abraham, after planting a holy tree in Beer-sheba, gave worship to the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. And Abraham went on living in the land of the Philistines as in a strange country.
Now Isaac, planting seed in that land, got in the same year fruit a hundred times as much, for the blessing of the Lord was on him.
So Isaac went away from there, and put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, making his living-place there.
So the Lord sent fear on the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah; and the Ethiopians went in flight. And Asa and the people who were with him went after them as far as Gerar; and so great was the destruction among the Ethiopians that they were not able to get their army together again, for they were broken before the Lord and before his army; and they took away a great amount of their goods. read more. And they overcame all the towns round Gerar, because the Lord sent fear on them; and they took away their goods from the towns, for there were stores of wealth in them. And they made an attack on the tents of the owners of the cattle, and took away great numbers of sheep and camels and went back to Jerusalem.
Fausets
Chief city of the Philistines in Abraham's and Isaac's time; now Khirbet el Gerar. The fertile region between the two deserts of Kadesh and Shut; resorted to therefore by Abraham and Isaac in time of famine. On the southern border of Canaan, near Gaza and Beersheba (Ge 10:19; 20:1; 26:1-26). Near the deep wady Jurf el Gerar, "the rapid of Gerar" (2Ch 14:13-14.) The people were pastoral in the times of Abraham, but warlike, with a regular "chief captain of the army," Phichol (the "mouth of all," implying a commanding voice as commander-in-chief. Abimelech ("father of kings," implying an hereditary not an elective monarchy) was the common royal title (Psalm 34 title, compare the margin). Condor (Palestine Exploration, August, 1875) identifies it rather with Tel-Jema, an enormous mound covered with broken pottery, immediately S. of Khirbet el Gerar. The name, lost to this the proper site, lingers in the neighboring Khirbet el Gerar.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Their country stretching from Zidon to Gaza, in the direction of Gerar; and to Lasha, in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim.
And Abraham went on his way from there to the land of the South, and was living between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar.
Then came a time of great need in the land, like that which had been before in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. And the Lord came to him in a vision and said, Do not go down to Egypt; keep in the land of which I will give you knowledge: read more. Keep in this land, and I will be with you and give you my blessing; for to you and to your seed will I give all these lands, giving effect to the oath which I made to your father Abraham; I will make your seed like the stars of heaven in number, and will give them all these lands, and your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth; Because Abraham gave ear to my voice and kept my words, my rules, my orders, and my laws. So Isaac went on living in Gerar; And when he was questioned by the men of the place about his wife, he said, She is my sister; fearing to say, She is my wife; for, he said, the men of the place may put me to death on account of Rebekah; because she is very beautiful. And when he had been there for some time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looking through a window, saw Isaac playing with Rebekah his wife. And he said to Isaac, It is clear that she is your wife: why then did you say, She is my sister? And Isaac said, For fear that I might be put to death because of her. Then Abimelech said, What have you done to us? one of the people might well have had connection with your wife, and the sin would have been ours. And Abimelech gave orders to his people that anyone touching Isaac or his wife was to be put to death. Now Isaac, planting seed in that land, got in the same year fruit a hundred times as much, for the blessing of the Lord was on him. And his wealth became very great, increasing more and more; For he had great wealth of flocks and herds and great numbers of servants; so that the Philistines were full of envy. Now all the water-holes, which his father's servants had made in the days of Abraham, had been stopped up with earth by the Philistines. And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are stronger than we are. So Isaac went away from there, and put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, making his living-place there. And he made again the water-holes which had been made in the days of Abraham his father, and which had been stopped up by the Philistines; and he gave them the names which his father had given them. Now Isaac's servants made holes in the valley, and came to a spring of flowing water. But the herdmen of Gerar had a fight with Isaac's herdmen, for they said, The spring is ours: so he gave the spring the name of Esek, because there was a fight about it. Then they made another water-hole, and there was a fight about that, so he gave it the name of Sitnah. Then he went away from there, and made another water-hole, about which there was no fighting: so he gave it the name of Rehoboth, for he said, Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will have fruit in this land. And from there he went on to Beer-sheba. That night the Lord came to him in a vision, and said, I am the God of your father Abraham: have no fear for I am with you, blessing you, and your seed will be increased because of my servant Abraham. Then he made an altar there, and gave worship to the name of the Lord, and he put up his tents there, and there his servants made a water-hole. And Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol, the captain of his army.
And Asa and the people who were with him went after them as far as Gerar; and so great was the destruction among the Ethiopians that they were not able to get their army together again, for they were broken before the Lord and before his army; and they took away a great amount of their goods. And they overcame all the towns round Gerar, because the Lord sent fear on them; and they took away their goods from the towns, for there were stores of wealth in them.
Hastings
A place mentioned in Ge 10:19 in the boundary of the Canaanite territory near Gaza, wheres Abraham sojourned and came in contact with a certain 'Abimelech king of Gerar' (Ge 20:1). A similar experience is recorded of Isaac (Ge 26:1), but the stories are evidently not independent. Gerar reappears only in 2Ch 14:13-14, in the description of the rout of the Ethiopians by Asa, in which Gerar was the limit of the pursuit. Eusebius makes Gerar 25 Roman miles S. of Eleutheropolis; hence it has been sought at Umm el-Jer
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Their country stretching from Zidon to Gaza, in the direction of Gerar; and to Lasha, in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim.
And Abraham went on his way from there to the land of the South, and was living between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar.
Then came a time of great need in the land, like that which had been before in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.
And Asa and the people who were with him went after them as far as Gerar; and so great was the destruction among the Ethiopians that they were not able to get their army together again, for they were broken before the Lord and before his army; and they took away a great amount of their goods. And they overcame all the towns round Gerar, because the Lord sent fear on them; and they took away their goods from the towns, for there were stores of wealth in them.
Morish
Ge'rar
Ancient city on the south of Gaza in the possession of the Philistines. It was visited by both Abraham and Isaac. Ge 10:19; 20:1-2; 26:1-26; 2Ch 14:13-14. Identified with ruins at Umm Jerrar, 31 25' N, 34 26' E.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Their country stretching from Zidon to Gaza, in the direction of Gerar; and to Lasha, in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim.
And Abraham went on his way from there to the land of the South, and was living between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah, his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah.
Then came a time of great need in the land, like that which had been before in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. And the Lord came to him in a vision and said, Do not go down to Egypt; keep in the land of which I will give you knowledge: read more. Keep in this land, and I will be with you and give you my blessing; for to you and to your seed will I give all these lands, giving effect to the oath which I made to your father Abraham; I will make your seed like the stars of heaven in number, and will give them all these lands, and your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth; Because Abraham gave ear to my voice and kept my words, my rules, my orders, and my laws. So Isaac went on living in Gerar; And when he was questioned by the men of the place about his wife, he said, She is my sister; fearing to say, She is my wife; for, he said, the men of the place may put me to death on account of Rebekah; because she is very beautiful. And when he had been there for some time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looking through a window, saw Isaac playing with Rebekah his wife. And he said to Isaac, It is clear that she is your wife: why then did you say, She is my sister? And Isaac said, For fear that I might be put to death because of her. Then Abimelech said, What have you done to us? one of the people might well have had connection with your wife, and the sin would have been ours. And Abimelech gave orders to his people that anyone touching Isaac or his wife was to be put to death. Now Isaac, planting seed in that land, got in the same year fruit a hundred times as much, for the blessing of the Lord was on him. And his wealth became very great, increasing more and more; For he had great wealth of flocks and herds and great numbers of servants; so that the Philistines were full of envy. Now all the water-holes, which his father's servants had made in the days of Abraham, had been stopped up with earth by the Philistines. And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are stronger than we are. So Isaac went away from there, and put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, making his living-place there. And he made again the water-holes which had been made in the days of Abraham his father, and which had been stopped up by the Philistines; and he gave them the names which his father had given them. Now Isaac's servants made holes in the valley, and came to a spring of flowing water. But the herdmen of Gerar had a fight with Isaac's herdmen, for they said, The spring is ours: so he gave the spring the name of Esek, because there was a fight about it. Then they made another water-hole, and there was a fight about that, so he gave it the name of Sitnah. Then he went away from there, and made another water-hole, about which there was no fighting: so he gave it the name of Rehoboth, for he said, Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will have fruit in this land. And from there he went on to Beer-sheba. That night the Lord came to him in a vision, and said, I am the God of your father Abraham: have no fear for I am with you, blessing you, and your seed will be increased because of my servant Abraham. Then he made an altar there, and gave worship to the name of the Lord, and he put up his tents there, and there his servants made a water-hole. And Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol, the captain of his army.
Smith
Ge'rar
(a lodging-place), a very ancient city south of Gaza. It occurs chiefly in Genesis,
also incidentally in
It must have trenched on the "south" or "south country" of later Palestine. From a comparison of
with Ge26/23/type/bbe'>ne 26:23,26 Beersheba would seem to be just on the verge of this territory, and perhaps to be its limit towards the northeast.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Their country stretching from Zidon to Gaza, in the direction of Gerar; and to Lasha, in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim.
And Abraham went on his way from there to the land of the South, and was living between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar.
So they made an agreement at Beer-sheba, and Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines.
So Isaac went away from there, and put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, making his living-place there.
And Asa and the people who were with him went after them as far as Gerar; and so great was the destruction among the Ethiopians that they were not able to get their army together again, for they were broken before the Lord and before his army; and they took away a great amount of their goods. And they overcame all the towns round Gerar, because the Lord sent fear on them; and they took away their goods from the towns, for there were stores of wealth in them.
Watsons
GERAR, a royal city of the Philistines, situate not far from the angle where the south and west sides of Palestine meet.