'Gates' in the Bible
All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates and bars, besides a great many unwalled towns.
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,
And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance with you.
“However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, whatever you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer.
You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand.
But you shall eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all your undertakings.
If the place which the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates whatever you desire.
You shall eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as a gazelle or a deer.
then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them to death.
Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.”
“New gods were chosen;Then war was in the gates.Not a shield or a spear was seenAmong forty thousand in Israel.
“At the sound of those who divide flocks among the watering places,There they shall recount the righteous deeds of the Lord,The righteous deeds for His peasantry in Israel.Then the people of the Lord went down to the gates.
The men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron.
When it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars.”
Now David was sitting between the two gates; and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and raised his eyes and looked, and behold, a man running by himself.
In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate.
So they and their sons had charge of the gates of the house of the Lord, even the house of the tent, as guards.
David prepared large quantities of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more bronze than could be weighed;
He also built upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates and bars;
For he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.
And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord.
They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.”
I said to the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?”
and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go.” And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me.
So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.
Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.”
Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates,
Then I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot, and while they are standing guard, let them shut and bolt the doors. Also appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each at his post, and each in front of his own house.”
Also the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and their brethren who kept watch at the gates, were 172.
Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch at the storehouses of the gates.
The priests and the Levites purified themselves; they also purified the people, the gates and the wall.
It came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the sabbath day.
“Have the gates of death been revealed to you,Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
Be gracious to me, O Lord;See my affliction from those who hate me,You who lift me up from the gates of death,
That I may tell of all Your praises,That in the gates of the daughter of ZionI may rejoice in Your salvation.
Lift up your heads, O gates,And be lifted up, O ancient doors,That the King of glory may come in!
Lift up your heads, O gates,And lift them up, O ancient doors,That the King of glory may come in!
The Lord loves the gates of ZionMore than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.
Enter His gates with thanksgivingAnd His courts with praise.Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For He has shattered gates of bronzeAnd cut bars of iron asunder.
Their soul abhorred all kinds of food,And they drew near to the gates of death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness;I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord.
For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;He has blessed your sons within you.
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
Beside the gates, at the opening to the city,At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:
“Blessed is the man who listens to me,Watching daily at my gates,Waiting at my doorposts.
The evil will bow down before the good,And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
Her husband is known in the gates,When he sits among the elders of the land.
Give her the product of her hands,And let her works praise her in the gates.
And her gates will lament and mourn,And deserted she will sit on the ground.
“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,The one that remains faithful.
I said, “In the middle of my lifeI am to enter the gates of Sheol;I am to be deprived of the rest of my years.”
Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed,Whom I have taken by the right hand,To subdue nations before himAnd to loose the loins of kings;To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
“Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,And your gates of crystal,And your entire wall of precious stones.
“Your gates will be open continually;They will not be closed day or night,So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations,With their kings led in procession.
“Violence will not be heard again in your land,Nor devastation or destruction within your borders;But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.
Go through, go through the gates,Clear the way for the people;Build up, build up the highway,Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples.
For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah.
“Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the Lord!’”
“Judah mournsAnd her gates languish;They sit on the ground in mourning,And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended.
“I will winnow them with a winnowing forkAt the gates of the land;I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people;They did not repent of their ways.
Thus the Lord said to me, “Go and stand in the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem;
and say to them, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates:
Thus says the Lord, “Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem.
“But it will come about, if you listen attentively to Me,” declares the Lord, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it,
then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.
But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.”’”
and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates.
For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.
“He will be buried with a donkey’s burial,Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
“Arise, go up against a nation which is at ease,Which lives securely,” declares the Lord.“It has no gates or bars;They dwell alone.
The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting,They stay in the strongholds;Their strength is exhausted,They are becoming like women;Their dwelling places are set on fire,The bars of her gates are broken.
Thus says the Lord of hosts,“The broad wall of Babylon will be completely razedAnd her high gates will be set on fire;So the peoples will toil for nothing,And the nations become exhausted only for fire.”
The roads of Zion are in mourningBecause no one comes to the appointed feasts.All her gates are desolate;Her priests are groaning,Her virgins are afflicted,And she herself is bitter.
Her gates have sunk into the ground,He has destroyed and broken her bars.Her king and her princes are among the nations;The law is no more.Also, her prophets findNo vision from the Lord.
The kings of the earth did not believe,Nor did any of the inhabitants of the world,That the adversary and the enemyCould enter the gates of Jerusalem.
that their hearts may melt, and many fall at all their gates. I have given the glittering sword. Ah! It is made for striking like lightning, it is wrapped up in readiness for slaughter.
Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to set battering rams, to open the mouth for slaughter, to lift up the voice with a battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build a siege wall.
Because of the multitude of his horses, the dust raised by them will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of cavalry and wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached.
and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates,
The pavement (that is, the lower pavement) was by the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates.
A chamber with its doorway was by the side pillars at the gates; there they rinse the burnt offering.
Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house and ministering in the house; they shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.
It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and wool shall not be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house.
shall be the gates of the city, named for the tribes of Israel, three gates toward the north: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one.
On the east side, 4,500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one.
On the south side, 4,500 cubits by measurement, shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one.
On the west side, 4,500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one.
The gates of the rivers are openedAnd the palace is dissolved.
Behold, your people are women in your midst!The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies;Fire consumes your gate bars.
These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.
“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.