Gerar standard
ntact with Abimelech, king of Gerar (Ge 20 and 26, passim). The place has not been fully identified, but the site is probably in one of the branches of Wady Sheri`a, at a place called Um Jerrar, near the coast Southwest …
Where is Gerar in the Bible?
Gerar was an ancient Philistine city located in the southern coastal region of Canaan, in what is now southwestern Gaza and its surrounding area. The city appears prominently in Genesis as the place where both Abraham and his son Isaac encountered Abimelech, the king of Gerar, in separate incidents involving deception about their wives. The exact location has not been definitively identified by archaeologists, but scholars believe it was situated near a site called Um Jerrar in the Wady Sheri'a valley, approximately nine miles southwest of Gaza. Beyond these patriarchal narratives, Gerar also served as a significant location during King Asa's reign in Judah, where a major military battle took place. These accounts reveal Gerar's importance as a point of contact between the Hebrew patriarchs and the Philistine world in the biblical narrative.
Study in OliveGrove: Genesis
In Scripture1 biblical book; 1 with study content
- Genesis
Gerar
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain)ntact with Abimelech, king of Gerar (Ge 20 and 26, passim). The place has not been fully identified, but the site is probably in one of the branches of Wady Sheri`a, at a place called Um Jerrar, near the coast Southwest of Gaza and 9 miles from it (SWP, III, 389-90). The site answers fairly well to the statements of Eusebius and Jerome, Eusebius, Onomasticon, that it was 25 (Roman) miles South of Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin). It is actually 30 English miles, but distances were not very accurately determined in early times. Gerar was known in the first 5 centuries AD, when it was the seat of a bishopric, and its bishop, Marcian, attended the Council of Chalcedon 451 AD, It was also the seat of a monastery.
The statements in Ge indicate that Gerar belonged to the Philistines, and we are led to infer that Abimelech was king of that people, but it is quite certain that they did not occupy this region until after the time of Abraham, in fact only a short time before the Exodus. It is probable, however, that the writer of Ge would refer to the country as it was known in his day. The town certainly existed in the Philistine period, for it is mentioned in connection with Asa, who defeated the Ethiopian host under Zerar and pursued them in their flight unto Gerar (2Ch 14:13). Besides the locality of Um Jerrar, another place in the vicinity known as Jurf el-Jerrar has been thought by some to be the site of Gerar. Jerrar in Arabic means "jars," and it is doubtful whether it represents the Hebrew Gerar. Jurf means usually "steep declivity," or "precipice," and at the place mentioned many fragments of pottery were found, but this does not necessarily indicate the site of an ancient town. The site of Gerar is discussed in Thomson's LB, I, 196-99 (ed. 1882); Robinson's BR, II, 43-44; PEFS, 1871, 84; 1875, 162-64; 1881, 38.
H. Porter
1Country of the Gerasenes
The town itself is not named in Scripture, and is referred to only in the expression, "country of the Gerasenes" (<ref osi