Gath

What is known

• Traditionally identified as the hometown of Goliath, the Philistine champion killed by David (1 Samuel 17:4, 23)
• David fled to Gath and feigned madness before King Achish to escape Saul (1 Samuel 21:10-15)
• Excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath (directed by Aren Maeir since 1996) uncovered a massive Iron Age siege trench, widely associated with Hazael of Aram's 9th-century BC conquest recorded in 2 Kings 12:17
• An inscribed potsherd found at the site bears two names phonetically similar to 'Goliath,' showing the name type was in genuine use among Philistines of that era

History

Founded

Occupied from the Early Bronze Age; became the largest of the Philistine cities during the Iron Age, especially the 10th-9th centuries BC

Population

Iron Age remains indicate an unusually large urban footprint (over 40-50 hectares at its height), among the biggest cities in the region at the time

Industry

Iron Age metalworking and olive-oil production; agriculture on the Shephelah border with Judah

Coordinates

31.6997° N, 34.8483° E

Rulers and powers

• Philistine city-lords — c. 1175-830 BC
• Hazael of Aram-Damascus (city captured and destroyed) — c. 830 BC

Scripture references

• Joshua 11:22
• 1 Samuel 5:8
• 1 Samuel 17:4 — Goliath of Gath
• 1 Samuel 17:23
• 1 Samuel 21:10-15 — David flees to Achish, king of Gath
• 1 Samuel 27:2-4 — David later takes refuge in Gath
• 2 Samuel 21:19-22
• 1 Kings 2:39-40
• 2 Kings 12:17 — Hazael of Aram captures Gath
• Amos 6:2

On a modern map

Gath today

Further reading

• Tell es-Safi - Wikipedia
• The Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project