Gate
(1.) Of cities, as of Jerusalem ( Jer. 37:13 ; Neh. 1:3 ; 2:3 ; 3:3 ), of Sodom ( Gen. 19:1 ), of Gaza ( Judg. 16:3 ). (2.) Of royal palaces ( Neh. 2:8 ). (3.) Of the temple of Solomon ( 1 Kings 6:34 , 35 ; 2 Kings 18:16 ); of the holy place ( 1 Kings 6:31 , 32 ; Ezek. 41:23 , 24 ); of the outer courts of the temple, the beautiful gate ( Acts 3:2 ). (4.) Tombs ( Matt. 27:60 ). (5.) Prisons ( Acts 12:10 ; 16:27 ). (6.) Caverns ( 1 Kings 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 ; Acts 12:10 ). (2.) Stones and pearls ( Isa. 54:12 ; Rev. 21:21 ). (3.) Wood ( Judg. 16:3 ) probably. At the gates of cities courts of justice were frequently held, and hence “judges of the gate” are spoken of ( Deut. 16:18 ; 17:8 ; 21:19 ; 25:6 , 7 , etc.). At the gates prophets also frequently delivered their messages ( Prov. 1:21 ; 8:3 ; Isa. 29:21 ; Jer. 17:19 , 20 ; 26:10 ). Criminals were punished without the gates ( 1 Kings 21:13 ; Acts 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”) Matt. 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.
Gaza
Called also Azzah, which is its Hebrew name ( Deut. 2:23 ; 1 Kings 4:24 ; Jer. 25:20 ), strong, a city on the Mediterranean shore, remarkable for its early importance as the chief centre of a great commercial traffic with Egypt. It is one of the oldest cities of the world ( Gen. 10:19 ; Josh. 15:47 ). Its earliest inhabitants were the Avims, who were conquered and displaced by the Caphtorims ( Deut. 2:23 ; Josh. 13:2 , 3 ), a Philistine tribe. In the division of the land it fell to the lot of Judah ( Josh. 15:47 ; Judg. 1:18 ). It was the southernmost of the five great Philistine cities which gave each a golden emerod as a trespass-offering unto the Lord ( 1 Sam. 6:17 ). Its gates were carried away by Samson ( Judg. 16:1-3 ). Here he was afterwards a prisoner, and “did grind in the prison house.” Here he also pulled down the temple of Dagon, and slew “all the lords of the Philistines,” himself also perishing in the ruin ( Judg. 16:21-30 ). The prophets denounce the judgments of God against it ( Jer. 25:20 ; 47:5 ; Amos 1:6 , 7 ; Zeph. 2:4 ). It is referred to in Acts 8:26 . Philip is here told to take the road from Jerusalem to Gaza (about 6 miles south-west of Jerusalem), “which is desert”, i.e., the “desert road,” probably by Hebron, through the desert hills of Southern Judea. (See SAMSON .) It is noticed on monuments as early as B.C. 1600. Its small port is now called el-Mineh.
Goshen
(1.) A district in Egypt where Jacob and his family settled, and in which they remained till the Exodus ( Gen. 45:10 ; 46:28 , 29 , 31 , etc.). It is called “the land of Goshen” (47:27), and also simply “Goshen” (46:28), and “the land of Rameses” (47:11; Ex. 12:37 ), for the towns Pithom and Rameses lay within its borders; also Zoan or Tanis ( Ps. 78:12 ). It lay on the east of the Nile, and apparently not far from the royal residence. It was “the best of the land” ( Gen. 47:6 , 11 ), but is now a desert. It is first mentioned in Joseph’s message to his father. It has been identified with the modern Wady Tumilat, lying between the eastern part of the Delta and the west border of Palestine. It was a pastoral district, where some of the king’s cattle were kept ( Gen. 47:6 ). The inhabitants were not exclusively Israelites ( Ex. 3:22 ; 11:2 ; 12:35 , 36 ). (2.) A district in Palestine ( Josh. 10:41 ; 11:16 ). It was a part of the maritime plain of Judah, and lay between Gaza and Gibeon. (3.) A town in the mountains of Judah ( Josh. 15:51 ).