CHAPTER I

(I) OLD TESTAMENT, (II) DEUTERO-CANONICAL BOOKS, (III) NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES TO GAZA

There are twenty _Old Testament_ allusions to Gaza; certainly one reference in the _Deutero-Canonical_ books; and one more in the _Acts of the Apostles_.

1. Genesis x. 19.--_The border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza._ Thus Gaza is among the earliest of the Canaanitish cities mentioned in Genesis. The reference in this early chapter, which transports us into the dim dawn of human history, is a presumption of its extreme antiquity, and like its distant neighbour Sidon suggests its being among the most ancient cities of the world. Even before Abraham left his fatherland Gaza stood on the southernmost border of Canaan. Its important strategic position on the frontier of Egypt has contributed to its long-continued existence.

Gaza, like Damascus, is mentioned both in the _Book of Genesis_, and in the _Acts of the Apostles_.

2. Joshua x. 41.--_Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza._

Gaza became celebrated as one of the five royal cities of the Philistines.

Politically, there were five _principal_ centres: the cities of Ashdod, Gaza, Askelon, Gath, and Ekron (1 Sam. vi. 16, 17).

Unlike its neighbours Gath and Askelon, Gaza has survived the various changes of history. Ashdod is now the mud village of Esdûd. The modern name of Askelon is 'Askalân.[4] The site of Gath is uncertain. Ekron is identified with 'Akîr, near a station on the railway from Jaffa to Jerusalem.

3. Joshua xi. 22.--_There were none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained._

Joshua only partially subdued this remarkable people, who seem to have been akin to the Rephaim and other gigantic races alluded to in the Old Testament. It was not contemplated that, under any circumstances, the "dispossession" alluded to in Numb. xxxiii. 51-3, would be _at once_ completed, as plainly intimated in Exodus xxiii. 29, 30.[5]

4. Joshua xv. 20 and 47.--_This is the inheritance of the tribe of Judah ... Gaza with her towns and her villages._

Although the tribe of Judah, to whom the city fell, subdued it, yet they appear to have held it but a short time.[6]

5. Judges i. 18.--_Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof._

This victory of Judah _alone_ over the chief cities of Palestine is a proof that the subsequent oppression of Israel by the Philistines was due to the sins of Israel. The five lords of the Philistines not only regained possession of their own territory, but also increased in strength, and, at length, extended their jurisdiction in turn over the Israelites (Judges iii. 1-5).

"The Philistines appear to have come into the maritime plain of Syria either shortly before or shortly after Israel left Egypt."--_G. A. Smith._

6. Judges vi. 3-5.--_When Israel had sown, the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, ... and they encamped against them ... till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel._

A new apostasy, punished by the oppression of Midian, is here introduced. This invasion came from the south-east and extended over the whole land "unto Gaza" in the south-west.

7. Judges xvi. 1-4.--_Then went Samson to Gaza._

8. Judges xvi. 21-31.--_The Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza._

Gaza had been the scene of Samson's sin (verses 1 and 2). It is now made the scene of his punishment.

After forty years of oppression, Samson appeared as the champion and avenger of his people. The tragic close of his life has given Gaza an imperishable fame.

"Samson hath quit himself Like Samson, and heroically has finished A life heroic."--_Milton._

The famous Dagon, or the "Fish-god," who had a temple at Gaza (Judges