Gath
גַּת
Where was biblical Gath? At Tel Tzafit (Tell es-Safi), Tel Tzafit National Park, about 40 km west of Jerusalem. I mark it very likely.
Goliath marched out of this city to fight Israel. Years later David fled here from Saul, and in time he and his six hundred men lived in Gath under King Achish.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- Tel Tzafit (Tell es-Safi), Tel Tzafit National Park
- How sure
- Very likely Strong evidence, with no serious rival.
- Other names
- Gath of the Philistines, Tell es-Safi, Tel Tzafit, Blanchegarde
- Location
- 31.6998° N, 34.8469° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
Gath lost its name, and for a long time no one could agree where it was. Excavations since 1996 have largely settled the argument. In the early Iron Age this was a very large Philistine city, with a lower city of thousands spread around the hill. That is exactly when the Bible makes Gath the leading city of the Philistines. Afterward it shrank, while Ekron, about 8 km away, grew.
The excavators found Philistine buildings, Philistine pottery and a Philistine temple with twin pillars. They also found a siege trench dug around the city and a heavy destruction from about 830 BCE. The Book of Kings says Hazael king of Aram fought against Gath and captured it. Amos later pointed to fallen Gath as a warning.
The geography does its part. Gath sits on the same stream bed as the Elah Valley. When the Bible says the Philistines came from Gath, they didn't come from far. They simply followed the stream bed inland toward the mountains. When Goliath fell, they ran back down it.
On this tel, in the Walking Tanach episode David and Goliath, I talk about who Goliath was. The Philistines were Sea Peoples from the Aegean world. Egyptian reliefs of Ramses III show their warriors with a sword and spear like Goliath's. He was not a mindless brute. He came from a culture that trained champions and settled disputes by single combat. I think it's safe to call him a gladiator.
Tel Erani, near Kiryat Gat, was once thought to be Gath, and the modern town is named for that guess. It has no large Philistine city, and it has been dropped as a candidate.
Watch: David and Goliath
Walking Tanach, Episode 3. Filmed on the tel, on Goliath the trained gladiator.
Visiting today
Tel Tzafit National Park has a climb to the summit, views over the Elah Valley, remains of a Crusader castle and the excavation areas. I filmed there for David and Goliath.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Gath on the interactive map →
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Get the print + free ebookNearby places
- Azekah 8 km east
- Ekron 9 km north
- Timnah 11 km northeast
- Socoh 12 km east
- Jarmuth 13 km east
- Mareshah 13 km south