Greek word · G1048
Γάζα
gaza
Gazah
Proper name of one of the five old Philistine cities, near the south-west coast of Canaan. It is the last city on the coast road before the crossing of Sinai into Egypt.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
Γάζα -ης, ἡ (Heb. עַזָּה),
Gaza, in OT, one of the five chief cities of the Philistines: Acts 8:26.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
Proper name of one of the five old Philistine cities, near the south-west coast of Canaan. It is the last city on the coast road before the crossing of Sinai into Egypt.
- Against the English
Every version simply has 'Gaza.' English readers miss the pun with gaza, 'treasury,' in the next verse.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Gaza was besieged by Alexander the Great (332 BC) and destroyed by the Jewish king Alexander Jannaeus (c. 96 BC). Gabinius rebuilt it on a new site (Josephus, Antiquities 14.88). Augustus gave it to Herod, and after Herod's death it was attached to the province of Syria (Ant. 17.320). Jewish rebels attacked it in AD 66 (War 2.460). Zephaniah 2:4 says 'Gaza shall be forsaken.'
Where it appears
Acts · 1
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Acts 8:26 Γάζαν· Gaza;
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
Here: The old Philistine city near the south-west coast, the last major stop before the desert crossing to Egypt. It was the natural route home for a traveller from Africa. In v. 27 the man is in charge of the queen's gaza, a Persian loanword for 'treasury', which makes a pun on the place name.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.