Encyclopedia entry
Gerar
A region; lodging-place, a very ancient town and district in the south border of Palestine, which was ruled over by a king named Abimelech (Gen. 10:19; 20:1, 2). Abraham sojourned here, and perhaps Isaac was born in this place. Both of these patriarchs were guilty of the sin of here denying their wives, and both of them entered into a treaty with the king before they departed to Beersheba (21:23-34; 26). It seems to have been a rich pastoral country (2 Chr. 14:12-18). Isaac here reaped an hundred-fold, and was blessed of God (Gen. 26:12). The “valley of Gerar” (Gen. 26:17) was probably the modern Wady el-Jerdr.
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
(a lodging-place), a very ancient city south of Gaza. It occurs chiefly in Genesis, (Genesis 10:19; 20:1; 26:17) also incidentally in (2 Chronicles 14:13,14) It must have trenched on the “south” or “south country” of later Palestine. From a comparison of (Genesis 21:32) with Genesis26:23,26 Beersheba would seem to be just on the verge of this territory, and perhaps to be its limit towards the northeast.
In the Bible
10
Verses where Gerar is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 2 Chronicles 14:13
Then Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell and could not recover, for they were crushed before the LORD and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great amount of plunder
- 2 Chronicles 14:14
and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there.
- Genesis 10:19
and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
- Genesis 20:1
Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,
- Genesis 20:2
Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
- Genesis 26:1
Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.
+4 more verses naming Gerar.
Scripture on Gerar
5
Entries that reference Gerar
13
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.