GA'AL, [h] (contempt or
abomination), a
turbulent man, probably a descendant of
Hamor, an ancient prince of the Canaan-
ites, Judg. 9:26-41.
GA'ASH, [h] (tempest), a hill in
mount
Ephraim, near to which the people buried
Joshua, Josh. 24:30.
GAB'BATHA, [g] (high or
elevated),
the Hebrew name of an elevated gallery
or balcony in the palace of the Roman
governor at Jerusalem, and from its being
paved with marble, it was called the
Pavement, from the Greek
Λιθοστρωτος,
John 19:13.
GA'BRIEL, [h] (strength of God), an angel of high distinction in the presence
of
God, as appears by his mission to Daniel,
Dan. 8:16; 9:21; to Zacharias, Luke
1:[19]; and to the virgin Mary, ver. 26.
Some learned men have considered
Gabriel, as being the archangel, and the
Son[?] of God.
GAD, [h] (a band or troop, or
armed), a
son of Jacob of Zilpah, Gen. 30:11.
GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO THE. Paul
having left the Galatian churches, con-
sisting of both Jews and Gentile con-
verts, their principles were perverted by
certain teachers, who required the ob-
servance of Levitical rites, slandering the
character of the apostle, as if he had re-
ceived no commission from Christ. To
reclaim the erring disciples, vindicating
his claims to the apostleship, refuting the
pernicious errors, and re-establishing the
purity of evangelical doctrine and prac-
tice, the apostle was inspired to write
this epistle to the Galatians, from Co-
rinth, about A.D. [53], Acts 16:6; 18:
1. It is chiefly remarkable for its state-
ment and illustration of the capital doc-
trine of the free justification of
sinners,
through faith in the righteousness and
atonement of Jesus Christ.
List: Commentary.
GALBANUM, an aromatic gum, ex-
tracted from the plant Bubon galbanum
of Linnæus; it grew in Arabia and Syria,
and formed an ingredient in the sacred
ointment, Exod. 30:34.
GAL'EED, [h] (the heap of witness,
or Gilead), a large mountainous district east
of Jordan, containing several cities: the
name originated with Jacob and Laban
making a covenant of friendship and re-
conciliation at this place, Gen. 31:21,
25, 47; after which the whole district
around the mountain was so called. It
was celebrated for its excellent balm,
Gen. 37:25; Jer. 8:21.
GALILEANS, the inhabitants of Galilee:
these consisted, in the time of our
Saviour's ministry, of a mingled people,
from several nations; they had, there-
fore, a peculiar or corrupt dialect, which
was readily perceived by the more
polished Jews of Jerusalem, Acts 2:7.
Jesus having spent His early years chiefly
in one of its cities, and having chosen His
apostles from that province, both He and
they were regarded as destitute of edu-
cation, and being recognised by their
dialect, were called Galileans, John 1:
46; 7:15, 41, 52; Mark 14:70.
GALILEANS, a turbulent, political fac-
tion of the Jews, whose chief was Judas,
a Galilean, Luke 22:1, 2; Acts 5:37.
GAL'ILEE, [h] (revolution of the
wheel),
the most northern and the largest of the
three chief provinces of Canaan, Josh.
20:7; 1 Kings 9:11: the southern and
western parts of it were occupied by the
tribes of Naphthali, Issachar, and Zebu-
lon; and the northern and eastern parts
by the tribe of Asher, and half the tribe
of Manasseh, around the sea of Gennesa-
ret or Tiberias, Matt. 4:15-18; John 6:
1. This district, or, as some suppose,
part of it around Capernaum, was called
Galilee of the Gentiles, Isa. 9:1; Matt. 4:
15, because its population was increased
by numerous emigrants from the adja-
cent nations of Phœnicia, Syria, and
parts of Arabia.
GAM'MADIMS, [h] (courageous men),
guards, invincibles in the garrison of
Tyre, Ezek. 27:11.
GAP, a breach, as in a provocation
against God, Ezek. 13:5; 22:30.
GAPED, did gape or stare, Job 16:10;
Psal. 22:13.
GARDEN, a plot of ground enclosed for
the growth of plants, fruits, and flowers,
Gen. 2:15. Garden is used to denote
fertility, Num. 24:6; Deut. 11:10, and
an emblem of the church of God, whose
members are called "trees of righteous-
ness" and the "planting of the LORD,"
Isa. 58:11; 61:3.
GARDENER, one that cultivates gar-
dens, John 20:15.
GA'REB, [h] (a scab), one of the
mighty
captains of David, 1 Chron. 11:40.
GARLAND, a chaplet or crown of flowers
or ribands, worn at festivals by the pagan
priests and the idolatrous worshippers,
and also by their victims offered in
sacrifice, Acts 14:13.
GARLICK, a plant resembling the onion,
much used for food, and even worshipped,
in Egypt, Num. 11:5.
GATHERER, a collector, as of fruit,
Jer. 6:9; Amos 7:14.
GATHERING, the act of assembling, as
the nations to the acknowledgment of
Christ, Gen. 49:10; and the saints to
ascend with him in glory, 2 Thess. 2:1:
the making of a pecuniary contribution,
1 Cor. 16:2.
GAVE, did give, as Adam gave names
to the creatures, Gen. 2:20: did offer for
a present, as Abraham gave a tenth part
of the spoils of his enemies, 14:20: did
bestow, as God gave His Son to be our
Mediator and Redeemer, John
3:16;
and His Spirit in all needful gifts for the
service of His church, Eph. 4:8-11; and
His blessed revelation, in the Scriptures
of His inspired prophets and apostles,
1 John 5:10: did die, as Abraham gave
up the ghost, Gen. 25:8.
GENDER, to breed, Lev. 19:19: to
produce, 2 Tim. 2:23: to lead to, Gal.
4:34.
GENEALOGY, a register of ancestors in
a family or tribe: such was kept with
great care in the early ages, especially
by the Israelites, to distinguish the
several tribes, and for the sake of the Messiah, who was to arise in the tribe
of
Judah, Gen. 5. 10.; 1 Chron. 1. 4. 5:1; 9:
1. Many of the private, and some of the
public genealogies, were lost[?] during
the
revolutions in Israel, during fifteen hun-
dred years from the time of Moses; hence
various difficulties and useless disputa-
tions arose among the vain and ambi-
tious, from the changes and omission
of
names in the families of the Jews, 1 Tim.
1:4; Tit. 3:9. These difficulties
exist to
some extent in the lists copied from the
acknowledged national registers, by Mat-
thew and Luke, Matt. 1.; Luke 3.
GENERAL, one that has the command
over an army, 1 Chron. 27:34.
GENERAL, the whole or universal, Heb.
12:23.
GENERAL. "To the
general assembly and
church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven,"
Heb. 12:23a.
GENERAL. Christ's church:
The Heavenly Assembly of
the saints (Heb. 12:23; 2:12).--DWC
GENERALLY, without excep-
tion, 2 Sam. 17:11; Jer. 48:38.
GENERATION, natural production or
birth, Deut. 23:2-8: progress, or course
of existence, Gen. 2:4: geneaology, 10:1:
the people of an age, 7:1: a particular
class of persons, Matt. 3:7; 12:59; 17:
17; 1 Pet. 2:9. "[T]he book of the genera-
tions of Adam[,]" is the history of
his
creation and of his posterity, Gen. 5:1:
and the "book of the generation of Jesus
Christ," is the record of His ancestry and
course of life, Matt. 1:1. Generation sig-
nifies the ordinary period of human life,
which was upwards of one hundred years
in the time of Abraham; hence his de-
scendants were to return to Canaan in
the fourth generation, Gen. 15:14-16;
Exod. 12:40, 41. In the time of our
Saviour, human life was reduced to little
more than thirty years: hence He said,
"This generation shall not pass [away],
till all these things be fulfilled[,]"
Matt.
24:34, which intended that, before the
decease of the Jews then living, Jerusa-
lem would be destroyed by the Romans:
and this calamity happened about thirty-
seven years afterwards. "[W]ho shall
declare his generation?" means the man-
ner of life and character of our Lord, as
his advocate on His trial before His con-
demnation. Such was the malignity of
the Jewish rulers who had determined
on His death, that no one dared to arise
and declare the innocency of our Saviour,
Isa. 53:8; Matt. 26:3, 15, 65.
GEN'ESIS,
Γενεσις (generation or
creation):
this Greek title is used, because this first
book in the Bible relates the history of
the creation of all things by the word of
Almighty God. Genesis is the most
ancient book in the world; and without
its information, mankind would remain
in distressing ignorance of those great
subjects most necessary to be known as
the basis of all religion. But its records
concerning the creation; the fall of man
and his consequent suffering, misery, and
mortality; God's gracious promise of a
Saviour; the long duration of human life
in the first stages; the corruption of the
world; the universal deluge; the con-
fusion and diversity of languages; the
dispersion of mankind for the foundation
of nations; and the separation of Abra-
ham for the preservation of true religion,
and of a written revelation from God
until the times of the Messiah; prove this
book to have been composed under Divine
inspiration, and make it serve as the key
to the studies of historians, chronologers,
philosophers, and astronomers, even in
their various modern discoveries and im-
provements in general science. Genesis
evinces such simplicity in its narratives,
such consistency in its several parts,
such correctness in its dates, such accu-
racy in its philosophical details, such
purity in its morality, such impartiality
in its biography, and such benevolence
in its design, that it appears to every
serious reader as given by inspiration
from God. Moses is believed to have
written this book of Genesis while an
exile in Midian; and it contains the his-
tory of the world for the period of 2369
years, from the creation of Adam to the
death of Joseph in Egypt.
GENTLENESS OF CHRIST,
Christian
kindness, possessed by influence of the
grace of Christ, 2 Cor. 10:1.
GENTLENESS OF GOD, His merciful
kindness
, Psal. 18:35.
GENTLY, tenderly, 2 Sam. 18:5;
Isa. 40:11.
GERAH, the smallest Hebrew coin, the
twentieth part of a shekel, and in value
about a penny halfpenny, Exod. 30:13;
Lev. 27:25.
GE'RAR, [h] (pilgrimage), a royal
city
of the Philistines, Gen. 20:1; 26:1.
GERGESENES, [g] (those who come
from pilgrimage or fight), the Gadarenes, a
people on the east of the sea of Tiberias,
Matt. 8:28. See GADARENES.
GER'IZIM, [h] (safeties or
cuttings), as
of reapers, a mountain about one thou-
sand feet high, near mount Ebal, at the
foot of which Sychar was situated, in Samaria. Gerizim was fertile, but
Ebal
was barren; and hence they were used
by the tribes of Israel on which to pro-
nounce with great solemnity the blessings
and curses of the law of God. Deut. 11:
29; Josh. 8:33. Gerizim became famous
for its temple, erected by the Samaritans,
who were settled in several cities by the
king of Assyria, 2 Kings 17:24-34, in
opposition to the temple built at Jerusa-
lem by the Jews who had returned from
Babylon, Ezra 4:1-10. The temple on
Gerizim was demolished about the year
129 B.C., by Hyrcanus, a Jewish prince;
but the mountain was still held sacred
by the Samaritans in the time of our
Saviour, John 4:20.
GER'SHOM, [h] (a stranger here), the
eldest son of Moses, born in Midian,
Exod. 2:16-22.
GER'SHON, [h] (a stranger), the
eldest
son of Levi, Gen. 46:11.
GER'SHONITES, the family and de-
scendants of Gershon, a numerous branch
of the Levites, who served the taberna-
cle, Num 3:17-21.
GE'SHUR, [h] (a walled valley), a
noted
city of Bashan in Syria, a daughter of
whose king, Talmai, was wife to David,
and mother of Absalom, 2 Sam. 3:3;
13:37, 38; 15:8.
GESH'URITES, the people of Geshur, a
clan of whom dwelt in the south of
Canaan, among the Philistines, Josh. 12:
5; 13:2-13; 1 Sam. 27:8.
GET, to obtain, as property, Gen.
34:10; or requisite supplies, Lev.
14:21, 22: to go to, or arrive at, a place,
Exod. 1:10; Acts 22:18.
GETTING, procuring, as property, Gen.
21:18; Prov. 21:6.
GI'AH, [h] (to guide), a vale or
stream,
near Gibeon, 2 Sam. 2:24.
GIANT, a monstrous or terrible man,
Gen. 6:4. Nimrod, in the Greek ver-
sion, is said to have been "a giant in the
earth," 10:8, and "a giant before the
LORD." Mighty, daring men, who were
terrible to others, are also called "Ana-
kims," "Rephaims," and "Emims," 14:
5; 15:20; Deut. 2:10, 11. Some of theses
terrible men were of great stature, 3:
11-13. Goliath was upwards of ten feet
in height, 1 Sam. 17:4; and several
members of his family were of extra-
ordinary height, 2 Sam. 21:16-22.
GIB'BETHON, [h] (a high house), a
city
of Dan, given to the Levites, but mostly
possessed by the Philistines, Josh. 21:
23; 1 Kings 15:27; 16:15.
GIB'BEAH, [h] (a hill), a city of
Judah,
but possessed by Benjamin, Josh. 15:57:
it is memorable for its being destroyed,
when the tribe of Benjamin was nearly
ruined, Judg. 19.; 20. Gibeah was re-
built, and became the residence of king
Saul, 1 Sam. 15:34; 2 Sam. 21:6.
GLORIFIED, honoured, as God
has glo-
rified Christ, by sustaining Him through
His sufferings in His work of mediation,
raising Him to the honour of His throne
after it was accomplished, granting Him
the gifts of the Holy Spirit, for the
supply of the church, and, as the reward
of His sufferings, blessing the nations
with the knowledge of His name, and a
participation of His exalted glories as
their Saviour, John 7:39; 17:1, 4, 23;
Acts 3:13; 2 Thess. 1:10.
