Gath-hepher
Coordinates: 32°44′30″N 35°19′30″E / 32.74167°N 35.32500°E
Gath-hepher (Hebrew: גַּת חֵפֶר) was a border town in ancient Israel. It was the home of the prophet Jonah. The etymology of the name is literally "wine-press of the digging"[1] and is mentioned twice in the Bible at Joshua 19:13 and 2 Kings 14:25.
Jerome in Roman Times (Commentary on Jonah) describes the town ‘as an inconsiderable village’ and tells that the tomb of Jonah was nearby.[2] Similarly the medieval geographer Benjamin of Tudela also relates the tomb of Jonah in his travels to the area.
Today the site, at Latitude 32° 44' 30" N and Longitude 35° 19' 30" E in the Galilee, is a small set of ruins on a hilltop near the Arab village of el-Meshed five kilometres north of Nazareth and one kilometre from Canna. The supposed tomb of Jonah is still pointed out by locals.
References
- ↑ "Lexicon Results for Gath-ha-Chepher". Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ↑ Ewing, William (1910). The Temple Dictionary of the Bible. London: J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd. p. 216.