Gedor
Gedor is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khirbet Jedur. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
This fourth entry for Gedor represents yet another reference to the Judean highland city identified with Khirbet Jedur, reflecting the multiple genealogical and geographic mentions of the name in the Old Testament. In 1 Chronicles 4:18, Jered is named as the "father of Gedor" in a list of descendants of Mered, of the tribe of Judah, who married an Egyptian woman. This genealogical notice preserves another founding tradition for the city, distinct from the Penuel tradition in verse 4, suggesting that Gedor was sufficiently prominent to appear in several parallel genealogical lines within the Chronicler's sources. The convergence of multiple founding figures for the same city is a known feature of biblical genealogy, where different clans or family groups may each have claimed historic association with a particular settlement. Gedor's repeated appearance in 1 Chronicles 4 reflects its status as a known and valued town in the Judean highlands, embedded in the collective memory of Judah's tribal genealogies. The Chronicler's meticulous preservation of these traditions, even when they appear redundant, reflects his concern to honor the full range of Judah's ancestral heritage in the land.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
This entry shares the archaeological identification of Gedor with Khirbet Jedur in the Judean highlands. The multiplicity of genealogical references to Gedor in 1 Chronicles 4 suggests it was a well-established community during the Iron Age, when the Chronicler's genealogical sources were likely compiled or transmitted. Regional survey data from the highlands north of Hebron documents a network of Iron Age II settlements whose occupational patterns align with the tribal geography described in Chronicles. The site of Khirbet Jedur itself preserves surface ceramic evidence of ancient habitation, though extensive stratigraphic excavation has not been conducted. Continued survey work in this region of the West Bank remains important for understanding the settlement history of the Judean highlands.
Verse Appearances (1)
1Chr
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]