Gimzo
Gimzo is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Samaria in modern-day Israel. Known today as Jimzu. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Gimzo appears only once in the Old Testament, in 2 Chronicles 28:18, as one of the Judean cities captured by the Philistines during the reign of King Ahaz. This account records a period of severe military pressure on Judah from multiple directions simultaneously: the Syro-Ephraimite coalition invaded from the north, Edom attacked from the southeast, and the Philistines raided the Shephelah and Negev from the west. The Philistine campaign captured Gimzo and its surrounding villages along with Beth-Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, and Timnah. The loss of these Shephelah settlements represented a significant strategic blow to Judah, cutting off access to the coastal plain trade routes and agricultural lowlands. Ahaz's response was to seek assistance from the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III rather than trusting in the Lord, a decision the Chronicler presents as compounding Judah's troubles rather than resolving them (2 Chronicles 28:20-21). Gimzo's brief appearance in Scripture thus marks it as part of the larger narrative of Judah's spiritual decline under Ahaz.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Gimzo is identified with the modern Israeli town of Jimzu, located in the Shephelah foothills southeast of Lod. The ancient site in the vicinity preserves the biblical name through centuries of continuous Semitic usage, a common phenomenon in Palestinian place-name survival. Archaeological surveys of the Jimzu area have identified ancient occupation remains, including pottery from the Iron Age II period consistent with its appearance in the eighth-century BCE context of Ahaz's reign. The location along the western approaches to the Judean highlands made Gimzo strategically significant for controlling access between the coastal plain and the hill country. No major excavation has been conducted at the ancient tell associated with Gimzu, but surface finds confirm pre-Roman occupation.
Verse Appearances (1)
2Chr
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →