Gittite
Gittite is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Coastal Plain in modern-day Israel. Known today as Tell es Safi. It appears across 2 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
The Gittite designation refers to inhabitants of Gath, one of the five principal cities of the Philistine Pentapolis located in the coastal plain of ancient Canaan. Gath is first mentioned in Joshua 11:22 among the cities where Anakim giants survived the Israelite conquest, setting the stage for the famous Philistine champions who would later challenge Israel. The Gittites appear most prominently in the narratives of David's reign. When David fled from Saul, he sought refuge with Achish king of Gath, living among the Gittites for sixteen months (1 Samuel 27:2-3). A contingent of six hundred Gittites remained fiercely loyal to David during Absalom's rebellion, with their commander Ittai the Gittite refusing to abandon the king even when offered release (2 Samuel 15:18-22). The most celebrated Gittite in Scripture is Goliath, the giant warrior whose defeat by David became paradigmatic of God's power over human strength. Obed-Edom the Gittite also appears as the custodian of the Ark of the Covenant before its transfer to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:10-11).
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Tell es-Safi, identified as ancient Gath, has been the subject of extensive excavation by the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project under Aren Maeir since 1996. Excavations have confirmed major occupation from the Chalcolithic period through the medieval era, with particularly significant Iron Age finds. A massive destruction layer dated to the late ninth century BCE corresponds to Hazael of Damascus's siege of Gath recorded in 2 Kings 12:17. The site has yielded the earliest known Philistine inscription bearing names phonetically similar to Goliath, two-handled vessels characteristic of Philistine culture, and evidence of the city's substantial Iron Age I and II presence. Tell es-Safi ranks among the most important ongoing excavations in biblical archaeology.
Verse Appearances (2)
2Sam
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]