Bible Word Study
גְּדֵרָה
Gᵉdêrâh · (with the article) Gederah, a place in Palestine
גְּדֵרָה
(with the article) Gederah, a place in Palestine
Definition
Gederah (גְּדֵרָה) is a proper noun referring to a specific town in the territory of Judah, mentioned in Joshua 15:36. The name itself means 'a walled enclosure' or 'a sheepfold,' derived from the common noun for a wall or hedge. In its single biblical occurrence, it is listed among the cities in the Shephelah (lowland) region of Judah, indicating it was a fortified or enclosed settlement. No other distinct meanings or usages are attested for this place name in the biblical text.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the Old Testament, specifically in Joshua 15:36, within a list of cities allotted to the tribe of Judah. It appears in a geographical context, identifying Gederah as one of many towns in the Shephelah district. There are no patterns of usage beyond this singular, locative reference in a conquest narrative.
Etymology
Gederah is the feminine form of the noun גְּדֵרָה (gᵉdêrâh, H1448), which means 'wall,' 'enclosure,' or 'hedge.' It comes from the root גדר (gdr), meaning 'to wall up' or 'to fence in.' As a place name, it essentially means 'the enclosure' or 'the fortified place,' describing a settlement likely characterized by defensive walls or hedges.
Semantic Range
As a place name, Gederah reflects the common ancient Near Eastern practice of naming settlements after geographical features. A town named 'the enclosure' suggests it was a walled or fortified village, important for defense and community life in the contested foothills of Judah. This distinguishes it from an unwalled, open village. גְּדֵר (Geder, H1445) — A similar place name, also meaning 'wall' or 'enclosure,' but referring to a different city (e.g., Joshua 12:13).
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]