גְּרָר
𐤂𐤓𐤓
Gerar
H1642 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Proper place name referring to Gerar, a city and district located in the southwest of Canaan, near the border of the Negev. Its primary usage in the Hebrew Bible denotes a specific location associated with Philistine and patriarchal narratives. While sometimes understood as 'the region or city of Gerar,' its semantic range is largely toponymic and not descriptive in ordinary vocabulary.
Semantic Range
proper place name for Gerar (city/district); rarely refers to the territory around the city; not used in common speech as a noun or adjective
Root / Etymology
Derived from root גָּרַר ('to drag, draw, roll'), though the connection between the city's name and this root is uncertain and may be folk etymology. The place name גְּרָר is not clearly descriptive of the landscape, and thus the etymology is deemed uncertain.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the Hebrew Bible, גְּרָר features most prominently in Genesis with Abraham and Isaac sojourning or interacting there (Genesis 20, 26). It appears as a settlement near the territory traditionally inhabited by Philistines or, earlier, pre-Philistine inhabitants. Use of the term in later biblical history is rare and its precise location remains debated among archaeologists, though generally placed south of Gaza. Unlike terms such as פלשת ('Philistia'), גְּרָר functions strictly as a toponym. English translations render it 'Gerar,' but its association with 'rolling' or terrain is speculative and not textually developed; ancient Israelite readers would have encountered it as a place-name only, not a general noun. In post-biblical or Hellenistic contexts, the word does not acquire further semantic development.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
probably from גָּרַר; a rolling country; Gerar, a Philistine city; Gerar.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
גרר (g-r-r) — to drag, draw, roll
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1620 | גַּרְגַּר | round berries |
| H1621 | גַּרְגְּרוֹת | your throats |
| H1625 | גֵּרָה | regurgitated cud |
| H1626 | גֵּרָה | scraped weight-unit |
| H1627 | גָּרוֹן | in their throat |
Word Forms
5 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1642-02 |
גְּרָ֔ר | gerar | HNp |
Gerar | Gerar | Gerar | 4 |
H1642-01 |
בִּ/גְרָֽר | bigerar | HR/Np |
in Gerar | in Gerar | in Gerar | 2 |
H1642-03 |
גְרָ֖רָ/ה | gerarah | HNp/Sd |
to Gerar | Gerar-ward | Gerar | 2 |
H1642-04 |
לִ/גְרָר֒ | ligerar | HR/Np |
Gerar | to Gerar | to Gerar | 1 |
H1642-05 |
מִ/גְּרָ֑ר | migerar | HR/Np |
from Gerar | from Gerar | from Gerar | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
10 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1642-03 |
Genesis 10:19 | גְרָ֖רָ/ה | gerarah | HNp/Sd |
to Gerar | Gerar-ward | Gerar |
H1642-01 |
Genesis 20:1 | בִּ/גְרָֽר | bigerar | HR/Np |
in Gerar | in Gerar | in Gerar |
H1642-02 |
Genesis 20:2 | גְּרָ֔ר | gerar | HNp |
of Gerar | Gerar | Gerar |
H1642-03 |
Genesis 26:1 | גְּרָֽרָ/ה | gerarah | HNp/Sd |
to Gerar | Gerar-ward | Gerar |
H1642-01 |
Genesis 26:6 | בִּ/גְרָֽר | bigerar | HR/Np |
in Gerar | in Gerar | in Gerar |
H1642-02 |
Genesis 26:17 | גְּרָ֖ר | gerar | HNp |
of Gerar | Gerar | Gerar |
H1642-02 |
Genesis 26:20 | גְרָ֗ר | gerar | HNp |
Gerar | Gerar | Gerar |
H1642-05 |
Genesis 26:26 | מִ/גְּרָ֑ר | migerar | HR/Np |
from Gerar | from Gerar | from Gerar |
H1642-04 |
2 Chronicles 14:12 | לִ/גְרָר֒ | ligerar | HR/Np |
Gerar | to Gerar | to Gerar |
H1642-02 |
2 Chronicles 14:13 | גְּרָ֔ר | gerar | HNp |
Gerar | Gerar | Gerar |