Gerar

 

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Gerar

Meaning - circle or rolling

Gerar is a city of Canaan, south of Gaza. It was a place where Abraham sojourned while Sarah was pregnant with Isaac and is probably the birth place of Isaac. It was ruled by Abimelech (Gen. 10:19; 20:1, 2)

Abimelech (which is the title of a ruler and not the person's name) desired to have Sarah as his wife, Abraham feared that he would be killed and lied to Abimelech. He told him that Sarah was his sister (Genesis 20). God revealed to him that Abraham had lied , in which case Abraham was rebuked. In a later incident, Isaac lived in Gerar for a brief period with Rebekah. Like his father, he lied to Abimelech about his wife, claiming that she was his sister (Gen 26:7-11). As Isaac continued to live in Gerar, his herds and crops became so bountiful there that the local Philistines envied him. They attempted to drive him away by filling in the wells that his father Abraham had dug. Isaac moved to the nearby valley of Gerar (Gen 26:12-17).

There are two possible locations for Gerar. It is believed to be associated with Tell Jemmeh or Tel Abu Hureira (Tel Haror).

Scriptures

Genesis 10: 19

Genesis 20: 1,2

Genesis 26: 1-26

2 Chronicles 14: 13,14