1. Military and protective. — As the weakest place in a walled city, it was the chief point of attack and defence. Its strenirtli was the strength of tlie city ((in -JJ'', J- .V, I'. -Jt" 1-37'', Is 26^ Jer 14-). II liad a ].la.'r ,,f ,,ull....k ..\,-r tlie entrance, from «hirli thusi' a|i].roa.liiu'j rould be seen, and intimatiun L;i\cn a~ (.. tlirir aduiiUance. Thiswas evidently a di'x. 'I.. laiHMil oi tin; wattdi kept at the door of the shrcjiiolil (,li, in' -■). The gates of the city were closr,! at niuhl, hence in the vision of the city where there is nu night thcv remain un- closed (Rev 21==). In the charge to'l'eler, wlieie the gates of Hades are said to Ije unalile l.i |ae\ ail against the Church of Christ, the original meaning
of defensive strength seems to pass into that of aggre.siv,. force (.Mt IG"'').
2. .hnlirnil ,nnl rnuuiurcicd.—lhd Settlement of niatu'K alle( tinu eimtesled right, transfer of pro- perty and internal administration, were attended to at the open space or covered recess behind the gate (Gn 23'", Dt 25', Am 51-). The litigant was urged to come to terms with tlie adversary ' in the way' before the giite was reached, for there the
judge sat, and prison, and the uliii times of industrial pi became a liscal ins colk-et<.r.satatthei, 3. Fniunilirr ,ni,l
r, the
(Mt 5=»--«). In ective challenge there the tax-
(Mt
-/,./„
\V1
gates or
lavi.-=hly ornamented (l.s 54'-, Itcv 21-' ; Jus.^BJ V. V. 3, VI. V. 3), the gate of brass was the standard of external protection. The larger and more im- portant the city, the more imposing would be its
nubli
c-ity, the The ( »ri
jIiC
as to the sti:
and the Em
City gates, a:
door from two
for the Ottoman
Snl.liiiie I',, It.'. Christ's liat ].■.! .,iily I., darkness
a..' capalile of accom- I Ian. Is (Mt 7"-", Lk h His iither statements ■ between //^i« Kingdom of the world.
I as those at the entrance to gardens and to luid houses, frequently have a small inserted ree feet square by which an individual may i»e admitted. It has sometimes been thought that this was referred to when Christ spoke of a camel passing through the e>e of a needle (Mt 10-^); butthere is nothing either in the sense of tlie ori^dnal words or in Eastern custom to support such a supposition. See Camel.
Gates had distineuisliini; names, in.licating the localities to which ili.'\ lii|iiiej..l .>i int.i which they led (Gn 28", N.li';!, I's !i'-. Is lis", Mt 16'»), or describin'4 some eliaia. 1. risli.' ..f (he .lour itself (Ac3=). Intl,..|in.,il„-t,.-|.e.|nn. .,t Z,..n r.-st.,r,.,l and comfort.'. I, I li.' i^at.'s w .t.' t.> 1..' ca H.-.l ' I'rai-.',' and those \^■llicll .l.iiiii saw in tli.^ N.'w .lerusalem bore on their fronts the iianies ul the 'twehe tribes of the children of Israel' (Rev 21'-).
For meanings connected more especially with the entrance to tents and houses see Door.
G. M. Mackie.
GEHENNA The Heb. name Hinnom is gener- ally preceded in the OT by the word GH-, ' valley ' (Jos 15«f-), thus Gc-hinnCm, or ' Valley of Hiinioni,' whence the NT word 7^c;'i'a, wlii.h is Iraiislat.-.l in both the AV and RV 'hell' (Mt :,■-■' In • is-' 2315.33^ Mk 9«-«--", Lk 12\ .l.a :{-'): ti.im « lii.h .also we obtain the English woi.l ^-/,.„„.,. Ilis- t.n-icallv, this vail. .y is tli.' 1 1 a.lit i. ma I sit,' of the v,,i-hi|',|,ai,lt.. M.,i;'.'h,liist l.v A ha /I Li ('11283), and lat.T hv Man.ass,.!, ,:j:j-,, „h..'ma.le (h.ar children pass ihnnejh ,1,„ h,-.. ; hut v, hah v :is lat.T defiled
lal
XXvii. 1). The NT use of yeeyfa
this figurative sense. Milton also employs it thus
in his familiar lines :
s to have llal; and ..I of the •f. Enoch usively in
Opinions differ as to the identification of the valley ; but most authin-ities, including Robinson, Stanley, IStihl, ami many others, as well .as modern
Arab tf.a.Iition, i.h'ntify it with tin- vail. 'y on the AV. an.l S. si.le .,1 di.' I i.ilv I 'il \', ( h.- n|i|i.'l- ]iortion of Mhi.-h is ,all..l in Aiahi.- IT,-./-, . ,■- /;,,/„7/„: ; the l.iw.T, ((■/,,///(;,//.„»,.,«, or • \-all..\ ..I II. -11.' It is a '.l.'.-]i and yawninn' ,L;-..ruv' (\Vils..ii), an. I 'never .■..nlains wat.'r ' iS.i.-in), its .l.'s.'i.nt tV. nu il s original source to J!ir K^nnih being ai.nfoximal.'ly G70 ft.
636 GENEALOGIES OF JESUS CHRIST GENEALOGIES OF JESUS CHRIST
At the lower extremity are found numerous rock- tombs, for here seems to have been the jiotter's field for the burial of pilgrims, which was pur- chased Avitli the ' 30 pieces of silver,' and known as Akeldama, or held of blood (Mt 2r^-», Ac l"-'"). On the other hand, the Arab writer Edrisi of the 12th cent. A.D., followed by Sir C. "Warren in an extended and somewhat convincing article on ' Hinnoni (Valley of)' in Hastings' DB, identifies it with the I^idron on the E. of Jerusalem, includ- ing also its continuation below the junction of the Eastern and Western valleys at Bir Eyyub ; the whole of the valley in its descent toward the Dead Sea being known to the Arabs as Wad}/ en-SAr, 'Valley of Fire.' Still another identification is that advocated by Sayce, R. Smith, Birch, and othei-s, who locate it between tlie Temple area and the City of David, identifying it with the valley known since Jo.sephus' day as the Tjro- pffion ; but the first identification is, on the w hole, the most probable.