The old German empire was dissolved in 1806. In 1815 the German Confederation was established as a league of independent states. Another great change in the constitution of the German nation was effected by the war of 186G, which united most of the German states into the North-German Confederation, under the leadership of Prussia, while Austria was wholly ex- cluded from Germany. Bavaria, Wlirtemberg, Baden, and part of Hesse-Darmstadt were I'ecognised as in- dependent South-German states. The Grand-duchy of Luxemburg was also released from all connection with Germany, and remained a semi-independent state, under the rule of the king of Holland. The little principality of Lichtenstein, in South Germany, was totally ignored at this reconstruction of Germany, and likewise formed henceforth an independent state. Our Cijclopa'dia devotes a special article to Austria, Prus- sia, and each of the smaller German states, in which a full statement of their Church history and ecclesiasti- cal statistics is given.
In 18G8, the number of Protestants, Roman Catho- lics, and Jews in the North-German Confederation and the South-German states was about as follows :
North German Confederation.
South German States
Totnl
Pi'utestants.
Rimi. C:ith.
Jews.
.",;?r>i, (1(1(1
T,>ST5,00(> 4,0.35,(100
340,200 133,000
i!4,oo:;.(i<tt)
l'.',SI(»,(>00
47:-'.,'iOO
See Hansiz, Germania Sacra (2 vols. Augsburg ; 3d vol. Vienna, 1755) ; Holl, Statistica Eccles. German. (Manheim, 1788, 2 vols.) ; Germania sacra (St. Blasien, 1791 and 1797, 2 vols.) ; Rettberg, KirchengescJiichte Deutschlands (Getting. 184G ; thus [18G9] far 3. vols.); Friedrich, Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands (Bamberg, 1867, vol. i ; 1868, vol. ii). (A. J. S.)
Gerobulus, Johannes, a clergyman of the Re- formed Church of Holland, was born at Utrecht. He was settled successively at Delft, Emden, Vlissingen, Ghent, Harlingen, Deventer, Harderwyk, and Utrecht. He died at Utreclit Feb. 14, 1606. He translated into Latin the East Friesland Catechism, and also wrote a defence of the Heidelberg Catechism against Dirk Volkertsz. Coornhert, a translation of Beza's Para- phrase of the Psalms, Advice to the Sick, and an Ac- count of the Reformed Church in Utrecht. (J. P. W.)
Geroch. See Gerhoch.
Geroda, a place mentioned in the Antonine Tables, possibly the modern Jerud, a large village on the great caravan road from Damascus to Palmyra (Porter, Da- mascus, i, 371).— Van de Velde, Memoir, p. 311.
Gerrhe'nian (only in the plural, rtpptp'ol v. r. rfr?'j;po(', Vulg. Gerreni^, apparently the designation of the inhabitants of a town, which is named in 2 Mace, xiii, 21 only as one limit (nog tmv P.) of the district committed l)y Antiochus Eupator to the government of Judas Maccabaaus, the other limit being Ptolemais (Accho). To judge by the similar expression in de- fining the extent of Simon's government in 1 Mace, xi, 59, the specification has reference to the sea-coast
GERSHOM
836
GERSON
of Palestine, ami, from the nature of the case, the Gcr- rhenians, wherever they were, must have been south of Ptolemais. Grotius seems to liave been the first to suggest that the town Gmhoii or Gerrha {Vi^fipov, Ptolemy, iv, 5, p. 103; Germ, I'liny, Nat. Hist, vi, 29; Tippa, Strabo, xvi, p. 760 ; V'tpa, Sozomen, Hist. Ecd. viii, 19) was intended, which lay between Pelusium and Khinocolura (wady el-Arish). It lias been point- ed out by Ewald (^Gesckickte, iv, 305, note) that the coast as far nortli as the latter place was at that time in possession of Egypt, and he thereon conjectures that the inhabitants of the ancient city of Gkraii, south- east of Gaza, the residence of Abraham and Isaac, are meant. In support of this, Grimm (Kurzff. Ilandb. ad loc.) mentions that at least one MS. reads Vtpaprjvihv, which would without difliculty be corrupted to Vtppr,- VMV. The Syriac version (early, and entitled to much respect) has Gozor, by whicli may be intended either (rt) the ancient Gezer, which was near the sea— some- where about Joppa ; or (b) Gaza, which appears some- times to take tliat form in these books. But these are evidently conjectural emendations of the text; and the objection of Ewald is sufficientlj- met by observing that the place in question was not included in the Maccabaean province of Judas, any more than Egtjpt of the parallel passages (1 Mace, xi, 50 ; Josephus, Ant. xiii, 5, 4). — Smith, s. v. ; Kitto, s. v. See Mac- CAB.Eus, Judas.
Ger'shom (Heb. Genliom', n'r"i5 [in Chron. usu- ally CTJi^']) expulsion [see Gershon], an etymology alluded to in Exod. ii, 22, where there is a phw upon the word, as if written D"^ 13, or Ger-Sham, q. d. a sojourner there; in which passage the Sept. preserves the form Vi)p(n'tf^i [comp. Josephus, Ti^pcrot; = l: laXtKTOQ, Ant. ii, 13, 1], but elsewhere Grrecizes Tiipuioii or ri]p- ad)i'), the name of three or four Levites.
1. The oldest son of Levi (1 Chron. vi, IG, 17, 20, 43 [in the Heb.], 02, 71 ; xv, 7), elsewhere distinctiveh^ written Gershox (q. v.).
2. The elder of the two sons (the second being Elie- zer) who were born to Moses in the land of Midian b}' Zipporah (Exod. ii, 22; xviii, 4). B.C. 1698. These sons of tlie great lawgiver held no other rank tlian that of simple Levites, while the sons of their uncle Aaron enjoj'ed all the privileges of the priesthood (1 Chron. xxiii, 1, 5, 16; xxvi, 24), a proof of the rare disinterestedness of Moses. Shebuel, one of his de- scendants, was appointed ruler (I^^J) of the treasury under David (1 Chron. xxvi, 24-28).