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Similar Mizpah in Benjamin, Khirbet Tibnah, Bethlehem of Galilee | ||
Moresheth (Hebrew: מוֹרֶשֶׁת גַּת), also known as Moreseth-Gath, was a town of the tribe of Judah in ancient Israel mentioned in the Bible. It was located in the Shephelah region between Lachish and Achzib.
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History
It is mentioned as the home town of the prophet Micah in the Biblical Book of Micah and the Book of Jeremiah. The town was possibly also connected with Eliezer the prophet, and may have been one of Rehoboam's fortified towns When mentioned in the Bible, it is often in connection with Lachish, Keilah, Akzib and Mareshah.
It may also be the city Muchrashti, mentioned in the Amarna letters, and not coincidentally, as the town was located on an important route to Egypt and the south, explaining its fortification by Rehoboam.
Its strategic location led to its capture by Sennacherib in his attack on Judah in 701 BC. and later both Saladin and Vespasian camped nearby on the eve of sacking Jerusalem.
Name
The name Moreseth-Gath means “possession of Gath"; Gath was the city of origin of Goliath, so it has been speculated that Moresheth held a subservient relationship with the Philistine city. However, among Jewish commentators, only Abraham ibn Ezra and David Kimhi consider Moresheth-gath as the name of a place. The Targum of Jonathan and Rashi translate these two words as by "those who caused you to inherit Gath" meaning the family of David, while Wellhausen renders the passage in Micah "Thou must let go Moresheth, O Gath."
Location
