Gath-hepher

32°44′30″N 35°19′30″E

Gath-hepher (Israel)

Gath-hepher or Gat Hefer (Hebrew: גַּת הַחֵפֶר, romanized: Gaṯ haḤēp̄er) was a border town in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE. According to the Deuteronomistic history, it was the home of the prophet Jonah.^[1]

History

Jonah's tomb

Gath means winepress in Hebrew.^[2][3] The town is mentioned twice in the Hebrew Bible, in Joshua 19:13 and 2 Kings 14:25. In Joshua, a copying error has resulted in the form Gittah-hepher.^[4]

Jerome in Roman Empire describes the town as "an inconsiderable village" and tells that the tomb of Jonah was nearby.^[5] Similarly, the medieval geographer Benjamin of Tudela also relates the tomb of Jonah in his travels to the area.

Today the site, at latitude 32° 44' 30" N and longitude 35° 19' 30" E in the Galilee, is a small set of ruins on a hilltop near the Arab village of Mashhad five kilometres north of Nazareth and one kilometre from Kafr Kanna. The supposed tomb of Jonah is still pointed out by locals.