Gath-Hepher

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Gath-Hepher (  Joshua 19:13 [AV [Note: Authorized Version.] wrongly Gittah-hepher , which is simply the form of the name with He locale ],   2 Kings 14:25 , ‘wine press of the pit or well’). The home of the prophet Jonah. It lay on the border of Zebulun, and is mentioned with Japhia and Rimmon the modern Yâfâ and Rummâneh . Jerome, in the preface to his Com. on Jonah, speaks of Geth quae est in Opher (cf. Vulg. [Note: Vulgate.]   2 Kings 14:25 ), and places it 2 Roman miles from Sepphoris ( Seffûrieh ), on the road to Tiberias. This points to el-Meshhed , a village on a slight eminence N. of the Tiberias road, 1 / 2 mile W. of Kefr Kenna , where one of Jonah’s many reputed tombs is still pointed out.

W. Ewing.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

("the winepress of the well".)  Joshua 19:12-13. On Zebulun's border, near Japhia (Yafa). Jonah's birthplace ( 2 Kings 14:25). Now El Meshhad, where his tomb is still shown, two miles E. of Sefurieh (Sepphoris).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

In Zebulun, was the birthplace of Jonah,  1 Kings 4:10;  2 Kings 14:25 . It lay near Sepphoris, on a road leading to Tiberias.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Joshua 19:13 2 Kings 14:25

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 2 Kings 14:25 Joshua 19:13

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. with the art. Gath ha-Che'pher, גִּת הִחֵפֶו , Wine-Press Of The well; Sept. Γεθχόφερ , Vulg. Geth Quae Est In Opher), a town in Galilee, the birthplace of the prophet Jonah ( 2 Kings 14:25). It is stated by Eusebius and Jerome to have been in the tribe of Zebulun (Onomast. s.v. Γεθθεφά , Gethefer). The latter (Praef Ad Jon.) speaks of it as a small place two miles from Sepphoris, on the way to Tiberias, and says that the sepulcher of Jonah was shown in his day. Benjamin of Tudela, in the 12th century, says that the tomb of Jonah was still shown on a hill near Sepphoris (Early Travels in Pal. page 89). It was doubtless the same as Gittah-Hepher situated in the east of Zebulun ( Joshua 19:13). The position corresponds well to that of ea-Meshadn, a village on the top of a rocky hill, in which is still shown a Muslim tomb, of the prophet Jonah (Robinson, Researches, 3:209, note; De Saulcy, Narrative, 2:318; Thomson, Land and Book, 2:122; Schwarz, Palest. page 89; Van de Velde, Memoim, page 312). (See Gufta).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

gath - hē´fẽr ( גּ ת החפר , gath ha - ḥēpher , "winepress of the pit"): A town on the boundary of Zebulun (  Joshua 19:13; the King James Version in error, "Gittah-hapher"), the birthplace of the prophet Jonah ( 2 Kings 14:25 ). Jerome ( Commentary on Jonah ) speaks of Geth as an inconsiderable village, about 2 miles from Sepphoris on the Tiberias road, where the tomb of Jonah was shown. Benjamin of Tudela says that Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet was buried "in the mountain" near Sepphoris (Bohn, Early Travels in Palestine , 88). These indications agree with the local tradition which identifies Gath-hepher with el - Meshhed , a village with ancient ruins on a height North of the road as one goes to Tiberias, about 2 miles from Nazareth, and half a mile from Kefr Kennah .