GÉRARA (Hebr. GÉRÁR, LXX TÉPAÇá). — Ancient city of the Negeb in Palestine, on the road to Egypt, southeast of Gaza and west of Beersheba (Gen. 10:19; 20:1). It was the capital of a principality described in advance as Philistine. It is mentioned in the Bible for the sojourns of the patriarchs Abraham (Gen. 20:1–18) and Isaac (Gen. 26:1–26) and for the defeat suffered by the Bedouin invaders who, having reached Maresha, were repelled and pursued as far as G. by King Asa (c. 900) (2 Chron. 14:9).
It is generally identified with Tell Gemmeh, 13 km south of Gaza, where excavations in 1922 and 1927 revealed a stratification from Thutmose III (1480) down to the Persian period (460 BC), with important remains of Philistine pottery and many weights, suggesting a large granary emporium for the Negeb. Many Palestinian scholars still prefer to identify it with Tell es-Serʿah, 30 km southwest of Beit Jibrin, more in keeping with biblical data (2 Chron. 14:9), with Byzantine indications (Onom., 60:8), and with the Madaba map.
