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Gath - location profile

Location and Setting

Located in the center of the Philistine territory, Gath was the leading city of the Philistine pentapolis, the five main Philistine city-states. Gath was situated five miles south of Ekron and fifteen miles inland from the Mediterranean coast.
Gath was located in the Shephelah region (the "foothills"), approximately two miles west of the border between Philistine and Israelite territory.
The inland route of the International Coastal Highway passed through Gath, as did also the important road from the hill country through Azekah to Ashdod on the coast.

Gath was included in the list of cities that Joshua had not conquered (Josh 11:22).
The Anakites, a people of extraordinarily large stature, lived in Gath. Goliath, the giant David slew in the nearby Valley of Elah, came from the city of Gath (1 Sam 17:4). Apparently he was a descendant of the Anakites, whom Joshua failed to completely eliminate.
When God afflicted the Philistines of Ashdod with tumors and devastation, they sent the Ark of the Covenant to Gath. God also afflicted the people of Gath with tumors, so they sent the Ark up the Valley of Sorek to Ekron (1 Sam 5:8-9).
On two occasions, David fled to Gath for refuge from Saul. The first time, David was forced to act like a madman to save himself from Achish, king of Gath (1 Sam 21:10-15). The second time David fled to Gath, Achish gave him the town of Ziklag in the Negev, where he lived for a year and four months (1 Sam 27:1-7).
King Sargon II of Assyria took control of Gath in 715 B.C. After this, Gath was no longer mentioned in the Bible. The later prophets who prophesied against the Philistine cities omitted Gath (Jer 25:20; Amos 1:6-8; Zeph 2:4-6; Zech 9:5).

Barabas, S. "Gath" The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Ed. Merrill C. Tenney. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976.
Mitchell, T.C. "Gath" The New Bible Dictionary. 2^nd ed. Ed. J.D. Douglas. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1982.
Monson, James M. Student Map Manual. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979.