Original Word: גְּדֵרָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: gderah
Pronunciation: ghe-de-RAW or ghe-de-RETH
Phonetic Spelling: (ghed-ay-raw')
KJV: (sheep-) cote (fold) hedge, wall
NASB: walls, sheepfolds, folds, Gederah, wall
Word Origin: [feminine of H1447 (גָּדֵר - wall)]

1. enclosure (especially for flocks)

hedge, wall

Feminine of gader; enclosure (especially for flocks) -- (sheep-) cote (fold) hedge, wall.

see HEBREW gader

Word Origin
from gadar
Definition
a wall
NASB Translation
folds (1), Gederah (1), sheepfolds (2), sheepfolds* (2), wall (1), walls (3).

I. גְּדֵרָה, גְּדֶ֫רֶת noun feminine wall — גְּדֵרָה 1 Chronicles 4:23 + Psalm 62:4 (ᵑ0 גָּדֵר q. v. ), גְּדֶרֶת Ezekiel 13:5 (Co, compare ᵐ5; ᵑ0 גָּדֵר) Ezekiel 42:12 (strike out Co); plural גְּדֵרוֺת Nahum 3:17 2t., גְּדֵרֹת Numbers 32:24; construct גִּדְרוֺת Numbers 32:26 2t., גִּדְרֹת Numbers 32:16; suffix גְּדֵרֹתָיו Psalm 89:41; — wall, hedge 1 Chronicles 4:23 (or is this proper name, of a location? compare Öttli) Nahum 3:17 (where grasshoppers alight), Jeremiah 49:3; wall, connected with Ezekiel's temple Ezekiel 42:12 (strike out Co); defences Psalm 89:41; elsewhere צאן ׳ג sheep-folds Numbers 32:16,36; 1 Samuel 24:4; Zephaniah 2:6 compare Numbers 32:24; Ezekiel 13:5 Co גְּדֶרֶת after ᵐ5; Psalm 62:4 ᵑ0 גדר הדחויה, read ׳גדרה ד compare גָּדֵר.

Sheepfolds and Pastoral Life

In its earliest appearances the term denotes the rough-hewn enclosures that pastoralists constructed to pen their animals for the night. When the tribes of Reuben and Gad requested the Trans-Jordan, they told Moses, “We would like to build sheepfolds here for our flocks and cities for our little ones” (Numbers 32:16; cf. 32:24, 32:36). The folds came first in their petition, revealing how vital secure enclosures were to a shepherd culture. A gederah might be nothing more than a circular wall of stones topped with thorn branches, yet it represented livelihood, stewardship, and vigilance. By placing their little ones inside fortified towns and their animals inside folds, the tribes modeled ordered responsibility—people before profit, yet profit responsibly protected.

Refuge on the Wilderness Trail

Saul “came to the sheepfolds along the way, where there was a cave” (1 Samuel 24:3). Over centuries, folds built against rocky escarpments eroded into recesses large enough for men to hide within. David’s experience illustrates how the structures could serve both men and beasts. For the fugitive king, the fold became an ad-hoc sanctuary, a reminder that the same walls shielding sheep could also shelter God’s anointed during peril.

From Protection to Ruin

Because a gederah embodies safety, Scripture turns its collapse into a powerful lament. “You have broken down all his walls; you have reduced his strongholds to ruins” (Psalm 89:40). The psalm mourns the perceived breach of the Davidic covenant, and the image is purposeful: a toppled fold exposes vulnerable sheep just as a nation without divine favor is exposed to enemies. Jeremiah uses the same picture in his oracle against Ammon. The daughters of Rabbah are told to “run to and fro inside the walls” (Jeremiah 49:3), an ironic charge since the walls will soon fail. The prophetic message is unmistakable—where sin erodes covenant fidelity, even the most trusted enclosures crumble.

A Hedge of Discipline and Hope

Hosea delivers a different nuance. Of wayward Israel the Lord declares, “I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths” (Hosea 2:6). Here the wall is not protective but preventative, erected by a jealous Husband to block adulterous detours. Still, the object is restoration, not destruction. Divine hedging confines in order to reclaim, just as a shepherd walls in a straying ewe to heal a wound or prevent escape.

The Prophets and Moral Vigilance

Nahum mocks Nineveh’s defenders: “Your guards are like locusts … that settle in the walls on a cold day; but when the sun rises they fly away” (Nahum 3:17). A fold with vacating sentries is useless. The prophet exposes shallow allegiance that disperses under pressure. Zephaniah envisions the Philistine coast transformed: “The seacoast shall be pastures, with meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks” (Zephaniah 2:6). In judgment on the nations, the land is not annihilated but repurposed for humble shepherding, hinting at the remnant’s peace.

Temple Architecture and Sacred Boundaries

In Ezekiel’s visionary temple the word describes the partitioned chambers for priests: entrances set beneath the cells “on the east side, as one enters them from the outer court” (Ezekiel 42:12). Even in the perfected sanctuary, orderly boundaries remain. Sacred service requires designated spaces, just as husbandry requires defined folds. The physical plan teaches that worship without clear limits breeds confusion.

Ministry Implications

1. Shepherd Leadership

A fold implies watchful oversight. Elders are called to stand at the gate, guarding the flock from thieves (John 10 imagery). Neglect invites predators; vigilance assures rest.

2. Healthy Boundaries

Spiritual disciplines—doctrine, accountability, church membership—function as gederoth. They are not legalistic walls but loving enclosures keeping God’s people within green pastures and beside still waters.

3. Consequences of Broken Walls

Personal compromise and corporate unfaithfulness dismantle protective structures, exposing believers to spiritual assault. Psalm 89’s lament warns churches to maintain covenant faithfulness lest their walls fall.

4. Redemptive Confinement

God sometimes hems in wayward hearts, not out of spite but mercy. The thorny hedge of Hosea teaches that divine restriction can be a prelude to renewed intimacy.

5. Eschatological Peace

Zephaniah’s promise of tranquil folds anticipates the Shepherd-King who will gather His flock in ultimate safety. The final horizon is not endless war but serene pastures.

Thus גְּדֵרָה traces a path from everyday shepherding to the grand themes of covenant protection, discipline, and hope. Whether built of fieldstones in Gilead or envisioned in Ezekiel’s temple, the fold illustrates the unchanging truth that the LORD both guards and guides His people, enclosing them in order to bless.

בַּגְּדֵר֑וֹת בַּגְּדֵרוֹת֙ בגדרות גְּדֵרָ֔הּ גְּדֵרֹתָ֑יו גִּדְר֨וֹת גִּדְרֹ֥ת גדרה גדרות גדרת גדרתיו הַגְּדֶ֣רֶת הגדרת וְגִדְר֥וֹת וְגִדְרֹ֥ת וּגְדֵרֹ֖ת וגדרות וגדרת bag·gə·ḏê·rō·wṯ baggedeRot baggəḏêrōwṯ gə·ḏê·rāh gə·ḏê·rō·ṯāw gedeRah gəḏêrāh gederoTav gəḏêrōṯāw giḏ·rō·wṯ giḏ·rōṯ gidRot giḏrōṯ giḏrōwṯ hag·gə·ḏe·reṯ haggeDeret haggəḏereṯ ū·ḡə·ḏê·rōṯ ugedeRot ūḡəḏêrōṯ vegidRot wə·ḡiḏ·rō·wṯ wə·ḡiḏ·rōṯ wəḡiḏrōṯ wəḡiḏrōwṯInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts