Original Word: מוֹרֶשֶׁת גַּת
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Mowresheth Gath
Pronunciation: mo-reh'-sheth gath
Phonetic Spelling: (mo-reh'-sheth gath)
KJV: Moresheth-gath
NASB: Moresheth-gath
Word Origin: [from H3423 (יָרַשׁ יָרֵשׁ - possess) and H1661 (גַּת - Gath)]

1. possession of Gath
2. Moresheth-Gath, a place in Israel

Moresheth-gath

From yarash and Gath; possession of Gath; Moresheth-Gath, a place in Palestine -- Moresheth-gath.

see HEBREW yarash

see HEBREW Gath

Word Origin
from yarash and Gath
Definition
"possession," a place near Gath
NASB Translation
Moresheth-gath (1).

מוֺרֶ֫שֶׁת proper name, of a location apparently in neighbourhood of Gath Micah 1:14 (גַּת vocative, according to We; > most, who render M. of Gath); probably home of prophet Micah, see following

Name and Meaning

Moresheth-gath combines the Hebrew idea of possession or inheritance (moresheth) with the Philistine city of Gath. The compound name therefore evokes the picture of a border-town that was regarded as Judah’s “inheritance adjacent to Gath.”

Geographical Setting

Situated in the Shephelah (lowland foothills) of Judah, Moresheth-gath lay a few miles east of the Philistine stronghold of Gath and south-west of Jerusalem. Its location along the primary invasion corridor between Egypt and the Judean hill country made it strategically vulnerable to the great Near-Eastern empires that marched through the Levant.

Biblical Occurrence

Micah 1:14 contains the sole explicit reference:

“Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel.” (Berean Standard Bible)

The verse forms part of Micah’s series of prophetic wordplays on Judean towns threatened by the coming Assyrian advance.

Association with the Prophet Micah

Micah 1:1 identifies the prophet as “Micah of Moresheth,” a shortened form of Moresheth-gath. The prophet’s personal roots in this frontier village sharpen his impassioned warnings: he is not a distant observer but a native son whose own community stands in the path of judgment.

Historical Context

During the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah (eighth century B.C.), Assyria expanded aggressively. The Shephelah towns—including Lachish, Mareshah, and likely Moresheth-gath—were among the first targets when Sennacherib’s forces swept through in 701 B.C. The prophetic threat in Micah 1 anticipates this very devastation, a judgment for covenant infidelity.

Prophetic Significance in Micah 1

1. Wordplay of judgment: “Parting gifts” (Hebrew shilluchim) signals both a dowry metaphor and the forced dispatching of citizens into exile.
2. Covenant inheritance lost: By linking “inheritance” with “Gath,” the oracle underscores how sin erodes the promised allocation of land, surrendering it to foreign dominion.
3. Personal testimony: Micah’s hometown becomes a living illustration that no community, however small, is exempt from divine accountability.

Theological and Ministry Insights

• Divine ownership: Though near Philistia, Moresheth-gath belonged to the LORD’s allotment for Judah; persistent rebellion forfeited that stewardship. Believers today are reminded that all possessions and ministries remain God’s inheritance, to be managed faithfully (1 Corinthians 4:2).
• Compassionate warning: Micah’s lament for his own village models pastoral concern. Shepherds of Christ’s flock warn in tears, not cold detachment (Acts 20:31).
• Hope beyond judgment: Micah’s prophecies move from impending calamity (chapters 1–3) to messianic restoration (chapters 4–5). The doom pronounced upon Moresheth-gath ultimately serves the larger redemptive narrative culminating in the birth of the Messiah in nearby Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).

Archaeological and Later Tradition

Tell el-Judeideh and Khirbet el-Muraqah have both been suggested as the site of ancient Moresheth-gath. Excavations reveal eighth-century B.C. fortifications abruptly destroyed—consistent with an Assyrian onslaught. Early Christian pilgrims associated the locale with the “village of Micah,” preserving its memory into the Byzantine era.

Key Lessons for the Church

1. Proximity to compromise demands vigilance; a border location can be spiritually perilous if covenant identity is neglected.
2. The loss of inheritance is not merely territorial but relational, signaling broken fellowship with God.
3. God raises voices from within threatened communities; faithful proclamation must not shy away from confronting sin, even among one’s own people.

גַּ֑ת גת Gat gaṯInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts