Original Word: גִּרְגָּשִׁי
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: Girgashiy
Pronunciation: gir-gaw-shee'
Phonetic Spelling: (ghir-gaw-shee')
KJV: Girgashite, Girgasite
NASB: Girgashite, Girgashites
Word Origin: [patrial from an unused name (of uncertain derivation)]

1. a Girgashite, one of the native tribes of Canaan

Girgashite, Girgasite

Patrial from an unused name (of uncertain derivation); a Girgashite, one of the native tribes of Canaan -- Girgashite, Girgasite.

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a native tribe of Canaan
NASB Translation
Girgashite (5), Girgashites (2).

גִּרְגָּשִׁי adjective, of a people only ׳הַגּ as proper name collective; 'begotten' by Canaan Genesis 10:16 = 1 Chronicles 1:14; in list of Canaanitish peoples displaced by Israel; territory unknown; Genesis 15:21; Deuteronomy 7:1; Joshua 3:10; Joshua 24:11; Nehemiah 9:8; compare Genesis 10:16; 1 Chronicles 1:14 above (Hexateuch only J E D).

Identity and Origin

The Girgashites are listed among the sons of Canaan (Genesis 10:16; 1 Chronicles 1:14), making them ethnically Canaanite and therefore Hamitic in the Table of Nations. Their repeated grouping with major Canaanite peoples—Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, and Canaanites—links them to the indigenous inhabitants of the land later promised to Abraham and his descendants.

Place in the Abrahamic Covenant

When the LORD confirmed His covenant with Abram, the Girgashite territory was specifically named among the lands to be granted to Abram’s seed (Genesis 15:21). This inclusion demonstrates the scope of the promised inheritance and foreshadows both Israel’s right to the land and the divine judgment that awaited the entrenched Canaanite cultures.

Nehemiah recalls this covenant centuries later: “You made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites—to give it to his descendants” (Nehemiah 9:8). The post-exilic community could therefore rest in the same unbroken promise that had sustained Abraham.

Role in Israel’s Conquest

Before Israel entered Canaan, Moses warned the people that seven nations, including the Girgashites, were “greater and stronger than you” (Deuteronomy 7:1). Joshua echoed the assurance of victory:

“This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites” (Joshua 3:10).

Interestingly, although the Girgashites appear in these conquest lists, the narrative books do not record a specific battle against them. Some commentators suggest they may have migrated—possibly toward North Africa—before the main Israelite advance, but Scripture gives no direct explanation. Their disappearance, whether by flight or defeat, still fulfills the divine word that the land would be cleared for Israel (Joshua 24:11).

Geographical Considerations

Later Jewish tradition places the Girgashites in the western Galilee region, perhaps near the marshy ground east of the Sea of Galilee (ancient “Gergesa”), but the Bible itself never fixes their borders. Archaeology has not yet supplied clear evidence tying any excavated site to the Girgashites with certainty, leaving the biblical text as the chief witness to their existence.

Spiritual and Theological Significance

1. God’s Sovereignty in Judgment and Mercy

The fate of the Girgashites reinforces the biblical principle that God “determines the appointed times and the boundaries of their lands” (Acts 17:26). Their removal illustrates both righteous judgment upon persistent idolatry and covenant faithfulness toward Abraham’s seed.

2. Assurance for Covenant People

Repeated mention of the Girgashites in key covenant and conquest passages underscores the reliability of God’s promises. Every generation of Israel could look back and see that not a single people group named by the LORD—Girgashites included—remained to invalidate His word.

3. Holiness and Separation

Deuteronomy 7:1–6 attaches the command to drive out the Girgashites to the call for Israel to remain holy and distinct. The spiritual lesson transcends eras: God’s people must guard against assimilation into surrounding cultures that oppose divine truth.

Historical Reflections

While extra-biblical sources are sparse, a possible connection exists between the Girgashites and the people known in Egyptian texts as the “Krgs” or with the region called “Gergesa” in later Greek sources. Such correlations, though tentative, affirm that the Girgashites fit naturally within the Late Bronze Age milieu of Canaan described in Scripture.

Summary

The Girgashites, though a relatively obscure tribe, serve an outsized theological purpose. They anchor the Table of Nations, frame the Abrahamic promise, and highlight the faithfulness of God during the conquest. Their silent exit from the stage of redemptive history testifies that not one word of the LORD falls to the ground (Joshua 21:45).

הַגִּרְגָּשִֽׁי׃ הַגִּרְגָּשִׁ֔י הַגִּרְגָּשִׁ֖י הגרגשי הגרגשי׃ וְהַגִּרְגָּשִׁ֔י וְהַגִּרְגָּשִׁ֖י וְהַגִּרְגָּשִׁ֨י והגרגשי hag·gir·gā·šî haggirgaShi haggirgāšî vehaggirgaShi wə·hag·gir·gā·šî wəhaggirgāšîInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts