Word Study for H1660 (גַּת) | Strong's Concordance

gath /gath/ Ask about this word

Rootprobably from נָגַן (in the sense of treading out grapes)

Meaninga wine-press (or vat for holding the grapes in pressing them)

KJV usage(wine-) press (fat).

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of gath — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word gath, represented by H1660, refers to a wine-press or a vat for holding grapes during pressing. It is likely derived from a root word meaning to tread out grapes. This term appears 5 times in 5 unique verses, carrying both a literal agricultural meaning and a powerful metaphorical weight.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In its literal sense, H1660 denotes the physical press used for winemaking. In Nehemiah, the people are rebuked for "treading wine presses on the sabbath" Nehemiah 13:15, highlighting its role in daily labor and commerce. It also serves as a landmark or location, as when Gideon "threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites" Judges 6:11. Figuratively, it becomes a symbol of divine judgment. The Lord is depicted as treading the people of Judah "as in a winepress" Lamentations 1:15, and a figure with red-stained garments is compared to one "that treadeth in the winefat" Isaiah 63:2, symbolizing the consequences of wrath.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words illuminate the actions associated with the winepress:

H1869 dârak (to tread): This word for treading is explicitly linked to the winepress imagery. In a vision of judgment, God is described as having "trodden" the people of Judah in a winepress Lamentations 1:15.
H2251 châbaṭ (to thresh): This term for beating out grain is used when Gideon "threshed" wheat at the winepress, showing a related agricultural process of separation taking place at the same location Judges 6:11.
H7665 shâbar (to crush, break): This word intensifies the winepress metaphor for judgment. God calls an assembly against Judah specifically "to crush" the young men, linking the act of crushing to the treading of the press Lamentations 1:15.

Theological Significance

The theological significance of H1660 is primarily tied to its use as a metaphor for God's judgment.

Divine Judgment: The image of treading grapes in a winepress is used to portray the complete and overwhelming nature of divine wrath against wickedness. The press is "full" and the vats "overflow" because the people's "wickedness is great" Joel 3:13.
National Suffering: For Israel, the winepress symbolizes a place of immense suffering and destruction at the hand of the Lord. The prophecy in Lamentations describes Judah itself being trodden down, showing the severity of the consequences of sin Lamentations 1:15.
Place of Unconventional Work: In the narrative of Gideon, the winepress becomes a place of desperate, hidden activity. Threshing wheat there, instead of on an open threshing floor, illustrates a time of oppression and the need for God's deliverance Judges 6:11.

Summary

In summary, H1660 is a word with a dual identity. While it refers to a simple agricultural tool, the gath or winepress is transformed in prophetic and poetic scripture into a fearsome symbol. It powerfully illustrates the concept of divine judgment, where wickedness is crushed like grapes, and serves as a stark metaphor for the suffering and pressure experienced by a people under God's hand.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun across 5 occurrences, inflected in 2 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

גַּת
גִּתּוֹת

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 5 verses across 5 of the 39 books. 5 books tie for most frequent (1 verse each); never once in the other 34.

Judges

Nehemiah

Isaiah

Lamentations

Joel

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.