The terms for 'gate' or 'door' used in both the Hebrew and the Greek are used similarly and consistently throughout the Bible.

1. © 2024 Tim Martens
United Church of God-NorthwestArkansas
The Biblical Use of the
Term “Gate”
Bible Study series on the use of
words that bring meaning to life.

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First use of the term “Gate” in the Bible
2
Genesis 19:1
Now the two angels came to Sodom in
the evening, and Lot was sitting in the
gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he
rose to meet them, and he bowed himself
with his face toward the ground.

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STRONG’S H8179 = ŠAʿAR
3
‫ר‬ ַׁ‫ע‬ ַׁ
‫ש‬shaʻar, shah'-ar; from H8176 in
its original sense; an opening, i.e.
door or gate:—city, door, gate, port
(× -er).

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Plank Corral Fence – to hold livestock
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Cedar fences posts with barbed wire
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Steel T-Posts with barbed Wire
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Electric Fence
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Rounding up the Cattle
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Wooden Corral Gates
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Tubular Steel Gates
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Garden Gate – Plastic Gate
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Bridge over moat with gated entry to
the Bishop’s Castle (Saaremaa, Estonia)
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First use of the term “Gate” in the Bible
13
Genesis 19:1
Now the two angels came to Sodom in
the evening, and Lot was sitting in the
gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he
rose to meet them, and he bowed himself
with his face toward the ground.

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Strong’s concordance: Gate = H8179 = šaʿar
14
‫ר‬ַׁ‫ע‬ ַׁ
‫ש‬shaʻar, shah'-ar; from H8176 in its original
sense; an opening, i.e. door or gate:—city, door,
gate, port (× -er).

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TheAbrahamic Blessing
15
Genesis 22:15-18
15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a
second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I
have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this
thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—
17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will
multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and
as the sand which is on the seashore; and your
descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be
blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

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Within Your Gates = Under Your Control
16
Deuteronomy 5:14
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord
your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor
your son, nor your daughter, nor your male
servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor
your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your
stranger who is within your gates, that your male
servant and your female servant may rest as well
as you.

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Within Your Gates = Under Your Control
17
Deuteronomy 6:6-9
6 “And these words which I command you today
shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them
diligently to your children, and shall talk of them
when you sit in your house, when you walk by
the way, when you lie down, and when you rise
up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand,
and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9
You shall write them on the doorposts of your
house and on your gates.

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Legal Decisions were confirmed in the “gate.”
18
Ruth 4:9-11
And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are
witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s,
and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of
Naomi. “Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I
have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead
through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be
cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the
gate. You are witnesses this day.” And all the people who were
at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. The
LORD make the woman who is coming to your house like
Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may
you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.”

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Absalom undermined King David
19
2 Samuel 15:2
Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside
the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone
who had a lawsuit came to the king for a decision,
that Absalom would call to him and say, “What
city are you from?” And he would say, “Your
servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.”

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ESTHER 2:19 Persian King seeks a bride
20
NKJV -- When virgins were gathered together a second
time, Mordecai sat within the king’s gate.
CJB -- When the girls would gather on other occasions,
Mordekhai would sit at the King’s Gate.
CEV -- When the young women were brought together
again, Esther's cousin Mordecai had become a palace
official.
NET-- Now when the young women were being
gathered again, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s
gate.

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From Beyond Today Bible Commentary:
Mordecai remained constantly concerned over
Esther's welfare—and she continued to follow his
instructions and may have given him an official
position.
Expositor's notes on verses 19-20:
"Mordecai's position at the gate was not that of an 'idler'
but represented some kind of duty or official position he
occupied. He may have been appointed to this position by
Esther to give him easier access to the royal quarters....
Men who 'sat at the gate' were frequently elders and
leading, respected citizens who settled disputes that
were brought to them."

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Job was a judge – an Official Decision-Maker
22
Job 29:7
When I went out to the gate by the city,
When I took my seat in the open square,
Subsequent verses here show that Job sat as a
judge.

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Wisdom from Proverbs
23
Proverbs 22:22
Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;
Proverbs 24:7
Wisdom is too lofty for a fool;
He does not open his mouth in the gate.

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The Prophet Amos Speaks of the Future
24
Amos 5:10
They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.>>
Amos 5:12
For I know your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
Afflicting the just and taking bribes;
Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.>>
Amos 5:15
Hate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.

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Strong’s concordance: Gate = G4439
25
πύλη pýlē, poo'-lay; apparently a primary word; a
gate, i.e. the leaf or wing of a folding entrance
(literally or figuratively):—gate.

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The KJV translates Strong's G4439 in the following
manner: gate (10x).
a gate
of the larger sort
in the wall of either
• a city
• a palace
• a town
• the temple
• a prison
the gates of hell (likened
to a vast prison)
Metaphorical:
the access or entrance
into any state
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Matthew 7:13
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate
and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and
there are many who go in by it.
Matthew 7:14
Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the
way which leads to life, and there are few who
find it.

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Matthew 7:21
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who
does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many
will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in
Your name, and done many wonders in Your
name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I
never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness!’

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Luke 13:23-24
23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few
who are saved?”
And He said to them,
24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for
many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not
be able.

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Revelation 22:14
Blessed are those who do His commandments,
that they may have the right to the tree of life, and
may enter through the gates into the city.

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Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against
you, that I have set before you life and death,
blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that
both you and your descendants may live;

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Joshua 24:15
And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord,
choose for yourselves this day whom you will
serve, whether the gods which your fathers served
that were on the other side of the River, or the
gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.
But as for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord.”

33. © 2024 Tim Martens
United Church of God-NorthwestArkansas
The Biblical Use of
the Term “Gate
Bible Study series on the use of
words that bring meaning to life.