Biblical Insights, Geographical Parables Part 5: Jonah was from Gathhepher, the “Winepress of Shame”
Introduction
The following is excerpted from a much longer exposition on the Book of Jonah. It is presented here as a separate study to show how we can find amazing hidden spiritual insights from geographical names and locations in the Bible, which might otherwise be easily overlooked.
Jonah was from a village named Gath-hepher, located very close to Nazareth
If we take a look for a moment at 2 Kings 14:25, we are provided some information pertaining to Jonah, which is not in the book of Jonah. It is important because there we learn that Jonah’s abode, or home, was in a small village called “Gathhepher”; “He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which [was] of Gathhepher.”
Gathhepher is a primary clue from at least two distinct vantage points. First, if we look in the back of our Bibles at the ancient map of National Israel, we will find, to our utter amazement, that the village of Gathhepher from the Old Testament is located no more than two north of Nazareth from the New Testament (Gathhepher is now known as the village of Mashhad, which can even be considered a suburb of the city of Nazareth today).
To assure ourselves that this is indeed the case, we have only to search it out in God’s word. From Joshua 19:13, we learn that this town (also referred to as Gittahhepher) was within the borders of the land given to the tribe of Zebulun, “And from thence passeth on along on the east to Gittahhepher (in the original Hebrew this is the same as “Gath-hepher”, and, which translated, means either “well of the winepress” or “winepress of digging” or “winepress of shame” https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Gath-hepher.html), to Ittah-kazin, and goeth out to Remmon-methoar to Neah;” Joshua 19:16, assures us that this village is within Zebulun, “This [is] the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.“
From Matthew 4:12-15 (and Isaiah 9:1), we learn that the land of Zebulun (Zabulon in Greek) is identified as being within the region of Galilee, “Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he (Jesus) departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias (“Isaiah” in Greek, see Isaiah 9:1) the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles (nations);”
Please also note that when we take a close look at Isaiah 8:11-22, and then Isaiah 9:1 (which Matthew 4:12-15 just pointed us to) and then the verse closely following (Isaiah 9:2), we can gain some additional insights to show us that Jesus is the Christ, and that “Great Prophet”, Whom the people in Jesus’s day were not expecting to have come from Galilee nor would see that Jesus would be the Means of Salvation to all the world (gentiles) and not just the Jews only (of which a remnant would still be saved).
Isaiah 8:11-22, “For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all [them] to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.13 Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread.14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (See also Romans 9:30-33) 15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.17 And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimnessof anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.” Then Isaiah 9:1 reads, “Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.” The dimness and darkness surrounded the nation of Israel (“both houses of Israel” and “the inhabitants of Jerusalem”). However, in the very next verse (Isaiah 9:2) we read, “The people that walked in darknesshave seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” Those people are the Gentiles!
Which leads us to John 9:5, where Jesus announces, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” after which he immediately healed a blind man, “born blind”. Then we read later in John 9:39,”And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”
Getting back to the issue of Galilee…From this Bible study we can see that Jonah was the son of Amittai who was from Gath-Hepher, which is in the land that was given as part of the inheritance by Joshua to the tribe of Zebulun, which is in the region known as Galilee. Isn’t that astounding? Both Jonah and Jesus are Galileans! God raised up the great prophet, Jonah, from the exact same neighborhood as the ultimate “Prophet”, Jesus Christ (except that Jonah lived about 800 years earlier than Jesus). (NOTE: The reader should also be aware that another prophet of God, Nahum, was evidently, like both Jonah and Jesus, also from Galilee, as Capernaum (which is located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee) in Hebrew means “village of Nahum“… Please see the study on the book of Nahum: ). At a minimum, one has to seriously question why the chief priests and Pharisees would have so ardently declared, “Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet,” given that the prophet of God, Jonah (and likely also Nahum), could clearly be identified with the region known as Galilee. As we go on, we will see that these locational correlations between Jonah and Jesus are far more than just coincidence, but, for the moment, it might be profitable to take a slight detour to review another aspect of this geographical information.
The “Winepress of Shame”?
From our geographical study of Gath-hepher we have found the unequivocal similarity between Jonah and Jesus based on the fact that both were “prophets” from Galilee. However, there is one other aspect denoted by Gath-hepher that we must consider. Gath-Hepher is a compound word that is generally thought to mean, “well of the winepress.” In the Hebrew, Gath means “Winepress.” The word hepher, while sometimes translated dig, pit, or well, also means “shame” or “reproach” https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Gath-hepher.html” Amazingly, when we search the Bible, we can again see how this focuses our attention on Jesus. Let’s look at the winepress first.
“Winepress”
“Gath” (גַּת, gat or gittahH1660) is translated as “winepress” in Lamentations 1:15, “The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty [men] in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, [as] in a winepress H1660 (gath/gittah).”
For further insight on the spiritual role of the “winepress” in scripture let’s look at these Bible verses:
Isaiah 63:1-6, “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore [art thou] red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat (winepress, גַּת (gaṯ) H1660 )? I (Jesus) have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people [there was] none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance [is] in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and [there was] none to help; and I wondered that [there was] none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.“
In Joel 3:13, we read, “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press (גַּת (gaṯ)) H1660 is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great.” And in Revelation 14:19, “And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.”
Psalm 58:10, “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.“
In Revelation 19:13, we see this picture of Jesus, “And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.“ And just a few verses later in Revelation 19:15, we read “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
Moreover, in Isaiah 34:6, “The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, [and] with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.“
Clearly the “winepress” refers to God’s wrath that must be brought to bear in judgment for sin. Jesus, as the believers’ atoning sacrifice, first had to endure that wrath and suffer the shame of God’s reproach for their sins. But for those who remain dead in trespasses and sins, they will be tread down in the winepress of God’s wrath by Jesus as their Judge.
“Shame”
It should be noted here that if we look closely at the word “hepher” (חָפַר(ḥāp̄ar) H2658) in the original Hebrew we find the following:
- The verb חפר (hapar) means to dig, both in order to unearth something and to bury something. Hence this verb may be used both to describe (1) a quest for something wanted, and (2) a quest to obscure or cover-up something unwanted.
- The latter usage appears to have evolved into its own verb, namely חפר(haper), to be ashamed, again both because (1) something secret was exposed or (2) something embarrassing is sought to be covered.
In both instances, we can clearly see that, from a Godly/Spiritual standpoint, the “something” that is to be both exposed or covered is SIN! Jesus bears the exposed sins of the believers, he bears our shame, He became “sin for us” as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Also in Isaiah 53:5&6, “But he [was] wounded for ourtransgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” And our sin is covered in the robes of Jesus Christ’s righteousness as we read in Isaiah 61:10, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” Jesus is the Bridegroom, and the eternal Israel (the eternal Church), is the Bride adorned in the robes of Christ’s righteousness.
Psalms 69 gives us a glimpse of the shame and reproach Jesus had to suffer. However, we are also reminded how, on Judgment Day, Jesus will return as the Judge who pours out God’s judgment on the unsaved for whose sins He did not pay in the winepress of God’s wrath. We read of this in Isaiah 47:3&4, “Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet [thee as] a man, As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.” and in Daniel 12:2, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt.“
But thank God Almighty that all believers can joyously proclaim what we read in Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.“!
Today’s Application: Are You Ready?
The Bible makes it clear that if God was willing to put Jesus Christ into the Winepress of Shame and endure the wrath of God in Hell to save a people for Himself, how much more would He be willing to send the wicked who reject Him to Hell for their sins (please see Romans 8:32). Isaiah 63:3&4 makes clear that Jesus will also be the Judge and Executioner of all those who remain opposed to Him (the unbelievers) when Judgment Day Comes, “I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance [is] in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.”
Jesus is the ONLY Way of escape from the just penalty for our sins. All other ways that man can devise will lead only to Hell. Have you made peace with God through Jesus Christ? Please pray to God for mercy through Jesus Christ and He will show you mercy and grant you His Most Gracious Gift, His Son, Jesus Christ.
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