Gedor

Gedor was a town in the hill country of Judah listed in the tribal inheritance of Judah (Joshua 15:58). The name, related to the Hebrew root meaning wall or enclosure, may indicate a fortified settlement. A Gedor associated with the Simeonite expansion of territory is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:39, where Simeonite leaders went to the entrance of Gedor in search of pasture for their flocks during the reign of Hezekiah, finding a good and broad land previously inhabited by Hamites.

Several individuals bear the name Gedor in the genealogical lists of Chronicles: a son of Jered in the Calebite genealogy (1 Chronicles 4:18), a Benjaminite ancestor (1 Chronicles 8:31; 9:37), and the father of Penuel in the lineage of Judah. The recurrence of the name in both place and personal contexts suggests Gedor was a recognized settlement after which its founding family took their name or which was named after a prominent ancestor. The town in Judah has been tentatively identified with Khirbet Jedur south of Bethlehem, but the identification is not certain.