Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/386

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332

GADARA


332


6ADDI


name given thereupon bespeak a real relation between the name of this son of Jacob, and that of the pagan deity which was also called " Gad ' '; although the exact nature of this relation is variously estimated at the present day. The patriarch Gad begot seven sons (Gen., xlvi, 16). Nothing more is said in Holy Writ concerning him personally.

II. Gad, a tribe of Israel, on the east of Jordan, be- tween eastern Manasses on the north, and Ruben on the south. The territorial possessions of the descend- ants of Gad cannot be given with perfect exactness. On the west, the portion of Gad abutted on the Jor- dan, and ran up the Arabah or Jordan valley, in a nar- row strip, from the northern end of the Dead Sea to the southern extremity of the lake of Genesareth; but on the other three sides, its boundaries cannot be described with equal certainty. Thus, on the east, the Bible assigns to Gad no distinct limit. On the north, it gives, in one place (Deut., iii, 16), the river Jeboc as the extreme lunit of that tribe, while, in two other places (Jos., xiii, 26, 30), it treats as such the locality of Manaim (Heb. Mahanaim) which was to the north of the Jeboc. In like manner, on the south, the sacred text represents in Jos., xiii, 15 sqq., as the boundary between Gad and Ruben, a straight line drawn eastwards from the Jordan and passing ex- actly northward of Hesebon, a town which it ascribes to Ruben; whereas, it assigns elsewhere (Num., xxxii, 34 sqq.; Jos., xxi, 37), to Ruben several towns north of Hesebon, and to Gad, the very town of Hesebon. From these apparently conflicting biblical data it is natural to infer that the extent of the tribe of Gad varied at different times in Hebrew history, and to consider as simply conventional the definite limits ascribed to Gad on the ordinary maps of Palestine di- vided among the twelve tribes of Israel. The follow- ing are the principal towns mentioned in Jos., xiii, 25 sqq. and Num., xxxii, 34-36, as belonging to the de- scendants of Gad: Jaser, Ramoth, Masphe, Betonim, Manaim, Betharan, Bethnemra, Socoth, Saphon, Jeg- baa, Etroth, Sophan. During the journey through the wilderness, the tribe of Gad counted upwards of 40,000 men and marched with Ruben and Simeon on the south side of Israel. Allowed by Moses to settle on the east side of the Jordan, on condition of aiding in the conquest of western Palestine, the Gadites com- plied with that condition, took possession of the terri- tory which they had desired as favourable to pastoral pursuits, and formed for centuries the most important Israelite tribe beyond Jordan. They were a warlike race whose valour is highly praised in the parting bless- ing of Moses (Deut., xxxiii, 20, 21) and in the prophecy of Jacob (Gen. xlLx, 19), and were able to hold their own in the raids made against them, chiefly by the children of Ammon. Upon the disruption of Solomon's em- pire, they formed a part of the northern kingdom, and shared with varying success in the subsequent wars against northern Israel. Their name appears on the Moabite stone (line 10). They were carried into cap- tivity at the same time as the other tribes beyond Jordan by Teglathphalasar (734 B. c), and in the time of the prophet Jeremias their cities were inhabited by the Ammonites. Their territory comprised the land of Galaad, the fertility and beauty of which are still praised by eastern travellers.

III. Gad, a Hebrew prophet, contemporary with King David. lie came to that prince when the latter was hiding in the cave of Odollam (I Kings [Samuel], xxii, 5), and was probably one of the Gadites who joined David there (I Par. [C'lironicles], xii, 8). He tlien began rmder God's guidance liis career of coun- sellor, which eventually won him the name of "the seer of David" (II Kings, xxiv, 11; I Par., xxi, 9). Gad announced to the king the divine punishment for num- bering the people, and advised him to erect an altar to God on Oman's threshing-floor (II Kings, xxiv, 11 sqq.; I Par., xxi, i) s(|q.). He is referred to as the


author of a book narrating part of David's reign (I Par., xxix, 29) and as having assisted that king in arranging the musical services of the House of the Lord (II Par., xxLx, 25).

IV. Gad, a pagan divinity explicitly mentioned in Is., Ixv, 11, where the Hebrew name nj, "Gad", is rightly rendered " Fortune " in the Vulgate. As far as is known in the present day, Gad is a word of Cha- naanite origin, which, long before the passage of Isaias just referred to was WTitten, had, from a mere appella- tive, become the proper name of a deity. Biblical testimony to the ancient worship of Gad in Chanaan is certainly found in the names of such places as Baal- gad (Jos., xi, 17; xii, 7; xiii, 5) and Magdalgad " tower of Gad" (Jos., XV, 37). A trace of Gad's worship in Syria may perhaps be found in Lia's exclamation 123 " begad " on the birth of her first son whom she also called "Gad" (Gen., xxx, 11): this was admitted of old by St. Augustine (Quaestiones in Heptateuchum, in P. L., XXXIV, col. 571), and at a much more recent date by Dom Calmet, in his Commentary on Genesis. Francis E. Gigot.

Gadara, a titular see of Palaestina Prima; there were two sees of this name, one in Palfestina Prima, the other in Palaestina Secunda; it is therefore difficult to ascertain to which of the two cities the known bishops belonged (Le Quien, III, 597). Gadara in Patestina Secunda is to-day known as Oum-Keiss, beyond the Jordan, while Gadara in Paleestina Prima, the subject of this article, has not been identified. There was a Gader (Jos., xii, 13) whose king was defeated by Josue, a place which is also mentioned in I Par., ii, 51; Jos., XV, 58. It is to-day called Djedur, half-way between Bethlehem and Hebron. A Gedera (Greek TiSripa) is mentioned as being in the plain of Sephelah (Jos., XV, 36; I Par., iv, 23) and is to-day called Khirbet- Djedireh, south-west of Amwas, or rather Qatrah, a village of the plain of Sephelah. Perhaps neither of these cities is our Gadara, and it can hardly be identi- fied, as is often done, with Gazara or Gazer, a well- known Scriptural city, now Tell-Djezer, near Amwas.

S. Vailhe.

Gaddi, Agnolo, Giovanni, and Taddeo, Floren- tine artists, Taddeo being the father of Agnolo and Giovanni. The dates of their birth are very un- certain. Taddeo was probably born about 1300; Agnolo and Giovanni after 1333. The father died in 1366, Giovanni in 1383, Agnolo in 1396, and all three are buried in Santa Croce in Florence. Taddeo was the godson of Giotto, lived with him twenty-four years, and became the most eminent of his numerous scholars. Vasari says that he " surpassed his master m colour", and, in some of his works, " even in expres- sion". Two paintings signed by him are in existence — one in Berlin, dated 1333, and another in the church of Megognano, dated 1355. The best of his extant frescoes are those in the Giugni Chapel, for- merly belonging to the Baroncelli family, in the church of Santa Croce, but his most extensive works, in the churches of San Spirito and the Serviti, have all disappeared. Many of his frescoes and several of his most celebrated altar-pieces have entirely dis- appeared. His principal work was in Florence, but he also executed several examples in Arezzo and in the Casentino. Perhaps he is best known for the fact that he was a distinguished architect, and designed the present Ponte Vecchio in Florence, and also lower down the river a still finer bridge (Ponte Triniti), which was destroyed in the sixteenth century. He was very successful, and amassed great wealth.

His son Agnolo entered the studios of Giovanni da Milano and Jacopo del Casentino; his best work is in the cathedral at Prato, where there are thirteen fres- coes illustrating the story of the Holy Girdle, and in the church of Santa Croce at Florence, where there are