How Heavy Were the Gates of Gaza That Samson Carried Off?

Kris Udd

Judges 16:3 states that Samson, who had been surrounded at night by Philistines in Gaza, “lay until midnight, and at midnight he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, and the two posts, and pulled them up, along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is opposite Hebron.”

How much did this trophy weigh? The question cannot be answered with certainty, of course, but archaeology gives us a pretty good idea how city gates were constructed, what size they were, and what they were made of. This is enough to provide a reasonable estimate.

City gates throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages followed much the same pattern, mainly dictated by materials and the needs of humans. Gates were nearly always made of wood, sometimes with metal furnishings. As indicated by remaining thresholds, they were often 10-12 ft wide. The example shown below is from Khirbet Qeiyafa, a small fortified settlement on the border between Judah and Philistia. It dates to the 10th century BC, about a century later than the time of Samson.

10th century BC gate at Khirbet Qeiyafa, showing the width of the city gate. Photo by K. Udd.

A massive threshold stone was often used to secure the bottom of the gate, and it sometimes had a ledge against which the interior of the gates would rest when closed, further securing them and preventing them from being pushed inward. Also, gates of this period didn’t have hinges per se, but swung on posts that pivoted in sockets at either end of the threshold. The photo below illustrates this setup from the western gate at Khirbet Qeiyafa, with a massive threshold stone. One socket stone (on the left) is still in situ.

Western entrance into Khirbet Qeiyafa, with the threshold and one socket stone. Photo by K. Udd.

Gates of this period commonly had two leaves or doors, made of wood. Height could vary, from a minimum comfortable human height of about 6 ft to as high as over 20 ft (e.g. the 22′ high wooden gates at Balawat, 9th century BC). An Early Bronze Age gateway at et-Tell was preserved to a height of 10′, and this can be used as a reasonable average. Conservatively, then, we can surmise that the city gates of Gaza would have been about ten feet high and ten feet wide.

Illustration of the approximate dimensions of an Iron Age city gate. Illustration by the author.

The leaves of the gate would have been made of wood. Cedar wood has been found in some excavations, and it would have been a good wood for this purpose because it could be imported (from Lebanon) in lengths that were suitable for a city gate, and cedar weathers well, so it would not need to be replaced as often as some other woods. It may be noted that Gaza was one of the five largest Philistine cities, so presumably they could afford to import wood of this kind for something as important as a city gate.

The thickness of the gates is another variable. Barrick suggests that they were likely between 18″ and 36″ thick, but this seems excessive. The gates at Balawat, which were over 22′ high, were only 3″ thick, and similar thickness is suggested by a handful of surviving corner pieces and pivot shoes. If 3″ is allowed for the thickness of each leaf, then together the planks would have measured 5’x10’x3″, for a volume of 12.5 cubic feet of wood. Cedar has a specific weight of about 62.4 lbs per cubic foot, so the major, vertical structural planks for one leaf would weigh about 780 lbs. To this may be added cross-beams, needed to tie the planks together. If four are granted for each door (5’x12″x3″), there are an additional 312 lbs per door. Each door, then, would have weighed about 1,092 lbs, for a combined weight for both leaves of roughly 2,200 lbs.

Illustration of two door leaves, each 5’x10′ and three inches thick, with additional cross-beams. Illustration by the author.

To this must be added the two door posts on which the leaves swung. These needed to be beefy enough to hold the significant weight of the doors themselves, and also strong enough to withstand enemy attack. The posts were probably round (as, again, at Balawat), and a beam with a diameter of 12″ does not seem excessive. The posts would also need to be longer than 10′, since the bottom rested in the socket stone and the top was captured by a ring or inserted into another beam or stone. Such a post would weigh about 600 lbs, so adding two of them to the doors brings the combined weight to about 3,400 lbs. This, then, would be a conservative estimate for the weight of the city gate carried off by Samson from Gaza.

It is good to keep in mind that, for a variety of reasons, the city gate could have been significantly heavier. If the actual dimensions were larger, the weight would be that much greater.

Also, city gates were sometimes enhanced with bronze fittings. Brass is known to have been used in some cases for shoes (the lower pivot fittings on the door posts), and also for the upper pivots. The set of bronze pivots shown below were photographed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Upper and lower gate pivots made of bronze, from Egypt. Photo by A.D. Riddle.

Bronze was also sometimes used as a finial at the top (especially if the top was open, as at Balawat), for reinforcing corners, as bands to protect and strengthen cross members, and even for the bar to close and secure the gates (although this could also be made of wood).

Set of wooden gates from Balawat, with bronze bands, finials, and shoes, circa 850 BC. Image from WikiMedia.

It is conceivable that brass fittings would have doubled the weight of the doors at Gaza.

Illustration of gates outfitted with bronze furnishings, including shoes, finials, corner braces, and bands. Illustration by the author.

In conclusion, the estimate of about 3,400 lbs for the weight of the gates at Gaza should be viewed as quite conservative, a bare minimum. If the dimensions were larger or if metal fittings were used, it is quite possible that the gates weighed significantly more.

Reference:

Barrick, William D. “Samson’s Removal of Gaza’s Gates,” Journal of the Near Eastern Archaeology Society, no. 8 (1976): 83-93. Available at https://drbarrick.org/files/papers/other/Samson_Gates_of_Gaza_JNEAS_no_8_1976.pdf.