For the week ending 4 July 2009 / 11 Tammuz 5769
Gaza or Aza?
Gaza is a name very much in the news because of the control of the Gaza Strip in the hands of the Hamas terrorists. But the original name for this area is Aza, which is mentioned in our sources as one of the Philistine cities.
Tradition has it that it became known as Gaza when the Greeks settled there because of its commercial important. They believed that great treasures were to be found there and therefore called it Gaza – the Greek word for treasure.
Gaza or Aza – the purported treasure has turned into a headache for Israel and the world.
