The Greek place name Gaza (G1048) transliterates the Hebrew עַזָּה (Azzah), meaning "strong" or "fortress." Gaza was one of the five major Philistine cities, located in the coastal lowlands at the southwestern edge of Canaan. In the New Testament it appears in Acts 8:26 as a landmark on Philip's route south.
Gaza appears throughout biblical history as a symbol of Philistine strength and periodic captivity (Samson's imprisonment, Judges 16). The phrase "Gaza Road" in Acts 8:26 — described as a desert road — becomes the improbable setting for the Ethiopian eunuch's conversion. God often works in desert places, along wilderness roads, turning the desolate into the fruitful (Isaiah 35:1).