Reference: Ophrah
American
1. A town of the Benjamites, located by Eusebius five miles east of Bethel; near which site stands the modern village Taiyibeh, on a conical hill, Jos 18:23; 1Sa 13:17.
2. A town of Manesseh where Gideon resided; and where after his death his ephod was superstitiously adored, Jg 6:11-24; 8:27.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then came the messenger of Yahweh, and sat down under the oak which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite; and, Gideon his son, was beating out wheat in the winepress, to escape the notice of the Midianites; so the messenger of Yahweh appeared unto him, - and said unto him, Yahweh, is with thee, thou mighty man of valour! read more. And Gideon said unto him - Pardon, my lord! if Yahweh be with us, then wherefore hath all this befallen us? and where are all his wonders, which our fathers have recounted to us - saying, Was it not, out of Egypt, that Yahweh brought us up? But, now, hath Yahweh abandoned us, and delivered us into the hand of Midian. And Yahweh, turned unto him, and said - Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel, out of the hand of Midian, - have I not sent thee? And he said unto him - Pardon, O my Lord! How, shall I save Israel? Lo! my thousand, is the poorest in Manasseh, and, I, am the youngest in the house of my father. And Yahweh said unto him - I will be with thee, - so shalt thou smite the Midianites, as one man. And he said unto him, If, I beseech thee, I have found favour in thine eyes, then wilt thou work for me a sign, that it is, thou, who art speaking with me. Do not, I beseech thee, withdraw from hence, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said: I, will tarry until thou return. So, Gideon, went in, and made ready a kid of the goats, and, of an ephah of meal, unleavened cakes, the flesh, he put in a basket, and, the broth, he put in a pot, - and brought them forth unto him, under the oak, and presented them. And the messenger of God said unto him - Take the flesh and the cakes, and set them on this crag, and, the broth, do thou pour out. And he did so. Then the messenger of Yahweh put forth the end of the staff, that was in his hand, and touched the flesh, and the cakes, - and there came up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh, and the cakes, and, the messenger of Yahweh, had departed out of his sight. Then saw Gideon that, the messenger of Yahweh, it was, - so Gideon said - Alas, My Lord Yahweh! forasmuch as I have seen the messenger of Yahweh, face to face! And Yahweh said unto him - Peace be unto thee! Do not fear, - thou shalt not die. So Gideon built there an altar unto Yahweh, and called it, Yahweh-shalom. Unto this day, it remaineth, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Easton
a fawn. 1Ch 4:14. (1.) A city of Benjamin (Jos 18:23); probably identical with Ephron (2Ch 13:19) and Ephraim (Joh 11:54).
(2.) "Of the Abi-ezrites." A city of Manasseh, 6 miles south-west of Shechem, the residence of Gideon (Jg 6:11; 8:27,32). After his great victory over the Midianites, he slew at this place the captive kings (Jg 8:18-21). He then assumed the function of high priest, and sought to make Ophrah what Shiloh should have been. This thing "became a snare" to Gideon and his house. After Gideon's death his family resided here till they were put to death by Abimelech (Jg 9:5). It is identified with Ferata.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then came the messenger of Yahweh, and sat down under the oak which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite; and, Gideon his son, was beating out wheat in the winepress, to escape the notice of the Midianites;
Then said he unto Zebah and unto Zalmunna, What manner of men were they, whom ye slew at Tabor? And they said, As thou art, so were they, each one, as handsome as the sons of a king. And he said: My brethren, sons of my mother, they were! As Yahweh liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not have slain you. read more. So he said to Jether his firstborn, Up! slay them. But the youth drew not his sword, for he feared, because he was yet a youth. Then said Zebah and Zalmunna - Up! thou, and fall upon us, for, like the man, is his might. So Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.
And Gideon made thereof an Ephod, and set it up in his own city, in Ophrah, and all Israel went unchastely astray after it there, - so it became, to Gideon and to his house, a snare.
And Gideon, son of Joash, died in a good old age, - and was buried in the grave of Joash his father, in Ophrah, of the Abiezrites.
And he entered the house of his father, at Ophrah, and slew his brethren, sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, upon one stone, - but there remained Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, for he had hidden himself.
And, Meonothai, begat Ophrah, - and, Seraiah, begat Joab, the father of Ge-harashim, for they were, craftsmen.
And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and captured from him, cities, even Bethel, with the villages thereof, and Jeshanah, with the villages thereof, - and Ephron, with the villages thereof;
Jesus, therefore, no longer openly, was walking among the Jews, but departed thence, into the country near the desert, unto a city called, Ephraim; and, there, abode, with his disciples.
Fausets
1. In Benjamin (Jos 18:23; 1Sa 13:17). Jerome makes it five miles E. of Bethel. Probably the same as Ephron. (See EPHRON; EPHRAIM.) Taiyibeh is now on its site.
2. Ophrah of the Abiezrites, Gideon's place of birth (Jg 6:11-24; 8:32; 9:5), residence, and burial. He put the ephod here which he had adorned with the Midianites' gold, and to it all Israel resorted in pilgrimage for worship, a spiritual "whoring" (Jg 8:27). In Manasseh, not far from Shechem (Jg 9:1,5). Now Erfai (Van de Velde); Erafa (Schwartz). Epher a head of Manasseh probably gave the name (1Ch 5:24), migrating there with Abiezer and Shechem (Nu 26:30; Jos 17:2).
3. 1Ch 4:14, "Meonothai begat (or else founded) Ophrah" of Judah.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
These are the sons of Gilead: Iezer, the family of the Iezerites, - To Helek, the family of the Helekites;
So the lot pertained to the rest of the sons of Manasseh, by their families, to the sons of Abiezer, and to the sons of Helek, and to the sons of Asriel, and to the sons of Shechem, and to the sons of Hepher, and to the sons of Shemida, - these, were the sons of Manasseh, son of Joseph, even the male descendants, by their families.
Then came the messenger of Yahweh, and sat down under the oak which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite; and, Gideon his son, was beating out wheat in the winepress, to escape the notice of the Midianites; so the messenger of Yahweh appeared unto him, - and said unto him, Yahweh, is with thee, thou mighty man of valour! read more. And Gideon said unto him - Pardon, my lord! if Yahweh be with us, then wherefore hath all this befallen us? and where are all his wonders, which our fathers have recounted to us - saying, Was it not, out of Egypt, that Yahweh brought us up? But, now, hath Yahweh abandoned us, and delivered us into the hand of Midian. And Yahweh, turned unto him, and said - Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel, out of the hand of Midian, - have I not sent thee? And he said unto him - Pardon, O my Lord! How, shall I save Israel? Lo! my thousand, is the poorest in Manasseh, and, I, am the youngest in the house of my father. And Yahweh said unto him - I will be with thee, - so shalt thou smite the Midianites, as one man. And he said unto him, If, I beseech thee, I have found favour in thine eyes, then wilt thou work for me a sign, that it is, thou, who art speaking with me. Do not, I beseech thee, withdraw from hence, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said: I, will tarry until thou return. So, Gideon, went in, and made ready a kid of the goats, and, of an ephah of meal, unleavened cakes, the flesh, he put in a basket, and, the broth, he put in a pot, - and brought them forth unto him, under the oak, and presented them. And the messenger of God said unto him - Take the flesh and the cakes, and set them on this crag, and, the broth, do thou pour out. And he did so. Then the messenger of Yahweh put forth the end of the staff, that was in his hand, and touched the flesh, and the cakes, - and there came up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh, and the cakes, and, the messenger of Yahweh, had departed out of his sight. Then saw Gideon that, the messenger of Yahweh, it was, - so Gideon said - Alas, My Lord Yahweh! forasmuch as I have seen the messenger of Yahweh, face to face! And Yahweh said unto him - Peace be unto thee! Do not fear, - thou shalt not die. So Gideon built there an altar unto Yahweh, and called it, Yahweh-shalom. Unto this day, it remaineth, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
And Gideon made thereof an Ephod, and set it up in his own city, in Ophrah, and all Israel went unchastely astray after it there, - so it became, to Gideon and to his house, a snare.
And Gideon, son of Joash, died in a good old age, - and was buried in the grave of Joash his father, in Ophrah, of the Abiezrites.
Then went Abimelech son of Jerubbaal, to Shechem, unto the brethren of his mother, - and spake unto them, and unto all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying;
And he entered the house of his father, at Ophrah, and slew his brethren, sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, upon one stone, - but there remained Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, for he had hidden himself.
And he entered the house of his father, at Ophrah, and slew his brethren, sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, upon one stone, - but there remained Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, for he had hidden himself.
And, Meonothai, begat Ophrah, - and, Seraiah, begat Joab, the father of Ge-harashim, for they were, craftsmen.
And, these, were the heads of their ancestral house, - Epher and Ishi and Eliel and Azriel and Jeremiah and Hodaviah and Jahdiel, men who were heroes of valour, men of renown, chiefs to their ancestral house.
Hastings
1. A town in Benjamin (Jos 18:23) which was somewhere near Michmash, and is only once elsewhere referred to, as an indication of the direction of a Philistine raid (1Sa 13:17). The data for its identification are insufficient: Jerome states that it was 5 Roman miles east from Bethel. 2. Ophrah 'that pertaineth unto Joash the Abiezrite'
See Verses Found in Dictionary
So the lot pertained to the rest of the sons of Manasseh, by their families, to the sons of Abiezer, and to the sons of Helek, and to the sons of Asriel, and to the sons of Shechem, and to the sons of Hepher, and to the sons of Shemida, - these, were the sons of Manasseh, son of Joseph, even the male descendants, by their families.
And the spoilers came forth out of the camp of the Philistines, in three companies, the first company, turned unto the way of Ophrah, unto the land of Shual;
Morish
Oph'rah
1. City in Benjamin. Jos 18:23; 1Sa 13:17. Perhaps the same as EPHRAIN in 2Ch 13:19 and EPHRAIM in Joh 11:54. Identified with et Taiyibeh, 31 57' N, 35 18' E.
2. City in Manasseh, the native place of Gideon. Jg 6:11,24; 8:27,32; 9:5. Identified by some with Fer'ata, the old name of which was Ophrah. It is six miles west of Shechem.
3. Son of Meonothai. 1Ch 4:14.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then came the messenger of Yahweh, and sat down under the oak which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite; and, Gideon his son, was beating out wheat in the winepress, to escape the notice of the Midianites;
So Gideon built there an altar unto Yahweh, and called it, Yahweh-shalom. Unto this day, it remaineth, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
And Gideon made thereof an Ephod, and set it up in his own city, in Ophrah, and all Israel went unchastely astray after it there, - so it became, to Gideon and to his house, a snare.
And Gideon, son of Joash, died in a good old age, - and was buried in the grave of Joash his father, in Ophrah, of the Abiezrites.
And he entered the house of his father, at Ophrah, and slew his brethren, sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, upon one stone, - but there remained Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, for he had hidden himself.
And, Meonothai, begat Ophrah, - and, Seraiah, begat Joab, the father of Ge-harashim, for they were, craftsmen.
And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and captured from him, cities, even Bethel, with the villages thereof, and Jeshanah, with the villages thereof, - and Ephron, with the villages thereof;
Jesus, therefore, no longer openly, was walking among the Jews, but departed thence, into the country near the desert, unto a city called, Ephraim; and, there, abode, with his disciples.
Smith
Oph'rah
(fawn).
1. A town in the tribe of Benjamin.
Jerome places it five miles east of Bethel. It is perhaps et-Taiyibeh, a small village on the crown of a conspicuous hill, four miles east-northeast of Beitin (Bethel).
2. More fully, OPHRAH OF THE ABIEZRITES, the native place of Gideon
and the scene of his exploits against Baal, ver.
his residence after his accession to power ch.
and the place of his burial in the family sepulchre. ch.
It was probably In Manasseh, ch.
and not far distant from Shechem,
3. The son of Meonothai.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And he said unto him - Pardon, O my Lord! How, shall I save Israel? Lo! my thousand, is the poorest in Manasseh, and, I, am the youngest in the house of my father.
So Gideon built there an altar unto Yahweh, and called it, Yahweh-shalom. Unto this day, it remaineth, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
And Gideon, son of Joash, died in a good old age, - and was buried in the grave of Joash his father, in Ophrah, of the Abiezrites.
Then went Abimelech son of Jerubbaal, to Shechem, unto the brethren of his mother, - and spake unto them, and unto all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying;
And he entered the house of his father, at Ophrah, and slew his brethren, sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, upon one stone, - but there remained Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, for he had hidden himself.
And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon the head of Abimelech, - and brake in pieces his skull.