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
The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites. The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said to him, "Yahweh [is] with you, {you mighty warrior}." read more. Gideon said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. [If] Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, 'Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?' But now Yahweh has forsaken us; he has given us into the palm of Midian." And Yahweh turned to him and said, "Go in this your strength, and you will deliver Israel from the palm of Midian. Did I not send you?" He said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. How will I deliver Israel? Look, my clan [is] the weakest in Manasseh, and I [am] the youngest in my father's house." And Yahweh said to him, "But I will be with you, and you will defeat Midian {as if they are one man}." And he said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, {show me a sign} that you [are] speaking with me. Please, do not depart from here until I come [back] to you and bring out my gift and set it out before you." And he said, "I will stay until you return." And Gideon went and prepared {a young goat} and unleavened cakes [from] an ephah of flour; he put meat in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and he brought [them] to him under the oak and presented [them]. The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes and put [them] on this rock; pour the broth [over it]." And he did so. Then the angel of Yahweh reached out the tip of the staff that [was] in his hand, and he touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire went up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of Yahweh went {from his sight}. And Gideon realized that he [was] the angel of Yahweh; and Gideon said, "Oh, my lord Yahweh! For now I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face." And Yahweh said to him, "Peace be with you. Do not fear; you will not die." And Gideon built there an altar to Yahweh, and he called it "Yahweh [is] peace." To this day it is still 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
The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites.
And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What type [were] the men whom you killed at Tabor?" And they said, "{They were like you}; each [one of them] had the appearance of the sons of the king." He said, "They [were] my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had kept them alive I would not kill you." read more. And he said to Jether, his firstborn, "Get up, kill them." But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he [was] still a boy. Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Get up yourself, and strike us, for as [is] the man, so [is] his power." So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
Gideon made an ephod [out of] it, and he put it in his town in Ophrah, and all Israel prostituted [themselves] to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.
And Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of Jehoash his father, in Ophrah [of] the Abiezrites.
And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and he killed his brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerub-Baal survived, because he hid himself.
And Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-Harashim, because they [were] craftsmen.
And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages.
So Jesus was no longer walking openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the 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 [were] the descendants of Gilead: [of] Iezer, the clan of the Iezerites; of Helek, the clan of the Helekites;
[An allotment] was [made] for the remaining descendants of Manasseh, according to their families: For the children of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida--these [were] the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph according to their families.
The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites. The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said to him, "Yahweh [is] with you, {you mighty warrior}." read more. Gideon said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. [If] Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, 'Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?' But now Yahweh has forsaken us; he has given us into the palm of Midian." And Yahweh turned to him and said, "Go in this your strength, and you will deliver Israel from the palm of Midian. Did I not send you?" He said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. How will I deliver Israel? Look, my clan [is] the weakest in Manasseh, and I [am] the youngest in my father's house." And Yahweh said to him, "But I will be with you, and you will defeat Midian {as if they are one man}." And he said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, {show me a sign} that you [are] speaking with me. Please, do not depart from here until I come [back] to you and bring out my gift and set it out before you." And he said, "I will stay until you return." And Gideon went and prepared {a young goat} and unleavened cakes [from] an ephah of flour; he put meat in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and he brought [them] to him under the oak and presented [them]. The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes and put [them] on this rock; pour the broth [over it]." And he did so. Then the angel of Yahweh reached out the tip of the staff that [was] in his hand, and he touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire went up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of Yahweh went {from his sight}. And Gideon realized that he [was] the angel of Yahweh; and Gideon said, "Oh, my lord Yahweh! For now I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face." And Yahweh said to him, "Peace be with you. Do not fear; you will not die." And Gideon built there an altar to Yahweh, and he called it "Yahweh [is] peace." To this day it is still in Ophrah [of the] Abiezrites.
Gideon made an ephod [out of] it, and he put it in his town in Ophrah, and all Israel prostituted [themselves] to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.
And Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of Jehoash his father, in Ophrah [of] the Abiezrites.
And Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem, to the relatives of his mother, and he said to them and to the house of his mother's father,
And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and he killed his brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerub-Baal survived, because he hid himself.
And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and he killed his brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerub-Baal survived, because he hid himself.
And Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-Harashim, because they [were] craftsmen.
Now these [were] the heads of their fathers' households: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of strength, {famous men}, heads of their fathers' households.
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
[An allotment] was [made] for the remaining descendants of Manasseh, according to their families: For the children of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida--these [were] the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph according to their families.
The {raiders} went out from the camp of [the] Philistines [in] three divisions. One division turned on the road to Ophrah toward 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
The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites.
And Gideon built there an altar to Yahweh, and he called it "Yahweh [is] peace." To this day it is still in Ophrah [of the] Abiezrites.
Gideon made an ephod [out of] it, and he put it in his town in Ophrah, and all Israel prostituted [themselves] to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.
And Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of Jehoash his father, in Ophrah [of] the Abiezrites.
And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and he killed his brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerub-Baal survived, because he hid himself.
And Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-Harashim, because they [were] craftsmen.
And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages.
So Jesus was no longer walking openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the 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
He said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. How will I deliver Israel? Look, my clan [is] the weakest in Manasseh, and I [am] the youngest in my father's house."
And Gideon built there an altar to Yahweh, and he called it "Yahweh [is] peace." To this day it is still in Ophrah [of the] Abiezrites.
And Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of Jehoash his father, in Ophrah [of] the Abiezrites.
And Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem, to the relatives of his mother, and he said to them and to the house of his mother's father,
And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and he killed his brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerub-Baal survived, because he hid himself.
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and cracked open his skull.