Ophrah

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

1. In Benjamin ( Joshua 18:23;  1 Samuel 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 ( Judges 6:11-24;  Judges 8:32;  Judges 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" ( Judges 8:27). In Manasseh, not far from Shechem ( Judges 9:1;  Judges 9:5). Now Erfai (Van de Velde); Erafa (Schwartz). Epher a head of Manasseh probably gave the name ( 1 Chronicles 5:24), migrating there with Abiezer and Shechem ( Numbers 26:30;  Joshua 17:2).

3.  1 Chronicles 4:14, "Meonothai begat (Or Else Founded) Ophrah" of Judah.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Ophrah ( Ŏf'Rah ), Female Fawn. 1. A town in Benjamin toward which an invading company of Philistines went.  Joshua 18:23;  1 Samuel 13:17. Some suppose it is identical with Ephrain or Ephron,  2 Chronicles 13:19, and with the city of Ephraim, to which our Lord retired after raising Lazarus.  John 11:54 Eusebius and Jerome located it about five Roman miles east of Bethel. 2. Ophrah of the Abi-ezerite.  Judges 6:11;  Judges 6:24. This was the place where Gideon saw the angel, erected an altar, and where he was buried.  Judges 8:27;  Judges 8:32. Here Abimelech slew 70 of his kindred, and the town appears to have been near Shechem, in the territory of Manasseh.  Judges 9:1;  Judges 9:5-6;  Judges 9:15. The Palestine Memoirs suggest as its site the village of Ferata, near Shechem.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Oph'rah. (Fawn).

1. A town in the tribe of Benjamin.  Joshua 18:23;  1 Samuel 13:17. 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,  Judges 6:11, and the scene of his exploits against Baal,  Judges 6:24, his residence after his accession to power,  Judges 9:5, and the place of his burial in the family sepulchre.  Judges 8:32. It was probably In Manasseh,  Judges 6:15, and not far distant from Shechem,  Judges 9:1;  Judges 9:5.

3. The son of Meonothai.  1 Chronicles 4:14.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

OPHRAH. 1 . A town in Benjamin (  Joshua 18:23 ) which was somewhere near Michmash, and is only once elsewhere referred to, as an indication of the direction of a Philistine raid (  1 Samuel 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’ i.e . to a member of a sept of the tribe of Manasseh (  Joshua 17:2 ), was the native village of Gideon. It is not mentioned except in connexion with the history of him and of his son Abimelech (  Judges 6:1-40;   Judges 7:1-25;   Judges 8:1-35;   Judges 9:1-57 ). No satisfactory identification has been proposed. 3. A name in the genealogy of the tribe of Judah (  1 Chronicles 4:14 ).

R. A. S. Macalister.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

"Of the Abi-ezrites." A city of Manasseh, 6 miles south-west of Shechem, the residence of Gideon ( Judges 6:11;  8:27,32 ). After his great victory over the Midianites, he slew at this place the captive kings (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 ( Judges 9:5 ). It is identified with Ferata.

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., DD Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Ophrah'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/o/ophrah.html. 1897.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. City in Benjamin.  Joshua 18:23;  1 Samuel 13:17 . Perhaps the same as EPHRAINin  2 Chronicles 13:19 and EPHRAIMin   John 11:54 . Identified with et Taiyibeh, 31 57' N, 35 18' E .

2. City in Manasseh, the native place of Gideon.   Judges 6:11,24;  Judges 8:27,32;  Judges 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.   1 Chronicles 4:14 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 1 Chronicles 4:14 2 Joshua 18:23 1 Samuel 13:17-18 2 Chronicles 13:19 2 Samuel 13:23 John 11:54 Judges 6:11 6:15 6:24 Judges 8:32

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

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,  Joshua 18:23;  1 Samuel 13:17 .

2. A town of Manesseh where Gideon resided; and where after his death his ephod was superstitiously adored,  Judges 6:11-24;  8:27 .

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

A city of Benjamin, ( Joshua 18:23) from Haphar, dust.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

of´ra ( עפרה , ‛ophrāh  ; Codex Vaticanus Ἀφρά , Aphrá  ; Codex Alexandrinus Ἰεφραθά , Iephrathá , etc.):

(1) A town in the territory allotted to Benjamin named between Parah and Chephar-ammoni ( Joshua 18:23 ). It is mentioned again in  1 Samuel 13:17 . The Philistines who were encamped at Michmash sent out marauding bands, one of which went westward, another eastward, down "the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness"; the third "turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual." This must have been northward, as Saul commanded the passage to the South. Eusebius, Onomasticon places it 5 Roman miles East of Bethel. A site which comes near to fulfilling these conditions is eṭ - Ṭaiyebeh , which stands on a conical hill some 5 miles Northeast of Beitı̄n . This is possibly identical with "Ephron" ( 2 Chronicles 13:19 ), and "Ephraim" ( John 11:54 ).

(2) A city in the tribal lot of Manasseh West of Jordan. It is mentioned only in connection with Gideon, whose native place it was, and with his son Abimelech ( Judges 6:11 , etc.). It was, indeed, family property, belonging to Joash the Abiezrite, the father of Gideon. It was apparently not far from the plain of Esdraelon ( Judges 6:33 f), so that Gideon and his kinsmen smarted under the near presence of the oppressing Midianites. Manasseh, of course, as bordering on the southern edge of the plain, was in close touch with the invaders. At Ophrah, Gideon reared his altar to Yahweh, and made thorough cleansing of the instruments of idolatry. After his great victory, he set up here the golden ephod made from the spoils of the enemy, which proved a snare to himself and to his house (  Judges 8:27 ). Here he was finally laid to rest. It was at Ophrah that Abimelech, aspiring to the kingdom, put to death upon one stone three score and ten of his brethren, as possible rivals, Jotham alone escaping alive ( Judges 9:5 ). Apparently the mother of Abimelech belonged to Shechem; this established a relationship with that town, his connection with which does not therefore mean that Ophrah was near it.

No quite satisfactory identification has yet been suggested. Conder ( Pefs , 1876,1971) quotes the Samaritan Chronicle as identifying Ferata , which   Isaiah 6 miles West of Nāblus , with an ancient Ophra, "and the one that suggests itself as most probably identical is Ophrah of the Abiezerite." But this seems too far to the South.

(3) A man of the tribe of Judah, son of Meonothai ( 1 Chronicles 4:14 ).

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(1) OF BENJAMIN. The probable modern representative of this place, Et- Tayibeh, lies four miles north-east of Bethel on the Ordnance Map, and is thus described in the accompanying Memoirs (2:293): "A large village in a conspicuous position, with well-built stone houses. A central tower stands on the top of the hill; on either side are olive and fig gardens in the foreground. The view is extensive on both sides. A ruined church of St. George exists near, and there are remains of a ruined castle in the village. The inhabitants are Greek Christians." The archaeological remains are minutely described (ibid. page 370).

(2) OF MANASSEH. For this place Lieut. Conder suggests (Tent Work, 2:339) the modern Ferata, south-west of Nablfs; but this is not within Manasseh, and is proposed by Guerin for Pirathon (q.v.). It is more probably (Tristram, Bible Places, page 203) Arrabeh, which is laid down on the Ordnance Map at two miles southwest of Dothan, and described in the accompanying Memoirs (2:154) as a very large village on the slope of a bare ridge, with remains of an ancient town.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Ophrah, 1

Oph´rah, a town of Benjamin , seemingly in the northeast of that tribe's domain . Accordingly it is placed by Eusebius and Jerome five Roman miles east of Bethel. This corresponds with the position of a place called et-Taiyibeh, which was visited by Dr. Robinson in his excursion to Bethel. It is now a small village, curiously situated upon a conical hill, on the summit of which is an old tower, whence is commanded a splendid view of the valley of the Jordan, the Dead Sea, and the eastern mountains.

Ophrah, 2

Ophrah, a town in the tribe of Manasseh, to which Gideon belonged, and where he continued to reside after he had delivered Israel from the Midianites, establishing there his ephod, which became a snare to Israel .