Netophah
NETOPHAH
A town near Bethlehem, of which little more than the name is known, 2Sa 24:25,25 ; 2Ki 25:23 ; Ezr 2:22 ; Neh 7:26 .
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Netophah
(Heb. Netophah’, , distillation; Sept. in Ezra, v.r. ; but in Nehemiah, v.r. ; Vulg. Netopha), a town in Palestine, fifty-six of whose people returned from captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:22; Neh 7:26). Two of David’s guard, Maharai and Heleb or Hildai, leaders also of two of the monthly courses (1Ch 27:13; 1Ch 27:15), were Netophathites, and it was the native place of at least one of the captains who remained under arms near Jerusalem after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar; for the “villages of the Netophathites” were the residence of the Levites (1Ch 9:16), a fact which shows that they did not confine themselves to the places named in the catalogues of Joshua 21 and 1 Chronicles 6. From another notice we learn that the particular Levites who inhabited these villages were singers (Neh 12:28). That Netophah belonged to Judah appears from the fact that the two heroes above mentioned belonged, the one to the Zarhites that is, the great family of Zerah, one of the chief houses of the tribe and the other to Othniel, the son-in-law of Caleb. To judge from Neh 7:26, it was in the neighborhood of, or closely connected with, Bethlehem, which is also implied by 1Ch 2:54, though the precise force of the latter statement cannot now be made out. From the number of Netophathites who returned from captivity, the place was probably only a small village, which indeed may account for its having escaped mention in the lists of Joshua. The Netophathites seem to have been a warlike race, if we may judge from the fact that one of the great military leaders of the Jews during the rule of the viceroy Gedaliah was Seraiah from that place (2Ki 25:23; Jer 40:8). A remarkable tradition, of which there is no trace in the Bible, but which, nevertheless, is not improbably authentic, is preserved by the Jewish authors, to the effect that the Netophathites slew the guards which had been placed by Jeroboam on the roads leading to Jerusalem to stop the passage of the first-fruits from the country villages to the Temple (Targum on 1Ch 2:34; on Rth 4:20, and Ecc 3:11). Jeroboam’s obstruction, which is said to have remained in force till the reign of Hoshea (see the notes of Beck to Targum on 1Ch 2:54), was commemorated by a fast on the 23d Sivan, which is still retained in the Jewish calendar (see the calendar given by Basnage, Hist. des Juifs, volume 6, chapter 29). Netophah is not mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome, and although in the Mishna reference is made to the “oil of Netophah” (Pearh, 7:1, 12), and to the “valley of Beth-Netophah,” in which artichokes flourished, whose growth determined the date of some ceremonial observance (Shebiith, 9:7), nothing is said as to the situation of the place. The latter may well be the present village of Beit Nettif, which stands on the edge of the great valley of the Wady es-Sumt (Robinson, Bib. Res. 2:16, 17; Porter, Hand-book, page 248), but can hardly be the Netophah of the Bible, since it is not near Bethlehem, but in quite another direction. It may, however, be the place mentioned (as above) by the rabbins (see Reland, Palcest. pages 650, 909). The only name in the neighborhood of Bethlehem suggestive of Netophah is that which appears in Van de Velde’s map (1858) as Antubeh, and in Tobler (Dritte Wand. page 80) as Urn-Tlba, attached to a half-ruined village about two miles north-east of Bethlehem and a wady which falls therefrom into the Wady en-Nar, or Kidron. SEE NETOPHATH.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Netophah (2)
The probable representative of this site appears as Khurbet Um Toba aon the Ordnance Map, at two and a quarter miles north-east of Bethlehem, but no description is given in the accompanying Memoirs.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Netophah
distillation; dropping, a town in Judah, in the neighbourhood, probably, of Bethlehem (Neh. 7:26; 1 Chr. 2:54). Two of David’s guards were Netophathites (1 Chr. 27:13, 15). It has been identified with the ruins of Metoba, or Um Toba, to the north-east of Bethlehem.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Netophah
(“dropping”.) A town coupled with Bethlehem in Neh 7:26, also in 1Ch 2:54; therefore near it. Two of David’s heroes (1Ch 27:1; 1Ch 27:13; 1Ch 27:15), captains of two of the 12 monthly military courses, were NETOPHATHITES (2Sa 23:28-29). “Villages of Netophathites” were Levite singers’ residences (1Ch 9:16; Neh 12:28). The Targum (1Ch 2:54; Rth 4:20; Ecc 3:11) states that they slew the guards whom Jeroboam stationed on the roads to Jerusalem, to intercept the firstfruits from the villages to the temple. The fast on the 23rd Sivan, still in the Jewish calendar, commemorates Jeroboam’s opposition. Between Bethlehem and Anathoth. Noticed as “in the wilderness” of Judah in the Acta Sanctorum. Answering to the ruin Metoba. N.E. of Bethlehem on the edge of the Mar Saba desert.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Netophah
NETOPHAH.A town, the name of which first occurs in the list of the exiles who returned under Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:22 = Neh 7:26 = 1Es 5:18 Netophas). Perhaps the name is preserved in the modern Beit Nettif at the entrance to the Wady es-Sunt or Vale of Elah. The gentilic name the Netophathite(s) occurs in 2Sa 23:28 f., 2Ki 25:23, Jer 40:8.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Netophah
We read Ezr 2:22 of this place; and some have thought that it was a city between Benjamin and the pleasant village of Anathoth, where Jeremiah dwelt. (Jer 1:1) The name is derived from Nataph, gum or spice; probably so called from the precious gums produced there.
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Netophah
ne-tofa (, netophah; Septuagint , Netopha, , Nephota, and other variants): The birthplace of two of David’s heroes, Maharai and Heleb (2Sa 23:28, 2Sa 23:29), also of Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, one of the captains who came to offer allegiance to Gedaliah (2Ki 25:23; Jer 40:8). The villages of the Netophathites are mentioned (1Ch 9:16) as the dwellings of certain Levites and (Neh 12:28, the King James Version Netophathi) of certain sons of the singers.
The first mention of the place itself is in Ezr 2:22; Neh 7:26; 1 Esdras 5:18 (the Revised Version (British and American) Netophas), where we have parallel lists of the exiles returning from Babylon under Zerubbabel; the place is mentioned between Bethlehem and Anathoth and in literary association with other cities in the mountains of Judah, e.g. Gibeon, Kiriath-jearim, Chephereh and Beeroth. In this respect it is most plausible to identify it with NEPHTOAH (which see), although the disappearance of the terminal guttural in the latter creates a difficulty. Conder has suggested a site known as Khirbet Umm-Toba, Northeast of Bethlehem, an ancient site, but not apparently of great importance. Beit Nettf, an important village on a lofty site in the Shephelah near the Vale of Elah, also appears to have an echo of the name, and indeed may well be the Beth Netophah of the Mishna (Shebhuoth, ix.5; Neubauer, Geogr., 128), but the position does not seem to agree at all with that of the Old Testament Netophah. Khirbet Umm-Toba see Palestine Exploration Fund, III, 128; for Beit Nettf, Palestine Exploration Fund, III, 24; RBR, II, 17 f; both Sh XVII.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Netophah
Netophah, a place not far from Bethlehem in Judea (Ezr 2:22; Neh 7:26). Hence the Gentile name Netophite (2Sa 23:28-29; 2Ki 25:23).
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Netophah
[Net’ophah]
City of Judah. Ezr 2:22; Neh 7:26. Identified with ruins at Umm Toba, 31 44′ N, 35 13′ E.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Netophah
H5199
A city in Judah.
Ezr 2:22; Neh 7:26
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Netophah
Neto’phah. (distillation). A town, the name of which, occurs only in the catalogue of those, who returned with Zerubbabel from the captivity. Ezr 2:22; Neh 7:26 1Es 5:18. But, though not directly mentioned till so late a period, Netophah was really a much older place.
Two of David’s guard, 1Ch 17:13; 1Ch 17:15, were Netophathites. The “villages of the Neophathites,” were the residence of the Levites. 1Ch 9:16. From another notice, we learn that the particular Levites, who inhabited these villages, were singers. Neh 12:28. To judge from Neh 7:26, the town was in the neighborhood of, or closely connected with, Bethlehem.