Hebrew word · H3305

יָפוֹ

yafo

Joppa

Joppa or Jaffa, a port city on the southern coast of Canaan, on a rocky headland with a small natural harbour. Elsewhere in the Bible: Joshua 19:46 (on Dan's border), Ezra 3:7 and Jonah 1:3.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Joppa or Japho = "beautiful"

a town on the southwest coast of Palestine in the territory of Dan; became primary port of Jerusalem during reign of Solomon

Also named: Ioppē (Ἰόππη "Joppa" G2445)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Chronicles 2:16

Range of meaning

Joppa or Jaffa, a port city on the southern coast of Canaan, on a rocky headland with a small natural harbour. Elsewhere in the Bible: Joshua 19:46 (on Dan's border), Ezra 3:7 and Jonah 1:3.

Against the English

English "Joppa" comes through the Greek Ἰόππη. It is the same place as modern Jaffa, now part of Tel Aviv.

Used elsewhere in the period

Named in Egyptian records as Yapu: the Egyptian story of its capture under Thutmose III, and the Amarna letters of the 14th century BC. In the Eshmunazar inscription from Sidon (5th century BC), the Persian king grants "Dor and Joppa" to Sidon. The port therefore had strong Phoenician ties in the Persian period. Ezra 3:7 says cedar for the second temple was brought "by sea to Joppa".

From the study of Joshua 19:46

Range of meaning

A proper name: the port of Joppa/Jaffa. It is popularly explained from y-p-h, 'to be beautiful', though the real origin of the name is uncertain.

Against the English

The KJV and YLT have 'Japho', closer to the Hebrew. The BSB and WEB have 'Joppa', from the Greek Ioppē. They are the same city.

Used elsewhere in the period

Egyptian records list it among Thutmose III's conquests (15th c. BC), and an Egyptian story tells of its 'capture' by soldiers hidden in baskets. It appears as Yapu in the Amarna letters, written to Egypt by Canaanite rulers in the 14th c. BC. The 5th-c. BC inscription of King Eshmunazar of Sidon says the Persian king gave 'Dor and Joppa' to Sidon. In the Bible it is the timber port for the temple (2 Chr 2:16; Ezra 3:7), Jonah's port of departure (Jonah 1:3), and the town where Peter stayed (Acts 9–10).

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 19:46 יָפֽוֹ׃ Joppa

    Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, including the territory across from Joppa.

    Here: The old harbor town on the coast. Its name is popularly linked with yapheh, 'beautiful'. This is the far western edge of what was allotted to Dan, and it is where the list of Dan's towns ends.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:16 יָפ֑וֹ Joppa

    We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and we will float them to you as rafts by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem.”

    Here: Joppa (modern Jaffa), the natural harbour nearest Jerusalem, about 55 km (35 miles) to the west-northwest. This is where the timber comes ashore.

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 3:7 יָפ֔וֹא Joppa

    They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

    Here: Joppa (modern Jaffa), the nearest usable harbour to Jerusalem, about 55 km (35 miles) away and some 750 m lower. From there the timber had to be hauled overland and uphill.

Jonah · 1

  1. Jonah 1:3 יָפ֜וֹ Joppa

    Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

    Here: The main harbour on the southern coast of Canaan. It lay outside Israel's real control and was oriented toward the sea trade run by the Phoenicians.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.