Hebrew word · H3309

יָפִיעַ

yafia'

Japhia

The root is y-p-', 'to shine forth, beam, appear in radiance'. The name probably means '(God) shines forth' or 'may he shine forth'. Like Ibhar, it is a sentence name with the divine subject understood.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man of the tribe of Judah living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Sa.5.15;

son of: David (H1732);

brother of: Amnon (H0550), Chileab (H3609), Absalom (H0053), Adonijah (H0138), Shephatiah (H8203), Ithream (H3507), Shammua (H8051H), Shobab (H7727), Nathan (H5416), Solomon (H8010), Ibhar (H2984), Elishua (H0474), Nepheg (H5298H), Elishama (H0476H), Eliada (H0450), Eliphelet (H0467), Tamar (H8559H), Elpelet (H0467I), Nogah (H5052) and Jerimoth (H3406N)

§ Japhia = "shining"

1) a town on the border of Zebulun and Issachar

1a) perhaps modern 'Yafa'

2) the king of Lachish at the time of the conquest of Canaan by Joshua

3) a son of David by a concubine

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 Samuel 5:15

Range of meaning

The root is y-p-', 'to shine forth, beam, appear in radiance'. The name probably means '(God) shines forth' or 'may he shine forth'. Like Ibhar, it is a sentence name with the divine subject understood.

Against the English

The name is transliterated in all versions. The bright picture the name carries, a deity breaking out in light, is not visible in English.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb is used of God's appearing in brilliance: 'he shone forth from Mount Paran' (Deut 33:2); 'out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth' (Ps 50:2); 'you who are enthroned on the cherubim, shine forth' (Ps 80:1); 'God of vengeance, shine forth' (Ps 94:1). The name was not only Israelite. A Japhia was king of Lachish in Joshua's day (Josh 10:3), and a town Japhia lay on Zebulun's border (Josh 19:12).

Where it appears

Joshua · 2

  1. Joshua 10:3 יָפִ֧יעַ Japhia

    Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying,

    Here: Name of Lachish's ruler. It probably comes from a root meaning "shine forth" and so perhaps means "(the god) shines" or "may he shine." The name was common. A ruler of Gezer called Yapahu appears in the Amarna letters, but he is a different man.

  2. Joshua 19:12 יָפִֽיעַ׃ Japhia

    From Sarid it turned eastward along the border of Chisloth-tabor and went on to Daberath and up to Japhia.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 5:15 וְיָפִֽיעַ׃ and Japhia

    Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,

    Here: 'And Japhia'. The name comes from the verb 'to shine forth, beam out', and probably means '(God) shines forth'. The same verb is used when God appears in radiance. The verse ends here, but the list runs on into verse 16.

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 3:7 וְיָפִֽיעַ׃ and Japhia

    Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,

  2. 1 Chronicles 14:6 וְיָפִֽיעַ׃ and Japhia

    Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,

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