Hebrew word · H4158

מֵיפַ֫עַת

meifa'at

Mephaath

A place name. Some connect it with the root yapha', 'to shine forth' or 'to be high', but its meaning is uncertain.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 15, 2026

What it means

§ Mephaath = "splendour" or "height"

a city of Reuben allotted to the Merarite Levites lying in the district of the Mishor, near Moab

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

Range of meaning: A place name. Some connect it with the root yapha', 'to shine forth' or 'to be high', but its meaning is uncertain. The spelling varies across the Bible: Joshua 13:18 and 21:37 spell it slightly differently, and at Jeremiah 48:21 the written text and the reading tradition the scribes noted beside it differ (mwpʿt / meyphaʿat).
Against the English: All versions transliterate it: 'Mephaath'.
Used elsewhere in the period: Joshua 13:18 assigns it to Reuben, Joshua 21:37 to the Levites, and Jeremiah 48:21 lists it among Moab's cities. Eusebius's Onomasticon (4th century AD) knows a Mephaath with a Roman military garrison at the desert edge. A Byzantine mosaic at Umm er-Rasas, south-east of Madaba in Jordan, labels the place 'Kastron Mefaa', which makes Umm er-Rasas the usual identification. Some scholars instead propose Tell Jawa, south of Amman.

Range of meaning: Place name. The meaning is uncertain. It is sometimes linked to the root y-p-ʿ, 'shine forth', or 'height'.
Against the English: Every version transliterates it. The Hebrew spelling varies between texts (written with or without the yod).
Used elsewhere in the period: Josh 13:18; 1 Chr 6:79; Jer 48:21 (a Moabite town in the oracle against Moab). A 6th–8th century AD church mosaic at Umm er-Rasas names the town 'Kastron Mefaa', which strongly supports locating it there or close by. Tell Jawa south of Amman has also been proposed for the Iron Age town.

Range of meaning: A proper name: Mephaath, a town of the Tableland.
Against the English: All English versions transliterate it. None follows the written consonants (Mophaath).
Used elsewhere in the period: It was allotted to Reuben (Joshua 13:18) and listed as a Levitical city (Joshua 21:37; 1 Chronicles 6:79). Many scholars place it at Umm er-Rasas in Jordan, where Byzantine-era mosaics name the site 'Kastron Mefaa'. Others suggest nearby Tell Jawa.

Joshua · 1

1 Chronicles · 1

1 Chronicles 6:79 מֵיפַ֖עַת Mephaath

Kedemoth, and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands.

Here: The fourth and last Levitical town from Reuben. It sat on the Transjordan plateau and later became Moabite: Jeremiah 48:21 lists it among Moab's cities facing judgment.

Jeremiah · 1

Jeremiah 48:21 מֵיפָֽעַת׃ Mephaath

Judgment has come upon the high plain—upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,

Here: Mephaath, a town of the Tableland once assigned to Reuben and the Levites (Joshua 13:18; 21:37). The written consonants spell it 'Mophaath'.

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