Hebrew word · H5316
נֶ֫פֶת
nafat
Naphath
Uncertain. The word appears only in place names connected with Dor: "Naphoth-dor" (Josh 11:2, plural), "Naphat-dor" (here; 1 Kgs 4:11), and the obscure phrase "the three of the nephet" (Josh 17:11).
Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
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 Joshua 12:23
- Range of meaning
Uncertain. The word appears only in place names connected with Dor: "Naphoth-dor" (Josh 11:2, plural), "Naphat-dor" (here; 1 Kgs 4:11), and the obscure phrase "the three of the nephet" (Josh 17:11). Older lexicons such as BDB link it to a root meaning "height," which gives "height(s) of Dor." Others treat it as a general word for "region" or "district."
- Against the English
BSB and ESV leave it untranslated as a name ("Naphath-dor"). WEB has "height of Dor" and YLT "elevation of Dor," which follow the "height" etymology. KJV's "coast of Dor" seems to reflect an older understanding of it as the region or border area of Dor (compare the Vulgate's "province of Dor").
- Used elsewhere in the period
Outside these verses there is no clear biblical or extra-biblical use. The Septuagint just transliterates it as part of a name (Nafeddor and similar spellings), which suggests the translators did not know what it meant either.
Where it appears
Joshua · 2
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Joshua 12:23 לְנָפַ֥ת of Naphath of
the king of Dor in Naphath-dor, one; the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one;
Here: The prefix le- ("of, belonging to, in") places Dor inside a wider area, the same way v. 22 has "Jokneam of Carmel." Nobody is sure what Naphat means. The main options are "heights," possibly the Carmel slopes behind Dor, or simply "region, district."
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Joshua 17:11 הַנָּֽפֶת׃ <the> Napheth
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
Here: Probably connected to the name Naphath-dor ('heights of Dor', Joshua 11:2; 12:23; 1 Kings 4:11), the district around Dor. Whether the phrase means 'three heights/regions' or is a note that 'the third (town) is Naphath' is disputed.
1 Kings · 1
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1 Kings 4:11 נָ֣פַת Naphath of
Ben-abinadab in Naphath-dor (Taphath, a daughter of Solomon, was his wife);
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.