Hebrew word · H663

אֲפֵק

'afek

Aphek

A place-name probably from a root meaning 'to hold, be strong' (a fortress) or connected with 'stream-bed' (ʾafiq).

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Aphek or Aphik = "enclosure"

a Canaanite city near Jezreel

Also named: a.phe.qah (אֲפֵקָה "Aphekah" H0664)

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 13:4

Range of meaning

A place-name probably from a root meaning 'to hold, be strong' (a fortress) or connected with 'stream-bed' (ʾafiq). At least three or four towns had the name: Aphek in the Sharon plain (Josh 12:18; 1 Sam 4:1), Aphek in Asher (Josh 19:30; Judg 1:31), Aphek east of the Sea of Galilee (1 Kgs 20:26), and this northern Aphek.

Against the English

English readers who know the Philistine battle at Aphek (1 Sam 4) may assume it is the same town. The context here (Sidonians, Byblos, Lebanon) puts it far to the north.

Used elsewhere in the period

This Aphek is commonly identified with Afqa in the Lebanon range, at the spring of the Nahr Ibrahim (the classical Adonis River), east of Byblos. In Greco-Roman times it had a famous shrine of Aphrodite/Astarte (Eusebius, Life of Constantine 3.55). Some identify it instead with Aphek of Asher. The northern site fits the list better.

From the study of Joshua 19:30

Range of meaning

A common Canaanite place name, probably from the root ʾ-p-q, 'to be strong / hold in'. The related ʾafiq means 'stream-bed, channel'. The name likely refers to a spring or watercourse, or to a stronghold.

Against the English

Transliterated 'Aphek' everywhere. Readers easily mix it up with the Aphek of 1 Samuel 4 and 29 (in the Sharon, later Antipatris) or with the Aphek east of the Sea of Galilee (1 Kgs 20).

Used elsewhere in the period

Judges 1:31 spells it 'Aphik' (ʾAfiq). Several Aphek sites are named in Egyptian texts of the second millennium BC, but which one is meant often has to be argued. The usual identification for Asher's Aphek is Tel Afeq (Tell Kurdaneh), at the strong springs of the Na'aman river east of the bay of Acco.

Where it appears

Joshua · 3

  1. Joshua 12:18 אֲפֵק֙ Aphek

    the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;

  2. Joshua 13:4 אֲפֵ֑קָה Aphek towards

    to the south, all the land of the Canaanites, from Mearah of the Sidonians to Aphek, as far as the border of the Amorites;

    Here: Aphek with an ending that means 'toward,' so 'toward Aphek' (doubled up with 'as far as'). Several towns were called Aphek ('stream-bed' or 'fortress'). This one, far north in Lebanon, is usually identified with Afqa at the source of the Nahr Ibrahim (the ancient Adonis River), not the better-known Aphek in the Sharon plain.

  3. Joshua 19:30 וַאֲפֵ֖ק and Aphek

    Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob. There were twenty-two cities, along with their villages.

    Here: The northern Aphek, inland from Acco in the plain beside the bay. Most scholars place it at Tel Afeq (Tell Kurdaneh), by the springs of the Na'aman river. This is the 'Aphik' of Judges 1:31, and a different place from the better-known Aphek in the Sharon plain.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 1:31 אֲפִ֖יק Aphek

    Asher failed to drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 4:1 בַאֲפֵֽק׃ at Aphek

    Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek.

  2. 1 Samuel 29:1 אֲפֵ֑קָה Aphek towards

    Now the Philistines brought all their forces together at Aphek, while Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.

1 Kings · 2

  1. 1 Kings 20:26 אֲפֵ֔קָה Aphek towards

    In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.

  2. 1 Kings 20:30 אֲפֵקָה֮ Aphek towards

    The rest of them fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled to the city and hid in an inner room.

    Here: Aphek with the Hebrew ending -ah, which marks direction ('Aphek-ward'). This is very probably the Aphek on the Golan plateau east of the Sea of Galilee, where Aram chose to fight on flat ground (v. 23–26).

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 13:17 בַּאֲפֵ֖ק in Aphek

    “Open the east window,” said Elisha. So he opened it and Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot. And Elisha declared: “This is the LORD’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram, for you shall strike the Arameans in Aphek until you have put an end to them.”

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