Lukasz Niesiolowski-Spanò, «Where Should One Look for Gideon’s Ophra?», Vol. 86 (2005) 478-493
The hypothesis presented in this article offers a new way of explaining a number
of discrepancies in the biblical text. Perhaps more importantly, it opens the door
to the identification of a place known from the biblical tradition with a known site
of archaeological importance. Finally, the identification of Ophra with Ramat
Rahel, which in ancient times was very likely called hrp(-tyb@ / rp(-tyb@, sheds light
on the tradition of connecting Ephratah (htrpa) with Judah, (1 Chr 1,19. 50), and
the hitherto difficult hrp( tyb@ in Mic 1,10.
Where Should One Look for Gideon’s Ophra? 483
from the very latest text stratum, and that being the case, there is no
objection to looking for another location for Ophra.
First and foremost, one has to closely examine the biblical
material, and when attempting to pinpoint the location of Ophra, the
key text is without doubt the account concerning Gideon (Judg 6–8).
Suffice to say, this is not the appropriate place to discuss all the textual
problems arising from an analysis of the story of the building of God’s
altar in Ophra, nor the relationship between Gideon and Jerubbaal;
these problems have been discussed widely enough for us to want to
venture into further inquiry. Notwithstanding, the basic problem lies in
precisely locating the place thought by biblical authors to have been
Gideon’s Ophra.
The Hebrew term “Ophra†(hrp[) occurs six times in MT (18), and
was rendered in LXX as Efraqa and on one occasion as Gofera
(1Sam 13,17). The Greek word Efraqa was used in LXX not only as
the equivalent of Ophra (hrp[), but also of the term “Ephratah†(htrpa)
(Gen 35,16.19; 48,7; Ruth 4,11; Ps (131)132,6; 1 Chr 2,24.50; Mic
5,1). The Greek text of Josh 15,59 in LXX is longer than its Hebrew
equivalent in MT, and the name of Efraqa does not have any Hebrew
counterpart. Josh 18,23 in LXX contains the double tradition of
rendering this nomen loci as Efraqa and Afra. A different tradition
can be found in the prophetic text in Obadiah 1,20, where the Greek
word Efraqa was rendered in MT with the hapax legomenon: drps(19),
in the Vulgate, translated as “Bosfor†(20).
This author’s hypothesis is that the nomen loci “Ophra†(hrp[), as
the name of the city where Gideon built God’s altar, is an artificial
literary creation. There is no such place as Ophra, and never has been,
and the city in which the story of Gideon was situated is not to be
found in the territory of Manasseh. Had the details of the account been
historical, the place of action would have been a big city, with an
extensive tower or fortress (zw[m) enclosed either within, or very near
to, city walls. None of the sites found in the area of Manasseh
correspond to such a description. The cities in the North, which may
well have been thought of as being Ophra, lack the remains of any
construction of a military or defensive character. If one is going to look
for Gideon’s Ophra, he or she should leave the territory of Manasseh
and move southwards.
(18) Josh 18,23; Judg 6,11; 8,27.32; 1 Sam 13,17; 1 Chr 4,14.
(19) BDB, 709.
(20) Cf. BOLING, Judges, 160.