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? 485
Even if a philological analysis of the two toponyms allows us to
identify them, and thus locate Ophra in a certain site in Palestine,
further examination is still needed. The first task would be to establish
the real denomination of the place Ephrata, with which we propose to
identify the name Ophra. The next would be the identification of the
name with a certain site.
One of the most instructive biblical passages helping to determine
the location of the site is Mic 1,10: “Tell it not in Gath, weep not at all;
in Beth-leaphrah (hrp[l tyB) roll yourselves in the dustâ€. Many
commentators deem it hardly possible to know what place was
intended here, and do not attempt to identify Beth-leaphrah, mentioned
in Mic 1,10. However, as the entire passage described the sites in
Judah, we can expect its location to be within this southern tribe (25).
Maybe the only exception is Wolfram von Soden, who pointed out
a possible connection between Beth-leaphrah and the place name
Ephrathah (htrpa) (26). I believe this suggestion ought to be picked up
on, especially as we do have another hint sustaining the connection of
the name with Judah. In 1 Chr 4,14 the word “Ophra†(hrp[) is used to
refer to the name of a person — a Judahite (27).
If one agrees that in both cases (1 Chr 4,14 and Mic 1,10) Ophra
(hrp[l tyB; hrp[) is connected to the territory of Judah then the
location of the Gideon city within Manasseh is far from being the only
possible solution.
Based on Gen 35,19; 48,7; 1 Sam 17,12 and Mic 5,2, the name
“Ephrata†is commonly seen as a synonym of the city name Bethlehem
(as in the analogous case where “Hebron†and “Kiriath-Arba†describe
the same place). However, another usage of the name “Ephrataâ€
presupposes a different identification, namely that Bethlehem and
Ephrata are not identical. Ruth 1,2; 4,11 and 1 Chr 2,50-51; 4,4
indicate that the two place names denote different sites (28).
(25) D.R. HILLERS, “Micah, Book ofâ€, ABD IV, 807-810. Cf. C.S. SHAW, The
Speeches of Micah. A Rhetorical-Historical Analysis (JSOTSS 145) (Sheffield
1993); F.I. ANDERSEN – D.N. FREEDMAN, Micah (AB 24E; New York 2000) 208-
209; L.M. LUKER, “Beth-Le-Aphrah (place)â€, ABD I, 689.
(26) W. VON SODEN, “Zu einigen Ortsbenennungen bei Amos und Michâ€, ZAH
3 (1990) 214-220, esp. 217.
(27) According to the genealogy in 1 Chr 4,1-14, hrp[ was the grandson of
Othniel, son of Kenaz, descendent of Kaleb, mentioned also in Judg 3,7-11.
(28) A further complication appears when Gen 48,7 is analysed; there, the
expression htrpa abl ≈raAtrbK; cabraqa th'" gh'" tou' ejlqei'n Efraqa; is used. For
its meaning see: G. GARBINI, Note di lessicografia ebraica (Brescia 1998) 34-39;