Nophah
Nophah is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Transjordan in modern-day Israel. Known today as Kerak. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Nophah is mentioned in Numbers 21:30, within an ancient victory song celebrating Israel's conquest of the Amorite territory ruled by King Sihon. The poetic fragment declares, "We have shot at them; Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon. We have laid waste as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba." This song commemorates one of Israel's foundational military victories during the wilderness period, when the Israelites defeated Sihon after he refused them passage through his territory (Numbers 21:21-25). The conquest of Sihon's kingdom, which extended from the Arnon to the Jabbok, gave Israel its first territorial foothold and established the lands that would be assigned to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. Nophah appears as a boundary marker indicating the extent of Israel's victory, showing that the destruction reached deep into Amorite territory. The textual form of the verse is considered difficult by scholars, and some ancient versions read the word differently, but the geographical context places Nophah in the Moabite plateau region among other well-known Transjordanian cities.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The identification of Nophah remains uncertain and is complicated by textual difficulties in Numbers 21:30. Some scholars have proposed Nophah as an alternate name for Nobah or have associated it with sites near Medeba in modern Jordan. One common identification places it at or near Kerak (ancient Kir-Moab), the prominent hilltop fortress city located approximately 15 kilometers east of the southern Dead Sea. However, this identification is not universally accepted. The Septuagint and other ancient versions render the passage differently, with some reading "fire" rather than a place name. The broader region of the Moabite plateau has yielded significant archaeological remains, including the Mesha Stele discovered at Dhiban (ancient Dibon) in 1868, which illuminates the political geography of the area mentioned in this conquest narrative.
Verse Appearances (1)
Num
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