Ophrah
Ophrah is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Samaria in modern-day Israel. Known today as Taybeh. It appears across 2 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Ophrah of Benjamin was a town in the tribal territory of Benjamin, distinct from Ophrah of the Abiezrites associated with Gideon. It appears in Joshua 18:23 as one of the cities allotted to the tribe of Benjamin during the distribution of the Promised Land. The town gains historical significance in 1 Samuel 13:17, during the early days of King Saul's reign, when the Philistines sent out raiding parties from their camp at Michmash. One of these three raiding bands turned toward Ophrah, heading into the land of Shual, devastating the Benjaminite countryside. This episode occurred during a critical moment when Israel was virtually defenseless, with Saul's army reduced to six hundred men and no blacksmiths available to forge weapons (1 Samuel 13:19-22). The Philistine raid toward Ophrah illustrates the oppression Israel faced before Jonathan's bold attack on the Philistine garrison at Michmash turned the tide. The town's location in Benjamin made it vulnerable to Philistine incursions from their strongholds in the western foothills.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Ophrah of Benjamin is most commonly identified with the village of et-Taiyibeh (modern Taybeh), located approximately seven kilometers northeast of Ramallah in the central hill country. The identification is supported by Eusebius's Onomasticon, which places Ophrah five Roman miles east of Bethel, matching Taybeh's position. The village is also identified with Ephraim (or Ephron) of the New Testament, to which Jesus withdrew before his final Passover (John 11:54). The site preserves ruins from multiple periods, including remains of Byzantine churches and a Crusader tower. Surface surveys have documented Iron Age pottery on the tell. Today, Taybeh is known as the last remaining entirely Christian Palestinian village and is home to the Taybeh Brewery and annual Oktoberfest celebration.
Verse Appearances (2)
Josh
1Sam
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]