the Fourth Week of Advent
Click here to learn more!
Bible Dictionaries
Aphek
Smith's Bible Dictionary
or A'phek. (strength). The name of several places in Palestine.
1. A royal city of the Canaanites, the king of which was killed by Joshua, Joshua 12:18, probably the same as Aphekah in Joshua 15:53.
2. A city, apparently in the extreme north of Asher, Joshua 19:30, from which the Canaanites were not ejected, Judges 1:31, though here it is Aphik. This is probably the same place as Aphek, Joshua 13:4, on the extreme north "border of the Amorites," identified with the Aphaca of classical times, the modern Afka.
3. A place at which the Philistines encamped while the Israelites pitched in Eben-ezer, before the fatal battle in which the sons of Eli were killed and the Ark was taken. 1 Samuel 4:1. This would be somewhere to the northwest of and at no great distance from Jerusalem.
4. The scene of another encampment of the Philistines, before an encounter not less disastrous than that just named, the defeat and death of Saul. 1 Samuel 29:1. It is possible that it may be the same place as the preceding.
5. A city on the military road from Syria to Israel. 1 Kings 20:26. It is now found in Fik, at the head of the Wady Fik, six miles east of the Sea of Galilee.
These files are public domain.
Smith, William, Dr. Entry for 'Aphek'. Smith's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/sbd/a/aphek.html. 1901.
