עׇפְרָה (oph.rah)
oph.rah
Ophrah
N:N--LQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 8 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- N:N--L
Word Overview
The noun ophrah is a Hebrew word meaning "fawn," and it serves as the root for several place names in the Old Testament. The most prominent among these is Ophrah, a town located in the territory of Benjamin, situated roughly five miles east of Bethel. This location appears frequently in the narratives of Judges, Joshua, and First Samuel, anchoring specific historical events to a recognizable geographic point.
Lexical sources note that this name also forms part of "Beth-le-aphrah," or House of Ophrah, mentioned in passages such as Hosea 5:8. The use of the word for a young deer in place names likely reflects local topography or perhaps a family lineage associated with the area. By appearing in eight verses, primarily within the tribal allotment and judicial periods of Israel’s history, the name helps readers visualize the physical landscape through which key figures like Gideon and Samuel moved.
Understanding ophrah as "fawn" adds a layer of concrete imagery to these biblical accounts. It reminds readers that these were not abstract spiritual concepts but lived in real towns with names drawn from the natural world. The recurrence of the name across different books highlights the continuity of Israel’s settlement and the importance of these Benjaminite communities during the transition from the period of the judges to the establishment of the monarchy.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The name Ophrah appears in several key moments of Israel’s history, often marking places where God’s people encountered divine guidance or faced difficult choices. In Judges 6, Gideon receives a message of peace and protection while hiding in the winepress at this town. This detail reminds us that God does not wait for perfect conditions to speak; He meets us in our hidden struggles and offers reassurance when we feel most vulnerable.
Later passages show how places can become associated with both blessing and spiritual compromise, as seen when Gideon’s ephod was placed there and became a snare. This history invites reflection on what we hold dear in our own lives. It encourages us to examine whether the things we value bring us closer to God or distract us from His peace.
Ultimately, Ophrah serves as a reminder that faith is lived out in real places with real people. Whether in times of deliverance or times of testing, these locations anchor our understanding of how God has worked through history. They invite us to trust that He remains present in the ordinary moments of our own journeys.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 8 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- in/ Ophrah2×
- Ophrah2×
- and/ Ophrah1×
- [was] in/ Ophrah1×
- [is] in/ Ophrah1×
- Ophrah/ towards1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- בְּ/עָפְרָ֔ה2×
- עָפְרָ֖ה1×
- עָפְרָ֔תָ/ה1×
- עָפְרָ֑ה1×
- וְ/עָפְרָֽה\׃1×
- בְּ/עָפְרָ֖ת1×
- בְּ/עָפְרָ֖ה1×
Key Verses
-
Judges 6:11
Yahweh’s angel came and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites.
This verse marks the pivotal moment when the angel of Yahweh appears to Gideon, establishing Ophrah as a place of divine encounter and personal calling.
-
Judges 6:24
Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh, and called it “Yahweh is Peace.” To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Here Gideon builds an altar named 'Yahweh is Peace,' showing how this location became a lasting testimony to God's comforting presence in times of fear.
-
Judges 8:27
Gideon made an ephod out of it, and put it in Ophrah, his city. Then all Israel played the prostitute with it there; and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house.
This passage highlights the danger of spiritual compromise, as an object of worship placed in Ophrah eventually became a snare to Gideon and his family.