Aphek

Aphek in the Bible

Aphek is not the name of a single location. It is generally understood to refer to several different places that share the same name.

Aphek in 1 Samuel

In 1 Samuel 4, the Philistines encamped at Aphek, while Israel encamped at Ebenezer (1 Samuel 4:1).

• The first battle: About four thousand Israelite soldiers were killed. The elders then proposed bringing the ark of the covenant from Shiloh so that it might save them (1 Samuel 4:3).
• The second battle: Thirty thousand foot soldiers were killed, and the ark was captured. Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were also killed.
• The aftermath: When Eli heard the news, he fell from his seat and died. Eli's daughter-in-law named her child Ichabod, saying, "The glory is departed from Israel" (1 Samuel 4:10–22).

In 1 Samuel 29 the Philistines again gathered all their forces at Aphek. There David was sent back because the princes of the Philistines, the leaders commanding their army, objected to his presence (1 Samuel 29:1–11).

Aphek in Kings

In 1 Kings 20, the servants of the king of Aram held that the God of Israel was a "god of the hills." They therefore advised King Ben-hadad to fight on the plain. The Arameans went up to Aphek to fight against Ahab but suffered a severe defeat. The surviving soldiers fled into the city of Aphek, and the text records that a wall fell on them, killing twenty-seven thousand men (1 Kings 20:23–30).

In 2 Kings 13, Elisha prophesied to Joash, king of Israel, that he would strike the Arameans at Aphek (2 Kings 13:17).

Other Apheks

• Joshua 12:18 lists the king of Aphek among the kings defeated by Joshua.
• Joshua 13:4 mentions an Aphek on the border of the Amorites in the north.
• Joshua 19:30 records Aphek as a city of the tribe of Asher. Some identify Aphik in Judges 1:31 with this same place.

Background and Location

The etymology of the name is uncertain.

The Aphek of 1 Samuel 4 is commonly identified with Tel Aphek near the source of the Yarkon River, in the vicinity of present-day Rosh HaAyin, Israel. Because the site lay at a key passage along the coastal plain, it is thought to have served as the Philistines' starting point for advancing into the Israelite hill country. Antipatris is said to have been built on this site in New Testament times. It was through Antipatris that Paul passed by night while being escorted to Caesarea (Acts 23:31).

Many scholars locate the Aphek of 1 Kings 20 on the plateau east of the Sea of Galilee, although its exact location has not been determined.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The battle of Aphek resulted in the capture of the ark and the collapse of the priestly house at Shiloh. This event is read as the fulfillment of the warning against the house of Eli (1 Samuel 2:27–36).

• Psalms 78:60–61 declares that God forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh and "delivered his strength into captivity."
• Jeremiah 7:12 cites what happened at Shiloh as a warning to Judah, which trusted in the temple and felt secure.
• This defeat forms a counterpart to 1 Samuel 7. In that chapter, after the victory at Mizpah, Samuel set up a stone and called it Ebenezer (1 Samuel 7:12).

Interpretation and Issues

• The cause of the defeat: Many interpreters find the cause in Israel's treatment of the ark as an object that guaranteed victory. The text does not state the cause directly, but the preceding chapters first present the sins of Eli's sons and the prophecy against them.
• The location of Ebenezer: Many hold that the name Ebenezer in 1 Samuel 4:1 anticipates the name given in 7:12. Opinions differ on whether the Ebenezer of 4:1 and the place where Samuel set up the stone in 7:12 are the same site.
• The numbers in 1 Kings 20: Some read the numbers literally. Others read them differently, for example by taking the Hebrew word for "thousand" (eleph) as a military unit.