Ephah

the eldest son of Midian, who gave his name to a city and small extent of land in the country of Midian, situated on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, Gen 25:4. This country abounded with camels and dromedaries, Isa 60:6, &c.

2. EPHAH, a measure both for things dry and liquid, in use among the Hebrews. The ephah for the former contained three pecks and three pints. In liquid measure it was of the same capacity as the bath.

Ephah, a dry measure of capacity, equivalent to the bath for liquids. It contained three pecks and three pints. [WEIGHTS AND MEASURES]

1. A measure of capacity used among the Hebrews, containing three pecks and three pints. The Ephah was a dry measure, as of barley, Rth 2:17 ; and meal, Num 5:15 Jdg 6:19 ; and was of the same capacity with the bath in liquids. See BATH, or Ephah.\par 2. The son of Midian, and grandson of Abraham, Gen 25:4, who settled and gave his name to a region in Arabia supposed to have been near Midian, Isa 60:6 .\par

E’phah.

1. Concubine of Caleb, in the line of Judah. 1Ch 2:46.

2. Son of Jahdai; also in the line of Judah. 1Ch 2:47.

3. See Weights and Measures.

(See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.)

1. The first of Midian’s sons, grandson of Abraham (Gen 25:4; 1Ch 1:33; Isa 60:6), "the dromedaries of Ephah" E. of the Dead Sea. Midian abounded in camels to carry their merchandise (Jdg 6:5); the camel is the ship of the desert.

2. A concubine of Caleb of Judah (1Ch 2:46).

3. Son of Jahdai (1Ch 2:47) of Judah.

(Hebrews Eyphah’, עֵיפָה, gloom), the name of a tribe (including that of the founder), also of a woman and of a Man 1:1. (Sept. Γεφάρ v.r. in Chron. Γαιφάρ, Isaiah Γαιφά.) The first in order of the five sons of Midian (Gen 25:4; 1Ch 1:33), B.C. cir. 1988; afterwards mentioned by Isaiah in the following words: "The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify tlhe house of my glory" (Isa 60:6-7). This passage clearly connects the descendants of Ephah with the Midianites, the Keturahite Sheba, and the Ishmaelites, both in the position of their settlements and in their wandering habits, and shows that, as usual, they formed a tribe bearing his name. But no satisfactory identification of this tribe has been discovered. The Arabic word Gheyfeh, which has been supposed to be the same as Ephah, is the name of a town, or village, near Pelusium, or Bulbeys (the modern Bilbeys), a place in Egypt, in the province of Sharklyeh, not fai from Cairo; but the tradition that Ephah settled in Africa does not rest on sufficient authority. SEE MIDIAN.

2. (Sept. Γαιφά.) A concubine of Caleb, of the tribe of Judah, by whom she had several sons (1Ch 2:46). B.C. post 1856.

3. (Sept. Γαιφά.) A son of Jahdai, who was apparently the grandson of the oldest of the foregoing sons (1Ch 2:47). B.C. long post 1856.

Ephah. See Measures.

[E’phah] See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

[E’phah]

1. Son of Midian, being the son of Abraham and Keturah, and referred to by Isaiah as the head of a tribe. Gen 25:4; 1Ch 1:33; Isa 60:6.

2. Concubine of Caleb. 1Ch 2:46.

3. Son of Jahdai of the tribe of Judah. 1Ch 2:47.

See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

EPHAH.—1. A son of Midian, descended from Abraham and Keturah (Gen 25:4 = 1Ch 1:33), the eponymous ancestor of an Arabian tribe whose identity is uncertain. This tribe appears in Isa 60:6 as engaged in the transport of gold and frankincense from Sheba. 2. A concubine of Caleb (1Ch 2:46). 3. A Judahite (1Ch 2:47).

EPHAH.—See Weights and Measures.

ē´fa (עיפה, ‛ēphāh, “darkness”; Γεφάρ, Gephár (Gen 25:4), Γαιφά, Gaiphá (Isa 60:6): The name of three persons in the Old Testament, both masculine and feminine

(1) The son of Midian, descended from Abraham by his wife Keturah (Gen 25:4 = 1Ch 1:33), mentioned again in Isa 60:6 as a transporter of gold and frankincense from Sheba, who shall thus bring enlargement to Judah and praise to Yahweh. According to Fried. Delitzsch, Schrader, and Hommel, ‛Ēphāh is an abbreviation of ‛Ayappa, the Kha-yappa Arabs of the time of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon. See treatment of this view in Dillmann’s Commentary on Gen (Isa 25:4).

(2) A concubine of Caleb (1Ch 2:46).

(3) The son of Jahdai, a descendant of Judah (1Ch 2:47).

An ephah was the basic measurement of capacity that the Israelites used when measuring volumes of grain. It was equal to about thirty-seven litres (Lev 6:20; Rth 2:17; 1Sa 17:17). Over the years the word ‘ephah’ became also the name of the container people used to measure the grain (Lev 19:36; Amo 8:5; Zec 5:6-9). (For fuller details of the system that Israelites used to measure capacity see MEASUREMENT.)