נְטֹפָה
𐤍𐤈𐤐𐤄
Netofah
H5199 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Netophah is a toponym denoting a specific town or locality in the southern highlands of ancient Israelite territory. Its semantic range is geographically specific, consistently designating the same locality, sometimes extended to refer to its inhabitants (Netophathites). The form itself appears only as a place name, with no evidence that it was used for natural features or generic localities.
Semantic Range
Netophah (a village near Bethlehem), the associated locality, residents or families from Netophah
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root נָטַף (ntp), meaning 'to drip, drop, distill.' The place name may have originally described a feature of the landscape (e.g., related to springs, water sources, or dew), though the exact associative meaning is not explicit in biblical or later contexts. The word itself functions solely as a place name in biblical Hebrew.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Netophah appears in several post-exilic lists (Ezra 2:22; Nehemiah 7:26) as the home of a clan returning from Babylonian exile, and in earlier passages (2 Samuel 23:28–29; 1 Chronicles 9:16) associated with warriors or Levites from there. The word is consistently used to refer to a defined locality, probably situated near Bethlehem. The inhabitants are called נְטֹפָתִי (Netophathites). No biblical text indicates the later use of the English term 'Jew' to describe Netophah or its people; in English translations, simply rendered as 'Netophah.' The name is not used for people as a given name, only for the place and its people. No evidence in the Hebrew Bible suggests that Netophah had religious, cultic, or broader metaphorical significance. Later traditions, including some classical and rabbinic sources, attempted to identify or locate Netophah more precisely, but these identifications are not present in canonical Hebrew texts.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from נָטַף; distillation; Netophah, a place in Palestine; Netophah.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
נטף (n-ṭ-p) — to drip, drop, distill
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2955 | טָפַת | Taphath |
| H5188 | נְטִיפָה | the drop-pendants |
| H5197 | נָטַף | I will cause to drip |
| H5198 | נָטָף | aromatic resin drop |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5199-02 |
וּ/נְטֹפָ֔ה | unetofah | HC/Np |
and Netophah | and Netophah | 1 |
H5199-01 |
נְטֹפָ֖ה | netofah | HNp |
Netophah | Netophah, Drip-town | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5199-01 |
Ezra 2:22 | נְטֹפָ֖ה | netofah | HNp |
Netophah | Netophah, Drip-town |
H5199-02 |
Nehemiah 7:26 | וּ/נְטֹפָ֔ה | unetofah | HC/Np |
and Netophah | and Netophah |