2 Chronicles 2:16 - Exposition

Joppa , This was one of the most ancient of towns, and is referred to by Pliny ('Hist. Nat.,' 2 Chronicles 5:13 ), as "Joppa Phoenicum, antiquior terrarum inundatione, ut ferunt." Its name ( יָפוֹ , "beauty") is said to have been justified by the beautiful groves in its neighbourhood. It is mentioned Joshua 19:46 as Japho, where also we learn the circumstances under which the Dan tribe were possessed of it. It is remarkable that it is not mentioned again till our present verse, not even in the parallel ( 1 Kings 5:9 ). But it appears again in Ezra 3:7 ; Jonah 1:3 , and in several places in the Acts of the Apostles. The modern name of it is Joffa, and it is not reputed as a good port now. It was distant from Jerusalem some thirty-four miles. The carriage of the tim-bet this road-journey is nowhere described in detail, nor is the exact spot of the coast west of Lebanon mentioned where the flotes were made, and thence despatched.