as´far , (λάκκος Ἀσφάρ , lákkos Asphár ): When Jonathan and Simon fled from Bacchides they encamped by this pool in the wilderness of Tekoa (1 Macc 9:33; Ant , XIII , i, 2). It is probably identical with Ez -Za‛ferāneh , a ruined site with an ancient cistern, to the South of Tekoa, and East of Ḥalḥūl . Bı̂r Selhub about 6 miles Southwest of ‛Ain Jidy is favored by some (EB , under the word), the hills around it being known as Ṣafrā , in which there may be a survival of the old name.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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