(1) A position apparently of some importance, since the position of Baal-hazor (probably = Tell ‛Asūr ) where Abraham's sheep-farm was located, is determined by relation to it (2 Samuel 13:23 ). That it lay North of Jerusalem seems to be indicated in 2 Samuel 13:34 . It may be identical with the Ephraim of Eusebius, Onomasticon , 20 Roman miles North of Jerusalem, and therefore to be sought somewhere in the neighborhood of Sinjil and el - Lubbān . Connected with this may have been the name Aphaerema, a district in Samaria mentioned in 1 Macc 11:34; Ant , XIII , iv, 9.
(2) The town near the wilderness to which Jesus retired after the raising of Lazarus (John 11:54 ). This probably corresponds to Ephrem of Eusebius, Onomasticon (s.v. "Afra") 5 Roman miles East of Bethel. This may be the place named along with Bethel by Josephus ( BJ , IV, ix, 9). It probably answers to eṭ -Ṭaiyebeh , a large village about 4 miles North of Beitı̄n . The antiquity of the site is attested by the cisterns and rock tombs. It stands on a high hill with a wide outlook including the plains of Jericho and the Dead Sea. See EPHRON .
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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