sē´far : Only in Genesis 10:30 ספרה , ṣephārāh , "toward Sephar"), as the eastern limit of the territory of the sons of Yoktan (Joktan). From the similarity between the names of most of Yoktan's sons and the names of South Arabian towns or districts, it can hardly be doubted that Sephar is represented by the Arabic Ẓafār . The appropriateness of the site seems to outweigh the discrepancy between Arabic ẓ and Hebrew ṣ . But two important towns in South Arabia bear this name. The one lies a little to the South of Ṣan‛ā' . According to tradition it was founded by Shammir, one of the Sabean kings, and for a long time served as the royal seat of the Tubbas. The other Ẓafār stands on the coast in the district of Shiḥr , East of Ḥaḍramaut . The latter is probably to be accepted as the Biblical site.
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.
WikipediaThe ISBE is a classic Bible reference compiled from nearly 10,000 entries written by over 200 different Bible scholars and teachers. In addition to the encyclopedia articles, all of the major words of the Bible are represented and defined.
The historical, cultural, and linguistic information in the ISBE can be of great value in Bible study and research.
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