Bible Location
Meaning: dust; lead; a fawn · 5 cross references · Modern-day map available
Ophrah was the home town of Gideon in the territory of Manasseh. It is important because it was the setting of Gideon's call, his altar to the Lord, and the later turmoil that followed his leadership. First appears in Judg 6:11.1
AI summary: Ophrah carries the full arc of Gideon's story from calling to warning. It is where the angel meets him, where an altar is built in response to divine commission, and where his household later turns a victory memorial into a spiritual snare. After Gideon's death, Ophrah becomes the scene of Abimelech's violence against his own family, deepening the town's association with both deliverance and corruption. The cross references present Ophrah as a Manassite town where calling, compromise, and bloodshed all leave their mark.1
“Of the Abi-ezrites.” A city of Manasseh, 6 miles south-west of Shechem, the residence of Gideon (Judg. 6:11; 8:27, 32). After his great victory over the Midianites, he slew at this place the captive kings (8:18-21). He then assumed the function of high priest, and sought to make Ophrah what Shiloh should have been. This thing “became a snare” to Gideon and his house. After Gideon’s death his family resided here till they were put to death by Abimelech (Judg. 9:5). It is identified with Ferata. 3
AI-assisted summary prepared for ai-BIBLE and stored as page content, based on dictionary material, place metadata, and linked Bible cross references.
Alistair de Blacquiere-Clarkson, “ai-BIBLE Bible Names JSON Factsheet Aggregating Material from Smith’s Bible Dictionary & Hitcocks’s New and Complete Analysis of the Bible.” ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
M.G.Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
Robert Rouse, “Theographic Bible Information,” Theographic-Bible-Metadata, 2020, https://github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata.