Encyclopedia entry
Ophel
Hill; mound, the long, narrow, rounded promontory on the southern slope of the temple hill, between the Tyropoeon and the Kedron valley (2 Chr. 27:3; 33:14; Neh. 3:26, 27). It was surrounded by a separate wall, and was occupied by the Nethinim after the Captivity. This wall has been discovered by the engineers of the Palestine Exploration Fund at the south-eastern angle of the temple area. It is 4 feet below the present surface. In 2 Kings 5:24 this word is translated “tower” (R.V., “hill”), denoting probably some eminence near Elisha’s house.
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
(hill), a part of ancient Jerusalem. Ophel was the swelling declivity by which the mount of the temple slopes on its southern side into the valley of Hinnom—a long, narrowish rounded spur or promontory, which intervenes between the mouth of the central valley of Jerusalem (the Tyropoeon) and the Kidron, or valley of Jehoshaphat. Halfway down it on its eastern face is the (“Fount of the Virgin,” so called; and at its foot the lower outlet of the same spring—the Pool of Siloam. In (2 Chronicles 27:3) Jotham is said to have built much “on the wall of Ophel.” Manasseh, among his other defensive works, “compassed about Ophel.” Ibid. (2 Chronicles 33:14) It appears to have been near the “water-gate,” (Nehemiah 3:26) and the “great tower that lieth out.” ver. (Nehemiah 3:27) It was evidently the residence of the Levites. (Nehemiah 11:21)
In the Bible
5
Verses where Ophel is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 2 Chronicles 27:3
Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD, and he worked extensively on the wall at the hill of Ophel.
- 2 Chronicles 33:14
After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and he brought it around the hill of Ophel and heightened it considerably. He also stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
- Nehemiah 3:26
and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the tower that juts out.
- Nehemiah 3:27
And next to them, the Tekoites repaired another section, from a point opposite the great tower that juts out to the wall of Ophel.
- Nehemiah 11:21
The temple servants lived on the hill of Ophel, with Ziha and Gishpa over them.
Scripture on Ophel
4
Entries that reference Ophel
8
Ophel references
17
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.