What and who is…
Ephah

This is the name of a dry measure of something, and the name of 2 biblical men, 1 woman, and 1 city. Two very slightly different Hebrew words ( אֵיפָה and עֵיפָהּ ) are spelled Ephah in English, the first is a noun and the second a proper name.

  1. Ephah, a measure

    Hebrew: אֵיפָה —transliteration: eʹphah or ēphāh (a noun) —meaning: an ephah (a measure of grain —occurrences: 40 times

    Ephah is a Hebrew word of Egyptian origin ('pt) meaning a measure, for example a measure of grain, flour or meat. It is used with dry things, not liquids. Ephah can also refer to the container itself, not just the measured amount.

    A grain measure containing “3 seahs or 10 omers” is equivalent to the bath measurement for liquids (Exodus 16:36; 1 Samuel 17:17; Zechariah 5:6).

    1 ephah = 10 omers = 20 dry quarts (22 liters)

    10 ephahs = 1 homer = about 1 bushel (35 liters)

    The prophet Ezekiel conveyed the following command of our just God to the ancient Israelites,

    ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Enough, O princes of Israel! Remove violence and plundering, execute justice and righteousness, and stop dispossessing My people,” says the Lord God.

    “You shall have honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, so that the bath contains one-tenth of a homer, and the ephah one-tenth of a homer; their measure shall be according to the homer. —Ezekiel 45:10 NKJV

    Many years before, God had told His people,

    You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. —Deuteronomy 25:14 NKJV

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  2. Ephah, son of Midian

    Hebrew: עֵיפָהּ (a proper name) —transliteration: Ephah —occurrences: 5

    He is one of five sons of Midian, and a grandson of the patriarch Abraham (Genesis 25:4). He is one of the named Midianites in Scripture.

  3. Ephah, the city

    This city is named after the above man. The city, with its surrounding territory, formed part of Midian, on the east shore of the Dead Sea. It abounded in dromedaries and camels.

    …A multitude of camels will cover you,
    The young camels of Midian and Ephah… —Isaiah 60:6-7 NASB excerpt

    For they [the Midianites] would come up with their livestock and their tents, they would come in like locusts for number, both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to devastate it. —Judges 6:5 NASB

  4. Ephah, a woman

    1 Chronicles 2:46 mentions a concubine of Caleb named Ephah. She bore him at least 3 sons: Haran, Moza and Gazez.

  5. Ephah, son of Jahdai

    He is a male descendant of Judah, son of Jacob.

    The sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah and Shaaph —1 Chronicles 2:47 NASB

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Article Version: July 29, 2021