indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Gender Masculine
Usage Biblical Hebrew
Meaning & History
The biblical name apparently given to a certain part of a settlement or city that is elevated from its surroundings, and probably means fortified hill or risen area. In the Hebrew Bible the Ophel refers to a specific part in two cities: the extended City of David (the oldest part of Jerusalem), as in the Book of Chronicles and the Book of Nehemiah (2 Chronicles 27:3; 33:14, Nehemiah 3:26; 11:21), and at Samaria, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Israel, mentioned in the Second Book of Kings (2 Book of Kings 5:24). The Mesha Stele is the only extra-biblical source using the word, also in connection to a fortified area.