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Naphish

Arabian living at the time of the Patriarchs

Naphish, a son of Ishmael, was among the Hagrite tribes defeated by the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

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Also known as Nephish

Naphish was one of the twelve sons of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar (Gen.25.15; 1Ch.1.31). As a descendant of Ishmael, Naphish would have been a member of the Ishmaelite tribes that settled in the Arabian Peninsula.

In 1Ch.5.19, Naphish is mentioned in the context of a war between the Israelite tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. These tribes were likely Ishmaelite clans living east of the Jordan River.

The Israelite tribes, trusting in God's help, went to war against these Hagrite tribes and were victorious. They captured a large number of livestock and took many people captive. The victory was attributed to God's intervention, as the Israelites had cried out to Him during the battle (1Ch.5.20).

Apart from these brief mentions, little else is known about Naphish or his specific role in the events described. His inclusion in the biblical record serves to highlight the ongoing interactions and conflicts between the Israelites and the surrounding tribes, as well as to demonstrate God's faithfulness to His people when they sought His help.

Family

Father
Ishmael

Bible dictionary

Naphish Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

Refresher, one of the sons of Ishmael (Gen. 25:15; 1 Chr. 1:31). He was the father of an Arab tribe.

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Naphish Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(refreshment), the last but one of the sons of Ishmael. (Genesis 25:15; 1 Chronicles 1:31)

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Naphish Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

the soul; he that rests, refreshes himself, or respires

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Naphish Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

NA'PHISH (recreation), a son of Ishmael. Gen 25:15; 1 Chr 1:31.

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Naphish Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

NA'PHISH (recreation), a son of Ishmael. Gen 25:15; 1 Chr 1:31.

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Naphish appears

3 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H5305

Genesis1
1 Chronicles2

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.