Sephar was a mountain in the east that marked the boundary of the territory settled by the descendants of Joktan (Gen. 10:30).
Sephar is mentioned in the Bible as part of the description of the territory settled by the descendants of Joktan, the son of Eber (Gen. 10:30). The text states that the territory extended "from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the hill country of the east." The exact location of Sephar is unknown, but it is described as a mountain in the eastern region. Some scholars suggest that Sephar may be associated with the ancient city of Zafar (or Dhofar) in modern-day Yemen, which was an important center of the incense trade in ancient times. However, this identification remains uncertain due to the limited information provided in the biblical text. The mention of Sephar in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10) highlights the geographical spread of the descendants of Noah's sons and the development of various nations and people groups in the ancient Near East.
Approximate location: 14.550, 44.393 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Numbering, (Gen. 10:30), supposed by some to be the ancient Himyaritic capital, “Shaphar,” Zaphar, on the Indian Ocean, between the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.
(a numbering). It is written after the enumeration of the sons of Joktan, “And their dwelling was from Mesha as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.” (Genesis 10:30) The Joktanites occupied the southwestern portion of the peninsula of Arabia. The undoubted identifications of Arabian places and tribes with their Joktanite originals are included within these limits, and point to Sephar, on the shore of the Indian Ocean, as the eastern boundary. The ancient seaport town called Zafar represents the biblical site or district.
SE'PHAR, a boundary of the Joktanites. Gen 10:30. It was probably in South-eastern Arabia, near the shore of the Indian Ocean, where is an ancient seaport-town called Zafar.
SE'PHAR, a boundary of the Joktanites. Gen 10:30. It was probably in South-eastern Arabia, near the shore of the Indian Ocean, where is an ancient seaport-town called Zafar.
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.
1 verse in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H5611
Their territory extended from Mesha to Sephar, in the eastern hill country.
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.