🔼The name Beth-tappuah: Summary
- Meaning
- House Of Love Apples
- Etymology
- From (1) the noun בית (beth), house, and (2) תפוח (tappuah), a kind of sensuous fruit.
🔼The name Beth-tappuah in the Bible
The name Beth-tappuah occurs only once in the Bible. It's the name of a town that came to be situated in the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah after the conquest of Canaan (Joshua 15:53).
🔼Etymology of the name Beth-tappuah
The name Beth-tappuah consists of two elements. The first part is identical to the common Hebrew word בית (bayit) meaning house:
בית
The noun בית (bayit) means house. It sometimes merely denotes a domestic building, but mostly it denotes the realm of authority of the house-father, or אב (ab). This ab is commonly the living alpha male of a household, but may very well be a founding ancestor (as in the familiar term the "house of Israel"). The אב (ab) may also be a deity, in which case the בית (bayit) is that which we know as a temple.
In the larger economy, a house interacts with other houses. These interactions are governed by the אב (ab), or "father" and executed by the בנים (benim), or "sons": those people living in the house, irrespective of any biological relation with the אב (ab). The "sons" combined add up to אם ('em), which means both "mother" and "tribe".
The second part of our name is the same as the noun תפוח (tappuah), denoting some kind of love-apple:
נפח
The verb נפח (napah) means to blow or exhale forcefully, either in a very positive (to animate) or a very negative way (to mock). Noun מפח (mappah) means a breathing out. Noun מפח (mappuah) describes a bellows. Noun תפוח (tappuah) denotes a kind of fruit or fruit-tree, which was clearly known for its aphrodisiac qualities.
פוח
The verb פוח (puah) means to blow or exhale to a point of exhaustion or complete deflation. Noun פיח (piah) describes soot, which is what's left when a fuel is completely exhausted.
🔼Beth-tappuah meaning
For a meaning of the name Beth-tappuah, both NOBSE Study Bible Name List and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names read House Of Apples. BDB Theological Dictionary has Place Of Apples.