🔼The name Nophah: Summary
- Meaning
- Windy Place, A Blast
- Etymology
- From the verb נפח (napah), to blow or exhale forcefully.
🔼The name Nophah in the Bible
The name Nophah occurs only once. It's mentioned among the cities of the Amorites and Moabites which were destroyed by Israel (Numbers 21:30).
Our name occurs in the curious statement: We have ravaged until Nophah, which is until Medeba. The city called Medeba is mentioned more often in the Bible, and Nophah may be another name for it, or perhaps the region it sat in.
BDB Theological Dictionary suggests Nophah may not even be a name, and offers as alternative reading of Numbers 21:30: "until fire was blown [hot] as far as Medeba".
🔼Etymology of the name Nophah
The name Nophah comes from the verb נפח (napah), meaning to blow or exhale forcefully:
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.
🔼Nophah meaning
For a meaning of the name Nophah, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Windy Place and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes A Blast.