Aphek
אֲפֵק · “Afek” on the map
Where was biblical Aphek? At Tel Afek, at the Yarkon springs, Rosh HaAyin, about 14 km east of Tel Aviv. I mark it very likely.
The Philistines camped at Afek and marched out to beat Israel at Eben-ezer. Israel brought the Ark down from Shilo to turn the battle, and the Philistines captured it.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- Tel Afek, at the Yarkon springs, Rosh HaAyin
- How sure
- Very likely Strong evidence, with no serious rival.
- Other names
- Afeq, Antipatris, Tel Afek, Tel Aphek, Ras el-Ain, Binar Bashi
- Location
- 32.1053° N, 34.9305° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
Look at the ground and Afek almost picks itself. The springs of the Yarkon rise here, at the foot of the hills. Between the water and the slopes there is only a narrow gap, and the coastal highway had to squeeze through it. So an army heading up into the hill country gathered here first. That is exactly what the Philistines do in the Book of Samuel. They camp at Afek and wait for Israel to come out to them.
The ancient records agree. Egyptian and Assyrian sources name an Aphek in this position. Josephus places a tower called Aphek near Antipatris, the city Herod built on this same mound. The Arabic name of the place, Ras el-Ain, means "head of the spring," and the springs are still the whole point. Even the town's name fits. In Hebrew, Afek means a channel of running water. It is the same word as in the psalm: "As a deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for You, O G-d."
Then the excavators. They found the residence of an Egyptian governor from the 13th century BCE, with cuneiform tablets inside. Above it came Philistine pottery, and later the Roman city of Antipatris. Every layer tells the same story. Whoever ruled the coast wanted this crossing.
Afek's war record is long. Joshua already lists the king of Afek among the Canaanite kings he defeated. And a generation after the Ark was lost, the Philistine lords mustered at Afek again before the battle on Gilboa where Saul died. David marched with them and was sent home from the camp. The Bible knows more than one town called Aphek, so the name alone can't settle that second muster. But most scholars think it is the same Afek, and the map follows them.
Visiting today
In Yarkon (Tel Afek) National Park an Ottoman fortress crowns the tel. Around it are the remains of the Egyptian governor's residence and Roman Antipatris, with the Yarkon springs at its foot.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Afek on the interactive map →
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Get the print + free ebookNearby places
- Gath Rimmon 12 km west
- Bene Berak 12 km southwest
- Beth Dagon 15 km southwest
- Joppa (Jaffa) 18 km west
- Timnath Serah 22 km east
- Shaalbim 27 km south