Aphek
아벡
Named at 1 Samuel 4:1 as where the Philistines encamped: “Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.” At 4:2, when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. 1 Samuel 29:1 says, “Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and the Israelites encamped by the spring which is in Jezreel.” 1 Kings 20:26–30 says that at the return of the year Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel, and that when the children of Israel had killed one hundred thousand footmen of the Syrians in one day, the rest fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left, and Ben Hadad fled and came into the city, into an inner room.
Direct relationships 3
Open in the full graphCollected relationship evidence
Source-backed narrative relations; not independent historical verification. Legacy dates and coordinates are outside this review.
Collection & rightsSource evidence (4)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 1KI 20:26–30, engwebp
26At the return of the year, Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27The children of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and went against them. The children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of young goats, but the Syrians filled the country.
28A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “The LORD says, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The LORD is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’”
29They encamped opposite each other for seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand footmen of the Syrians in one day.
30But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled and came into the city, into an inner room.
- 1SA 4:1–2, engwebp
1The word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
2The Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. When they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.
- 1SA 29:1–5, engwebp
1Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and the Israelites encamped by the spring which is in Jezreel.
2The lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands; and David and his men passed on in the rear with Achish.
3Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years? I have found no fault in him since he fell away until today.”
4But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where you have appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For with what should this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Should it not be with the heads of these men?
5Isn’t this David, of whom people sang to one another in dances, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”
- 2KI 13:14–19, engwebp
14Now Elisha became sick with the illness of which he died; and Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him, and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
15Elisha said to him, “Take bow and arrows;” and he took bow and arrows for himself.
16He said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow;” and he put his hand on it. Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands.
17He said, “Open the window eastward;” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” and he shot. He said, “The LORD’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Syria; for you will strike the Syrians in Aphek until you have consumed them.”
18He said, “Take the arrows;” and he took them. He said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground;” and he struck three times, and stopped.
19The man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times. Then you would have struck Syria until you had consumed it, but now you will strike Syria just three times.”
AI-assisted, human review pending, 2026-09-26
Machine comparison on 2026-10-07: the wording raised none of the 3 rules against the passages this entry cites. No person has read it.
Unresolved interpretation: The Aphek of 1 Samuel and the Aphek of 1 Kings 20
- 1 Samuel 4:1 says, “Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek”, and 29:1, “Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and the Israelites encamped by the spring which is in Jezreel.” These verses do not say where Aphek is.
Source evidence (2)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 1SA 4:1–2, engwebp
1The word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
2The Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. When they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.
- 1SA 29:1–5, engwebp
1Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and the Israelites encamped by the spring which is in Jezreel.
2The lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands; and David and his men passed on in the rear with Achish.
3Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years? I have found no fault in him since he fell away until today.”
4But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where you have appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For with what should this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Should it not be with the heads of these men?
5Isn’t this David, of whom people sang to one another in dances, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”
- 1SA 4:1–2, engwebp
- 1 Kings 20:26 says, “At the return of the year, Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel”, and 20:30, “But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left.” These verses do not say where Aphek is.
Source evidence (1)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 1KI 20:26–30, engwebp
26At the return of the year, Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27The children of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and went against them. The children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of young goats, but the Syrians filled the country.
28A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “The LORD says, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The LORD is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’”
29They encamped opposite each other for seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand footmen of the Syrians in one day.
30But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled and came into the city, into an inner room.
- 1KI 20:26–30, engwebp
1 Samuel and 1 Kings both name Aphek. 1 Samuel 4:1 says that the Philistines encamped in Aphek, and 29:1 that the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; 1 Kings 20:26 says that Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel, and 20:30 that the rest fled to Aphek, into the city. Both editions give the same name in both books, 아벡 in the Korean and Aphek in WEB. The text does not say where the Aphek of 1 Kings is, nor whether it is the Aphek of 1 Samuel. This collection records them under one entry, as it does a place of the same name that the text does not place elsewhere, and does not decide whether they are one place.
Geographic sources & candidates
Matched to OpenBible.info’s “Aphek 3” by name and 3 shared verses. The coordinate of its leading identification, Tel Ein Gev (confidence 435 of 1000), is adopted as a sourced approximation: not verified here, and not the place of any particular event. 1 other identification is listed too.
AI-assisted source review; human approval pending, 2026-09-29
- Tel Ein Gev
OpenBible.info confidence 435 of 1000 (current scholarship)
32.78368, 35.63729
OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, “Aphek 3” (CC BY 4.0) - Fiq
OpenBible.info confidence 245 of 1000 (current scholarship)
32.76667, 35.7
OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, “Aphek 3” (CC BY 4.0)
Original editorial notes; linked source texts retain their own rights. Candidate lists are not exhaustive.
All 3 relationships: AI-assisted, human review pending
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Narrated location (3) — Israel encamps beside Ebenezer and is defeated by the Philistines, The princes of the Philistines are angry and say, “Make the man return”, Ben Hadad goes up to Aphek, and the children of Israel kill one hundred thousand footmen of the Syrians in one day
A relationship with an event rests on the passages the event cites: each event’s page has them.
Verses tagged with this entry
Names in the World English Bible text that carry this entry’s tag. They are carried over from the tags on the Korean Revised Version, which are matched by name inside chapters that already have collected evidence, and a verse where the English says “he” carries none. All await human review. They are a separate list from the source passages above. An empty list does not mean the entry is absent from the text.
The word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and the Israelites encamped by the spring which is in Jezreel.
At the return of the year, Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled and came into the city, into an inner room.
He said, “Open the window eastward;” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” and he shot. He said, “The LORD’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Syria; for you will strike the Syrians in Aphek until you have consumed them.”
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[Bibliadatum entry report] Entry: Aphek (place-aphek) Address: https://bibliadatum.org/en/wiki/place/aphek Current wording: Named at 1 Samuel 4:1 as where the Philistines encamped: “Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.” At 4:2, when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. 1 Samuel 29:1 says, “Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and the Israelites encamped by the spring which is in Jezreel.” 1 Kings 20:26–30 says that at the return of the year Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel, and that when the children of Israel had killed one hundred thousand footmen of the Syrians in one day, the rest fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left, and Ben Hadad fled and came into the city, into an inner room. Cited evidence: 1KI 20:26–30, engwebp / 1SA 4:1–2, engwebp / 1SA 29:1–5, engwebp / 2KI 13:14–19, engwebp Review state: ai-assisted / human-review-pending What looks wrong: (not written yet) --- This collection records what the text says and does not settle interpretation. A report about a reading that divides opinion may be registered as an unresolved issue rather than corrected.