sē´far : Only in Genesis 10:30 ספרה , ṣephārāh , "toward Sephar"), as the eastern limit of the territory of the sons of Yoktan (Joktan). From the similarity between the names of most of Yoktan's sons and the names of South Arabian towns or districts, it can hardly be doubted that Sephar is represented by the Arabic Ẓafār . The appropriateness of the site seems to outweigh the discrepancy between Arabic ẓ and Hebrew ṣ . But two important towns in South Arabia bear this name. The one lies a little to the South of Ṣan‛ā' . According to tradition it was founded by Shammir, one of the Sabean kings, and for a long time served as the royal seat of the Tubbas. The other Ẓafār stands on the coast in the district of Shiḥr , East of Ḥaḍramaut . The latter is probably to be accepted as the Biblical site.
Source
- part_of
source-manifest/isbe— ISBE (PD)