Tahpanhes(tahapanes, tehaphnehes)
Summary
Tahpanhes was an important city on the eastern frontier of Lower Egypt where Jewish refugees fled after Jerusalem's destruction, and where Jeremiah prophesied Nebuchadnezzar's invasion.
☩Location and Names
Tahpanhes was a city on the eastern frontier of Lower Egypt, represented today by Tell Defenneh, a desert mound about 20 miles southwest of Pelusium. The Greeks called it Daphnae, and modern Arabs call it Def'neh. The various Hebrew spellings include Tahapanes, Tahpanhes, and Tehaphnehes. An Egyptian queen of the 21st Dynasty bore the similar name Tahpenes.
☩Strategic Importance
Herodotus records that Psammetichus I maintained a garrison at Daphnae against the Arabians and Syrians. The town was practically founded by Psammetichus I and remained prosperous for over a century. It was so powerful that Jeremiah speaks of it alongside Memphis as having 'broken the crown' of Israel's head. Ezekiel mentions its 'daughters' (colonies or suburban towns) and names it with Heliopolis and Bubastis.
☩Jewish Refugees and Jeremiah's Prophecy
After Gedaliah's murder, Johanan and other Jewish refugees fled to Tahpanhes. Here Jeremiah prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would invade Egypt and set his throne upon the brick pavement at the entry of Pharaoh's palace. Archaeological excavation discovered a large brick platform near the palace fort, probably identical with the quadrangle mentioned by Jeremiah. Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Egypt in his 37th year (568-567 BC) confirmed the prophet's predictions.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Tahpanhes," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. X (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Tahpanhes," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. V (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).