Ephrathah
The ancient name of Bethlehem in Judah (Gen. 35:16, 19; 48:7). In Ruth 1:2 it is called “Bethlehem-Judah,” but the inhabitants are called “Ephrathites;” in Micah 5:2, “Bethlehem-Ephratah;” in Matt. 2:6, “Bethlehem in the land of Judah.” In Ps. 132:6 it is mentioned as the place where David spent his youth, and where he heard much of the ark, although he never saw it till he found it long afterwards at Kirjath-jearim; i.e., the “city of the wood,” or the “forest-town” (1 Sam. 7:1; comp. 2 Sam. 6:3, 4).
Named in 2 verses
- Ruth 4:11 All the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May Yahweh make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah,
- Psalms 132:6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah. We found it in the field of Jaar.