Rezeph

From BibleEncyclopedia.Net

rē´zef:

Solid; a stone, (2 Kings 19:12; Isaiah 37:12), a fortress near Haran, probably on the west of the Euphrates, conquered by Sennacherib.

1. Forms of the Name:

(רצף, receph; Codex Vaticanus Ῥάφεις, Rhápheis; Ῥάφες, Rháphes; Codex Alexandrinus τὴν Ῥάφεθ, tḗn Rhápheth (2 Kings 19:12), B Q margin Ῥάφεθ, Rhápheth Codex Sinaiticus Q Ῥάφες, Rháfes; Codex Alexandrinus Rhapheis (Isaiah 37:12); Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) Roseph (2 Kings 19:12), Reseph (Isaiah 37:12)): One of the places referred to by Sennacherib's Rabshakeh when delivering that king's message to Hezekigh demanding the surrender of Jerusalem. The names which precede are Gozan and Haran; and “the children of Eden that were Telassar” follows.

2. Now Called Rucafa:

It is now represented by Ruṣafa, East of Tipsah and Northeast of Hamath, and is regarded as the (Ῥησάφα, Rhēsápha) of Ptolemy (2 Timothy 1:15). It was for some time under Assyrian dominion, and appears in a geographical list (2 R 53, 37a) preceded by Arraph̬a (Arrapachitis) and H̬alah̬h̬u (Halah), and followed by Tamnunu, uder the form of Raṣappa (elsewhere Raṣapi).

3. Its Assyrian Governors:

From the Eponym Canons, Ninip-kibsi-uṣur was, it appears, prefect in 839 BC, Uraš-ereš from 804 to 775 BC, Sin-šallimanni in 747, and Bel-emuranni in 737 BC. Judging from their names, all these were Assyrians, but a seemingly native governor, Abda'u (or Abda'i), possibly later than the foregoina, is mentioned in a list of officials (K. 9921). Yah̬uṭu was šanû (deputy-governor?) of Rezeph in 673 BC. Its mention in the Assyrian geographical lists implies that Rezeph was an important trade-center in Old Testament times.