 | Sepharad (Sardis) |  |
| |||||
  Sepharad (Sardis) and surrounding area Obadiah 1:20 The captives of this army of the children of Israel, who are among the Canaanites, will possess even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev. You are free to use up to 50 maps (small or large) for your website or presentation. Please credit Biblos.com. You may not redistribute or resell these materials. For additional permissions, contact us via the Biblos homepage. | SEPHARAD se-fa'-rad, sef'-a-rad (cepharadh): Mentioned in Obadiah 1:20 as the place of captivity of certain "captives of Jerusalem," but no clear indication is given of locality. Many conjectures have been made. The Targum of Jonathan identifies with Spain; hence, the Spanish Jews are called Sephardim. Others (Pusey, etc.) have connected it with the "Tsparda" of the Behistun Inscription, and some have even identified it with "Sardis." The now generally accepted view is that which connects it with the "Saparda" of the Assyrian inscriptions, though whether this is to be located to the East of Assyria or in Northern Asia Minor is not clear. See Schrader, Cuneiform Inscriptions, II, 145-46; Sayce, HCM, 482-84; articles in DB, HDB, EB, etc. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia |