ABSTRACT
The name “Aphek” (“riverbed”) appears eight times in the Bible but refers to several different places (1 Kgs. 20: 26-30 refers to an “Aphek” near Syria, while Josh. 19: 29-30 lists an “Aphek” in the tribal territory of Asher; in Josh. 13: 4, “Aphek” is in Lebanon). The “Aphek” described in this chapter is sometimes called “Aphek of Sharon” and is located some four miles east of Tel Aviv, close to the modern town of Petah Tikva (see Figure 4). Its importance in antiquity was precisely its location because the site guarded a major crossroads in Israel. The tell is about thirty acres in size and is today universally identified with Ras el-Ain.
