Aphek

Aphek, a city allotted to the tribe of Asher.

Aphek was a city located in the territory allotted to the tribe of Asher in the northern part of Canaan. It is mentioned in Joshua 13:4 as part of the land that remained to be conquered after Joshua's initial campaigns. The city was later included in the list of cities given to the tribe of Asher (Joshua 19:30).

However, the tribe of Asher failed to drive out the Canaanite inhabitants of Aphek, as recorded in Judges 1:31. This failure to completely possess their allotted territory was a recurring issue for several Israelite tribes during the period of the judges.

The exact location of this Aphek in Asher's territory is uncertain, but it is generally associated with Tel Afek, a site near the Mediterranean coast, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Acco. Its proximity to the coast suggests that it may have been a strategic port city.

Apart from these brief mentions in the context of the land allotment and the incomplete conquest, no other significant events or details are recorded about this Aphek in the Bible.

A city of the tribe of Asher. It was the scene of the licentious worship of the Syrian Aphrodite. The ruins of the temple, “magnificent ruins” in a “spot of strange wildness and beauty”, are still seen at Afka, on the north-west slopes of Lebanon, near the source of the river Adonis (now Nahr Ibrahim), 12 miles east of Gebal.