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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

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JOPPA

City about 35 miles (56.3 kilometers) northwest of Jerusalem that served as Jerusalem’s seaport. Joppa was built on a rocky hill about 116 feet (35.4 meters) high, with a cape projecting beyond the coastline into the sea, and was the only natural harbor on the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and the OT town of Acco. Some 300 to 400 feet (91.4 to 121.9 meters) offshore a series of reefs formed a breakwater so that entrance into the harbor was gained from the north. It is possible that the harbor was larger and better protected in biblical times than it is today. The biblical city was well supplied with water, and the land surrounding it was quite fertile.

Joppa first appears in ancient records in the Egyptian list of Palestinian cities captured by Thutmose III (1490–1432 BC). During the Amarna period, it was ruled by a local prince in alliance with Jerusalem. One source from this period describes its beautiful gardens and the craftsmanship of its workers in metal, leather, and wood. When Palestine was divided among the 12 tribes, Joppa was assigned to Dan (Jos 19:46; KJB “Japho”). It was soon taken by the Philistines, who made it one of their seaports. David’s conquest of the Philistines restored Joppa to Israel, and during Solomon’s reign, it became a major port serving Jerusalem. Cedar logs were floated from Lebanon to Joppa and then transported to Jerusalem for use in building the temple (2 Chr 2:16).

Joppa was the seaport to which Jonah fled in an attempt to avoid preaching to Nineveh (Jon 1:3); there, hoping to escape his responsibility, he boarded a ship bound for Tarshish. When Tiglath-pileser III invaded Philistia in 743 BC, Joppa probably was one of the Philistine cities that fell to him. Sennacherib, in his campaign of 701 BC, lists Joppa as one of the cities he occupied. Subsequent to that, little is known of it until the time of Ezra, when once again cedar logs from Lebanon were floated to Joppa and taken to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of the temple (Ezr 3:7). During the fourth century BC, Eshmunazar of Sidon controlled the city. When Sidon revolted against Persia and was destroyed by Artaxerxes III, Joppa apparently became a free city. Alexander the Great changed its name from Japho (its OT name) to Joppa and established a mint there, making it a city of some importance in the Greek Empire. Following Alexander’s death, his successors fought over the city several times. It was ruled by Egypt from 301 BC until 197 BC, when Antiochus III made it a part of the Seleucid kingdom.

During the Maccabean period, Joppa had varied experiences. When Antiochus IV Epiphanes moved toward Jerusalem in 168 BC to enforce his program of Hellenization, he landed his troops at Joppa. In 164 BC, because of the success of Judas Maccabeus against the Seleucids, non-Jewish citizens drowned about 200 Jews. Judas retaliated by burning the harbor installations and the boats anchored there but was unable to conquer the city itself (2 Macc 12:3-9). In 147 BC Jonathan and Simon defeated Appollonius Taos, the Syrian general, and occupied Joppa for Alexander I Epiphanes, a contender for the Syrian throne (1 Macc 10:74-86). Through a series of political moves in the next few years Simon was able to fortify the city, expel the Greek inhabitants, and firmly establish Joppa as a Jewish city. During Pompey’s Roman occupation, Joppa was declared a free city; it was returned to the Jews by Julius Caesar (47 BC); and it was captured by Herod the Great in 37 BC. Hated by the residents of Joppa, Herod built a new port at Caesarea, about 40 miles (64.4 kilometers) north of Joppa. By the time of Jesus’ birth, Joppa was under the rule of Caesarea in the province of Syria (Josephus’s Antiquities 17.13.2-4).

A Christian congregation appeared quite early in Joppa. Among the disciples living there were Dorcas, whom Peter raised from death (Acts 9:36-41), and Simon the tanner (v 43). From Joppa, Peter was called to Caesarea to present the gospel to the Roman centurion Cornelius (10:1-48).

Joppa was a primary center of revolt against the Romans. It was destroyed by Vespasian in AD 68 and replaced with a Roman army camp. It was later rebuilt, and is known today as Jaffa, a suburb of Tel Aviv.