Hophra, also known as Apries, was a Pharaoh of Egypt during the 26th Dynasty, reigning from approximately 589 to 570 BC. He is a significant figure in the biblical narrative, particularly in the context of the prophetic books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Hophra's reign is marked by political intrigue and military campaigns, which ultimately led to his downfall.

Biblical References

Hophra is mentioned explicitly in the Book of Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 44:30 , the prophet declares, "This is what the LORD says: I am about to deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who seek his life, just as I delivered Zedekiah king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who was seeking his life." This prophecy highlights the impending doom that awaited Hophra, drawing a parallel between his fate and that of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah.

The historical context of this prophecy is crucial. Hophra's Egypt was a significant power in the region, and he sought to expand his influence by supporting rebellions against Babylonian dominance. This included offering refuge to Jewish exiles and encouraging resistance against Nebuchadnezzar. However, his ambitions were thwarted, and his reign ended in turmoil.

Historical Context

Hophra's reign was characterized by both internal and external challenges. Externally, he engaged in military campaigns in the Levant, including an unsuccessful attempt to relieve the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar's forces. Internally, his rule faced significant opposition, culminating in a revolt led by his general, Amasis, who eventually usurped the throne.

The political instability during Hophra's reign is reflected in the biblical narrative, where Egypt's inability to provide effective support to its allies is evident. The prophet Ezekiel also alludes to Egypt's decline in Ezekiel 29:1-16, where Egypt is compared to a broken reed, unreliable and destined for judgment.

Theological Significance

From a theological perspective, Hophra's account serves as a testament to the sovereignty of God over the nations. The prophecies concerning Hophra underscore the biblical theme that earthly powers, no matter how formidable, are subject to divine authority and judgment. Hophra's downfall is a reminder of the futility of opposing God's will and the ultimate triumph of His purposes.

Hophra's interactions with the people of Judah and his role in the broader geopolitical landscape of the time illustrate the complex interplay between divine prophecy and historical events. His account is a vivid example of how God uses the rise and fall of nations to accomplish His divine plan, as seen throughout the biblical narrative.I.e., PHARAOH-HOPHRA (called Apries by the Greek historian Herodotus) king of Egypt (B.C. 591-572) in the time of Zedekiah, king of Judah (Jeremiah 37:5 and 44:30; Ezek. 29:6, 7). PHARAOH HOPHRA

hof'-ra (par`oh chophra`; Houaphre):

1. Sole King, 589-570 B.C.:

He is so called in Scripture (Jeremiah 44:30); Herodotus calls him Apries (ii.169). He is known on the monuments as Uah `ab `ra. He was the son of Psammetichus II, whose Greek mercenaries have left in scriptions upon the rocks of Abu-Sim-bel, and the grandson of Pharaoh-necoh. He reigned alone from 589 B.C. to 570 B.C., and jointly, by compulsion of his people, with his son-in-law Aahmes (Greek Amasis) for some years longer.

2. Alliance with Zedekiah:

No sooner had he mounted the throne than he yielded to the overtures of Zedekiah of Judah, who thought Hophra's accession a good opportunity for throwing off the yoke of Babylon. So, as Ezekiel says (17:15), "he rebelled against him (Nebuchadrezzar) in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people." Zedekiah had entered into the intrigue against the advice of Jeremiah, and it proved fatal to Zedekiah and the kingdom. Nebuchadrezzar was not slow to punish the disloyalty of his vassal, and in a brief space his armies were beleaguering Jerusalem. The Egyptians did indeed march to the relief of their allies, and the Chaldeans drew off their forces from Jerusalem to meet them. But the Egyptians returned without attempting to meet the Chaldeans in a pitched battle, and Jerusalem was taken, the walls broken down and the temple burnt up with fire.

3. Reception of Jeremiah and Jewish Captives:

When Jerusalem had fallen and Nebuchadrezzar's governor, Gedaliah, had been assassinated, the dispirited remnant of Judah, against the advice of Jeremiah, fled into Egypt, carrying the prophet with them. They settled at Tahpanhes, then Daphnae (modern Tell Defenneh), now identified with a mound bearing the significant name of Qatsr Bint el Yahudi, "the palace of the Jew's daughter." Here Pharaoh had a palace, for Jeremiah took great stones and hid them in mortar in the brickwork "which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house at Tahpanhes," and prophesied that Nebuchadrezzar would spread his royal pavilion over them (Jeremiah 43:8-13). The Pharaoh of that day was Hophra, and when the fortress of Tahpanhes was discovered and cleared in 1886, the open-air platform before the entrance was found. "Here the ceremony described by Jeremiah took place before the chiefs of the fugitives assembled on the platform, and here Nebuchadrezzar spread his royal pavilion. The very nature of the site is precisely applicable to all the events" (Flinders Petrie, Nebesheh and Defenneh, 51). It was in 568 B.C. that the prophecy was fulfilled when Nebuchadrezzar marched into the Delta.

4. Palace of Memphis:

More recently, in 1909, in the course of excavations carried on by the British School of Archaeology in Egypt, the palace of King Apries, Pharaoh Hophra, has been discovered on the site of Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt. Under the gray mud hill, close to the squalid Arab village of Mitrahenny, which every tourist passes on the way to Sakkhara, had lain for centuries Hophra's magnificent palace, 400 ft. long by 200 ft., with a splendid pylon, an immense court, and stonelined halls, of which seven have been found intact. With many other objects of value there was found a fitting of a palanquin of solid silver, decorated with a bust of Hathor with a gold face. It is said to be of the finest workmanship of the time of Apries, a relic of the fire, which, Jeremiah predicted at Tahpanhes, the Lord of Hosts was to kindle "in the houses of the gods of Egypt" (Jeremiah 43:12).

Pharaoh Hophra, as Jeremiah prophesied (44:29), became the victim of a revolt and was finally strangled.

LITERATURE.

Flinders Petrie, History of Egypt, III, 344 f; Wiedemann, Geschichte von Alt-Aegypten, 190;; Flinders Petrie and J. H. Walker, Memphis, I, II ("The Palace of Apries"); Herodotus ii.161-69.

T. Nicol.

HOPHRA

hof'-ra.

See PHARAOH HOPHRA.

6548. Paroh Chophra -- an Eg. king
... an Eg. king. Transliteration: Paroh Chophra Phonetic Spelling: (par-o' khof-rah')
Short Definition: Hophra. ... king NASB Word Usage Pharaoh Hophra (1). ...
/hebrew/6548.htm - 6k

The Captivity.
... The counsellors who loved Egypt, however, persuaded him to rebel, as Pharaoh Hophra
was actually coming out to his assistance; and he put Jeremiah into prison ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson x the captivity.htm

To the End and After
... The intrigues of Egypt persisted, however, and, in 589 or 588, after the accession
of Pharaoh Hophra,(479) at last prevailed upon Judah. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/lecture vi to the end.htm

Of the Expedition against the Persians.
... Deserit, ac Delum maternam invisit Apollo." Dodona in Epirus was the most ancient
of the oracular shrines, where the suppliant went "----hophra theoio ek druos ...
/.../chapter xvi of the expedition against.htm

Babylon.
... marched thither, and conquered it with the utmost ease, there being at that time
a quarrel among the Egyptians, which weakened their hands; Hophra, the last of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson xi babylon.htm

Egypt
... after the death of the Egyptian king. His son Hophra or Apries had made a
vain attempt to rescue Zedekiah. His fleet had held the sea ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter v egypt.htm

Appendices
... BC 1. Psamtik I.((Psammeti-khos) Uah-ab-Ra 664 2. Nekau (Necho) Nem-ab-Ra 610 3.
Psamtik II.-Nefer-ab-Ra 594 4. Uah-ab-Ra (Apries or Hophra) Haa-ab-Ra 589 5 ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/appendices.htm

Book 9 Footnotes
... Rec. Part I. p.1"11. [15] Herodotus says, this king of Egypt [Pharaoh Hophra, or
Apries] was slain by the Egyptians, as Jeremiah foretold his slaughter by ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/book 9 footnotes.htm

The Greek Versions as Aids to Biblical Study.
... compares Egypt. sut' a en pa-anch). Pharaoh-Hophra, p chphr, ho Ouaphre, Jeremiah
51.(xliv.) 30 (cf. WE Crum in Hastings, DB ii. p.413). ...
/.../chapter iv the greek versions.htm

Hophra (1 Occurrence)
... Ie, PHARAOH-HOPHRA (called Apries by the Greek historian Herodotus) king of Egypt
(BC 591-572) in the time of Zedekiah, king of Judah (Jeremiah 37:5 and 44:30 ...
/h/hophra.htm - 11k

Pharaoh (245 Occurrences)
... (see NECHO.). (12.) Pharaoh-hophra, who in vain sought to relieve Jerusalem when
it was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar (qv), 2 Kings 25:1-4; comp. ... PHARAOH HOPHRA. ...
/p/pharaoh.htm - 60k

Hophni (5 Occurrences)

/h/hophni.htm - 10k

Siege (63 Occurrences)
... When Zedekiah of Judah found himself besieged in Jerusalem by the Chaldean army
under Nebuzaradan, he sent intelligence to Pharaoh Hophra who crossed the ...
/s/siege.htm - 51k

Kings (350 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. EGYPTIAN KINGS (LATER). See PHARAOH; HOPHRA; NECO;
SHISHAK; EGYPT, III. KINGS, BOOKS OF. " I. TITLE II. SCOPE III. ...
/k/kings.htm - 61k

Hoping (36 Occurrences)

/h/hoping.htm - 17k

Nebuchadrezzar (31 Occurrences)
... The first culminated in the defeat of Necoh at Carchemish; the second in the withdrawal
of Hophra (Apries) from Palestine in the 1st year of the siege of ...
/n/nebuchadrezzar.htm - 29k

Egypt (596 Occurrences)
... Among his successors were Necho (2 Kings 23:29) and Hophra, or Apries (Jeremiah
37:5, 7, 11). ... The Ethiopians 18. Tahpanhes 19. Hophra 20. The Jews of Syene 21. ...
/e/egypt.htm - 101k

Nebuchadnezzar (90 Occurrences)
... The first culminated in the defeat of Necoh at Carchemish; the second in the withdrawal
of Hophra (Apries) from Palestine in the 1st year of the siege of ...
/n/nebuchadnezzar.htm - 57k

Zedekiah (63 Occurrences)
... remonstrances of Jeremiah and others, as well as the example of Jehoiachin, he threw
off the yoke of Babylon, and entered into an alliance with Hophra, king of ...
/z/zedekiah.htm - 49k

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