rā´fa ( רפא , rāphā' ):
(1) In the Revised Version margin these names are substituted for "the giant" in 1 Chronicles 20:4 , 1 Chronicles 20:6 , 1 Chronicles 20:8 and in 2 Samuel 21:16 , 2 Samuel 21:18 , 2 Samuel 21:20 , 2 Samuel 21:22 . The latter passage states that certain champions of the Philistines who were slain by David's warriors had been born to the rāphāh in Gath. The text is corrupt; Raphah is probably an eponym. Originally the name of one of the Philistines who was of the body "Rephaites" stood in the text. The plural of this word, or at least a plural of this stem, is REPHAIM (which see).
(2) Raphah (the King James Version "Rapha"), a descendant of Saul (1 Chronicles 8:37 ). See REPHAIAH .
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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