1. City in Benjamin, probably identical with Ephraim (2 Samuel 13:23; 2 Chronicles 13:19, “Ephron”; John 11:54). Ophrah is usually identified with the modern et-Taiyibeh, five miles (8 kilometers) north of Michmash and four miles (6.5 kilometers) northeast of Bethel.
2. City in Manasseh owned by Gideon’s father, Joash the Abiezrite, and Gideon’s home (Judges 6:11). There the angel appeared to Gideon, commissioning him as God’s agent of relief from the Midianites (verses 12-24). Following his spectacular victory, Gideon was nominated for kingship, but he refused. Strangely, he constructed an ephod from the spoils of battle (8:22-28), which Israel worshiped. The idol at Ophrah became a snare to Gideon and his family. Gideon died at Ophrah, an old man (verses 29-32). His son Abimelech, ambitious for power, slaughtered his sibling rivals at Ophrah; only one of the 70, Jotham, escaped (9:1-6).