Tophel

TOPHEL (tō'phĕl, Heb. tōphel, lime, cement). A place in the wilderness where Moses addressed the Israelites (Deut.1.1). It is identified by some with modern el-Tafeleh, fifteen miles (twenty-five km.) SE of the Dead Sea.

---

TOPHEL tō’ fəl (תֹּ֛פֶל; LXX Τοφολ). Mentioned only in the opening words of Deuteronomy (1:1), locating, among associated localities, the place of Moses’ speech. The place has been identified as Tafile, a village fifteen m. SE of the Dead Sea, in a fertile valley on the road from Kerak to Petra. Otherwise nothing is known of the place.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

This name is found in a passage with many difficulties (De 1:1). The verse ostensibly makes clearer the position occupied by the camp of Israel where Moses addressed the people, by reference to certain other places which might be presumed to be better known. Not one of them, however, has been satisfactorily identified. Some think Tophel may be represented by the modern et-tafeleh, 15 miles Southeast of the Dead Sea, on the caravan road from Petra to Kerak. Apart from the question of position, the change of "t" to "T" is not easily explained. Meantime we must suspend judgment.