{
  "id": "dict_004144",
  "term": "Ophni",
  "slug": "ophni",
  "letter": "O",
  "entry_type": "biblical_place",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Ophni is a biblical town listed among the towns in Benjamin’s territory in Joshua 18:24. Its exact location is uncertain.",
  "simple_one_line": "Ophni is a minor biblical place-name in the tribal allotment of Benjamin.",
  "tooltip_text": "A town named in Joshua 18:24 among the cities of Benjamin; exact identification is uncertain.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Benjamin",
    "Joshua",
    "tribal allotments",
    "towns of Benjamin"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Benjamin",
    "Joshua 18",
    "tribal inheritance"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Ophni is a minor Old Testament place-name mentioned in the list of towns assigned to the tribe of Benjamin.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A town in Benjamin’s territory named in Joshua 18:24; no further biblical details are given.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Biblical place-name, not a theological term. • Listed in Joshua 18:24 among Benjamin’s towns. • Exact location is uncertain. • Scripture gives no additional narrative about it."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Ophni appears in Joshua 18:24 as one of the towns assigned to the tribe of Benjamin. Scripture gives no further description of the place, and its exact identification is uncertain. Because it is a geographic name rather than a theological concept, it is best treated as a biblical place entry.",
  "description_academic_full": "Ophni is a biblical place-name mentioned in the allotment of Benjamin’s territory in Joshua 18:24. The Old Testament provides no narrative setting, historical incident, or later reference that would further identify the site, and its precise location remains uncertain. The entry is therefore best understood as a minor but genuine geographical item in Israel’s tribal inheritance records rather than as a theological term.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Joshua records the distribution of the land among the tribes of Israel, and Ophni is included in the list of Benjamin’s towns. The Bible does not expand on the town’s history or significance beyond that territorial reference.",
  "background_historical_context": "Ophni belongs to the land-allotment context of Joshua, when Israel’s inheritance was being described by tribe and town. As with many listed sites, the name preserves a real geographical memory even though the exact archaeological identification is unknown.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In ancient Israel, town lists served to record tribal inheritance and covenant possession of the land. Ophni appears only as one of Benjamin’s towns, with no further ancient Jewish tradition preserved in Scripture.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Joshua 18:24"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Joshua 18:11-28"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Hebrew place-name of uncertain meaning; the biblical text preserves the name without explanation.",
  "theological_significance": "Ophni has no direct doctrinal teaching of its own, but it contributes to the biblical testimony that God’s covenant people received real territory within the land promised to them.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "As a place-name, Ophni is not a concept to be analyzed philosophically. Its value is historical and textual, showing Scripture’s concern for concrete persons and locations.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not confuse Ophni with a theological term. The Bible gives only a brief territorial mention, so the exact site and later history should not be stated more confidently than the text allows.",
  "major_views_note": "The main point of agreement is that Ophni is a town named in Benjamin’s allotment; interpreters differ only in attempts to locate it geographically.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This entry should remain within biblical geography and avoid speculative claims about history, archaeology, or theology beyond what Joshua 18:24 states.",
  "practical_significance": "Ophni reminds readers that Scripture is grounded in real geography and records the concrete outworking of Israel’s inheritance in the land.",
  "meta_description": "Ophni was a town in Benjamin listed in Joshua 18:24; its exact location is uncertain.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/ophni/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/ophni.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}