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Neah

biblical_place_name theological_term standard

Neah is an Old Testament place name listed in the boundary description of Zebulun’s inheritance.

At a Glance

Old Testament place name in Zebulun’s allotment.

Key Points

Description

Neah is an Old Testament place name mentioned in connection with the boundary of the tribe of Zebulun (Josh. 19:13). The biblical text does not provide further narrative or theological development about the site, and its exact location is uncertain. As a geographical name rather than a theological concept, Neah should be treated as a biblical place-name entry. A careful dictionary entry should present it simply as a location in Zebulun’s allotted territory and avoid speculative claims beyond what Scripture states.

Biblical Context

Neah appears in Joshua’s description of Zebulun’s inheritance. It functions as one point in a list of boundary locations rather than as the setting of a major event.

Historical Context

The site has not been identified with confidence by modern scholarship. Like many biblical localities, Neah is known primarily from the biblical text rather than from secure archaeological confirmation.

Jewish and Ancient Context

In ancient Israel, territorial lists helped define tribal inheritance, borders, and covenant land distribution. Neah belongs to that administrative and geographical framework.

Primary Key Texts

Secondary Key Texts

Original Language Note

The Hebrew form is a place name whose exact identification is uncertain in modern geography.

Theological Significance

Neah has no direct doctrinal teaching of its own, but it contributes to the biblical witness that God allotted real places to real tribes within Israel’s inheritance.

Philosophical Explanation

As a place name, Neah illustrates how Scripture preserves concrete historical and geographical details. Such details matter because biblical revelation is grounded in actual events and locations, not abstract ideas alone.

Interpretive Cautions

Do not press Neah into symbolic readings or try to identify it with certainty beyond the evidence of the text. Its exact location is not known with confidence.

Major Views

Most treatments simply recognize Neah as a minor biblical location in Zebulun’s boundary list and do not attach independent theological significance to it.

Doctrinal Boundaries

Neah should not be treated as a doctrinal term, a moral category, or a typological symbol unless a clear textual basis is given elsewhere in Scripture.

Practical Significance

Neah reminds readers that even brief biblical place references contribute to the historical reality of Israel’s settlement in the land and to the precision of Scripture’s geographical record.

Related Entries

See Also

Data

Machine-readable JSON for Neah

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