Joppa

Joppa is the natural deep-water harbor on the central coast of Canaan, the nearest port to the Judean highlands and the only useful landing on a shoreline that otherwise runs straight and shallow. Scripture watches the city across roughly nine centuries: it falls to the tribe of Dan as a border landmark, then becomes the unloading point for the cedar that builds and rebuilds the temple, then the harbor where Jonah pays his fare to flee Yahweh, and finally the contested seaport that the Hasmoneans seize and fortify in their fight to secure a Jewish coast.

A Border of Dan

Joppa first appears in the tribal allotments of Joshua as a fixed landmark on the western edge of Dan's inheritance. The boundary runs out to the sea past two settlements and ends opposite the harbor: "and Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border across from Joppa" (Jos 19:46). The phrasing places Joppa just beyond Dan's reach — a recognizable coastal point used to fix the line, not a town the tribe holds.

The Cedar Port for the Temple

Joppa enters the working life of Israel as the place where Lebanese timber is brought ashore for Jerusalem. When Hiram of Tyre answers Solomon's request for cedar, the plan is to raft the wood down the Mediterranean and land it at the nearest harbor to the hill country: "And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as you will need; and we will bring it to you in floats by sea to Joppa; and you will carry it up to Jerusalem" (2Ch 2:16). The harbor is the hinge between the forests of the north and the building site on the mountain.

The same arrangement is revived after the exile. When Zerubbabel and Jeshua begin the second temple, they pay the Phoenicians to repeat what their fathers had done, and the cedar comes ashore at the same port: "They gave silver also to the masons, and to the carpenters; and food, and drink, and oil, to those of Sidon, and to those of Tyre, to bring cedar-trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia" (Ezr 3:7). Joppa is treated as a permanent feature of the supply line — the assumed landing for any timber shipment headed for Jerusalem.

The Harbor of Jonah's Flight

Joppa's role as the country's outlet to the open sea makes it the obvious place from which to leave the land entirely. When the prophet Jonah refuses Yahweh's word against Nineveh, he goes to Joppa precisely because that is where ships sail: "But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh" (Jon 1:3). The narrative pivots at the harbor — the city is the hinge between the land where Yahweh has spoken and the sea on which the prophet hopes to escape.

The Hasmonean Coastal Stronghold

In the Maccabean period Joppa is no longer just a transit point but a fortified objective. The harbor is held by Seleucid garrisons and the Hasmoneans take it by stages. Jonathan first reaches the city while it is still closed against him: "And they pitched their tents near Joppa, but they shut him out of the city: because a garrison of Apollonius was in Joppa, and he laid siege to it" (1Ma 10:75). The town capitulates overnight: "And those who were in the city being frightened, opened the gates to him: so Jonathan took Joppa" (1Ma 10:76).

Once the harbor is in friendly hands it becomes a place to receive royalty. Jonathan goes down to meet the Seleucid king there: "And Jonathan came to meet the king at Joppa with glory, and they saluted one another, and they lodged there" (1Ma 11:6).

Simon, Jonathan's brother, has to retake the same city when control slips. He sweeps down the coast and secures it again: "Simon also went forth, and came as far as Ascalon, and the nearby fortresses, and he turned aside to Joppa, and took possession of it" (1Ma 12:33). When the city continues to be a source of trouble, he sends a fresh force and clears it out: "And he sent Jonathan the [son] of Absalom, and with him a new army into Joppa, and he cast out those who were in it, and himself remained there" (1Ma 13:11).

The narrative then steps back to register what Joppa means to the Jewish state: it is the country's window on the sea. Among the achievements catalogued for Simon is the conversion of Joppa from a contested port into a Jewish harbor: "And with all his glory he took Joppa for a harbor, and made an entrance to the islands of the sea" (1Ma 14:5). He goes on to fortify it and settle Jews there: "And he fortified Joppa, which lies by the sea: and Gazara, which borders on Azotus, where the enemies dwelt before, and he placed Jews there: and furnished them with all things needed for their restoration" (1Ma 14:34). The city is being permanently absorbed into Judea.

The strategic value of that absorption is confirmed in the Seleucid counter-claim. When Antiochus VII presses for the surrender of Jewish gains, Joppa heads his list: "And he sent to him Athenobius, one of his friends, to negotiate with him, saying: You hold Joppa and Gazara, and the citadel that is in Jerusalem, which are cities of my kingdom" (1Ma 15:28). The harbor that began as a border landmark for Dan and served as the unloading dock for Solomon's and Zerubbabel's cedar has become a city the empire wants back.

A Note on the Apostolic Period

Two further episodes at Joppa belong to the apostolic period — Peter's raising of Tabitha and his rooftop vision of the sheet lowered from heaven, both in Acts 9 and 10. The UPDV does not currently carry the book of Acts, so those passages are not quoted here.