CHEPHIRAH

(Che·phiʹrah) [Village].

A Hivite city (Jos 9:7, 17), and one of the four cities represented by the Gibeonite ambassadors who falsely claimed to be from a distant land and who by means of this trick were able to conclude a covenant with the Israelites under Joshua. (Jos 9:3-27) Chephirah is easily identifiable today with the impressive uninhabited remains at Khirbet Kefireh, 7 km (4.5 mi) WSW of el-Jib (Gibeon) at the summit of what was once a series of armed terraces. This strategic position of Chephirah served to guard against the approach of enemy forces to Gibeon from the west. At the time of the land distribution Chephirah came within Benjamin’s inheritance (Jos 18:26), and after the exile it was among those cities resettled.​—Ezr 2:1, 25; Ne 7:29.