Lexical Summary Tachpanches or Techaphneches: Tahpanhes Original Word: תַּחְפַנְחֵס Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Tahanites Or Tchaphnchec (Ezek. 30:18) {tekh- af-nekh-ace'}; or Tachpnec (Jeremiah 2:16) {takh-pen-ace'}; of Egyptian derivation; Tachpanches, Techaphneches or Tachpenes, a place in Egypt -- Tahapanes, Tahpanhes, Tehaphnehes. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originof Eg. origin Definition a city in Eg. NASB Translation Tahpanhes (6), Tehaphnehes (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs תַּחְמַּנְחֵס proper name, of a location Egyptain city Jeremiah 43:7,8,9; Jeremiah 44:1; Jeremiah 46:14, so Jeremiah 2:16 Qr (Kt תחפנס); = תְּחַפְנְחֵס Ezekiel 30:18; Ταφνα(ι)ς [Ταφναι]; identification with Greek Daphnae, modern Tel Defenneh, approximately 18 miles east-southeast from Tanis, approximately 9 miles west of El-†an‰ara, BädEgypt. 5th ed. (1902), 169 PetrieDefenneh (Tanis II), 1888. Topical Lexicon Name and Location Tahpanhes was a fortified border city in the northeastern Nile Delta, identified with the Greek Daphnae (Tell Defenneh). Situated near the Pelusiac branch of the Nile and the caravan route from Canaan, it served as an Egyptian garrison town during the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty (Psammetichus I onward). The Scriptures treat the city as a strategic meeting point between Egypt and Judah in the late seventh and early sixth centuries BC. Biblical Occurrences 1. Jeremiah 2:16 – “Even the men of Noph and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.” Historical Context After Babylon’s victory at Carchemish (605 BC) and the subsequent fall of Jerusalem (586 BC), many Judeans fled south. Fearing Babylonian reprisals following the assassination of Gedaliah, the surviving remnant forced Jeremiah to accompany them to Egypt, settling in Tahpanhes (Jeremiah 43:5–7). The city contained a royal residence—likely a governor’s palace—where foreign contingents and refugees were received. Prophetic Significance Jeremiah’s symbolic action at Tahpanhes (Jeremiah 43:9–10) speaks directly to the certainty of divine judgment: “Take some large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick terrace at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes… Then you are to say to them, ‘This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones that I have buried’”. The message is two-fold: Archaeological Corroboration Sir Flinders Petrie (1886) excavated Tell Defenneh and uncovered a brick platform matching Jeremiah’s “pavement” (Hebrew: matzeveth). The fortress displayed Greek and Phoenician pottery, confirming its role as an international garrison. This discovery lends historical weight to Jeremiah’s act and situates the biblical narrative in a tangible locus. Theological and Ministry Insights 1. Futility of Political Alliances: Judah’s turn to Egypt illustrates the broader biblical theme that security is found in covenant faithfulness, not geopolitical maneuvering (cf. Isaiah 31:1). Literary and Linguistic Notes The city’s name appears with variant spellings owing to consonantal shifts in Hebrew’s transcription of Egyptian. The prophetic literature often couples Tahpanhes with Noph (Memphis) as a merism representing Egypt as a whole. Jeremiah’s repetitive pairing establishes poetic symmetry while anchoring the oracles in real geography. See Also • Noph (Memphis) Forms and Transliterations בְּתַחְפַּנְחֵ֑ס בְּתַחְפַּנְחֵ֖ס בתחפנחס וְתַחְפַּנְחֵ֑ס וּבְתַחְפַּנְחֵ֑ס וּבְתַחְפַּנְחֵ֣ס וּבִֽתְחַפְנְחֵס֙ ובתחפנחס ותחפנחס תַּחְפַּנְחֵֽס׃ תחפנחס׃ bə·ṯaḥ·pan·ḥês betachpanChes bəṯaḥpanḥês tachpanChes taḥ·pan·ḥês taḥpanḥês ū·ḇə·ṯaḥ·pan·ḥês ū·ḇiṯ·ḥap̄·nə·ḥês ūḇəṯaḥpanḥês ūḇiṯḥap̄nəḥês uvetachpanChes uvitchafneChes vetachpanChes wə·ṯaḥ·pan·ḥês wəṯaḥpanḥêsLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Jeremiah 2:16 HEB: [וְתַחְפְּנֵס כ] (וְתַחְפַּנְחֵ֑ס ק) יִרְע֖וּךְ NAS: of Memphis and Tahpanhes Have shaved KJV: of Noph and Tahapanes have broken INT: of Memphis Tahanites have shaved the crown Jeremiah 43:7 Jeremiah 43:8 Jeremiah 43:9 Jeremiah 44:1 Jeremiah 46:14 Ezekiel 30:18 7 Occurrences |
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