Rafah

Rafah (Ar. Rafaḥ; Heb. Rafi’ah) is a town near the Mediterranean coast, 22 mi. (35 km.) S. of Gaza. Rafah is first mentioned in an inscription of the pharaoh Seti I (c. 1300 B.C.E.) as Rph; it also appears in other Egyptian sources, in Papyrus Anastasi I, and in the inscription of Shishak. As a border town on the way to Egypt and a point of sharp transition from desert to cultivated land, it is frequently referred to as the site of conflicts between the armies of Egypt and its neighbors.

In 721 B.C.E., Sargon of Assyria defeated at Rapihu (Rafa) Sibʾe of Egypt and Hanno of Gaza; the Assyrians burned the city and deported 9,033 inhabitants. Rafah does not appear in the Bible; the Targums (in Deut. 2:23) identify it with Hazerim. It was the center of important operations in the Hellenistic period during the wars of the Diadochi. Antigonus attacked it in 306 B.C.E., and in 217 B.C.E., Antiochus III of Syria was defeated there by the army of Ptolemy V of Egypt (Polybius 5:82–86). The town was conquered by Alexander Yannai and held by the Hasmoneans until it was rebuilt in the time of Pompey and Gabinius; the latter seems to have done the actual work of restoration for the era of the town, dating from 57 B.C.E.

The Jewish presence in Rafah, dating back to the Hasmonean era (167–63 BCE), has seen various periods of growth and decline. The town was under Jewish control until 63 BCE, when it was captured by Roman general Pompey the Great.

Rafah is mentioned in Strabo (16:2, 31), the Itinerarium Antonini, and is depicted on the Madaba Map. It was the seat of worship of Dionysius and Isis (Papyrus Oxyrrhynchus, 1380). It was the seat of an Episcopal see in the fifth-sixth centuries.

Rafah’s significance grew during the Byzantine era, and it was part of a broader network of Jewish settlements in the medieval period. Rafah became an episcopal see and was represented at the Council of Ephesus in 431 CE. The town's importance is further underscored by its depiction on the Madaba Map from the mid-sixth century, showcasing its role in regional trade and religious life.

Like most cities of southern Eretz Israel, ancient Rafah had a landing place on the coast (now Tell Rafāḥ), while the main city was inland.

Despite a decline around 1080, the community saw a resurgence in the 12th century. A Jewish community settled there in the geonic period; it flourished in the ninth to tenth centuries and again in the 12th, although in the 11th century, it suffered a decline, and in 1080, the Jews of Rafah had to flee to Ashkelon. A Samaritan community also lived there during this period.

Under Ottoman rule, the Jewish community engaged in agriculture and trade, but faced challenges due to political dynamics and regional conflicts.

In the early 20th century, Zionist groups attempted to settle in Rafah, highlighting the enduring Jewish connection to the region. During the British Mandate period, Jewish leaders were confined in Rafah detention camps.

The geopolitical changes following Israel’s War of Independence complicated Jewish settlement in the area. The Sinai Campaign of 1956 saw Israel briefly control Rafah, only to withdraw the following year. Rafah was recaptured during the Six-Day War in 1967. Still, geopolitical agreements led to Israel's withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula in 1982, which included the division of Rafah between Egyptian and Gazan territories.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

J. Mann, The Jews in Egypt, 2 (1922), 71–72; S. Klein (ed.), Sefer ha-Yishuv (1939), S.V.; Abel, in: RB, 49 (1940), 73ff. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Y. Tsafrir, L. Di Segni, and J. Green, Tabula Imperii Romani. Iudaea – Palaestina. Maps and Gazetteer. (1994), 212, S.V. “Raphia.”