NETOPHAH

(distillation), a town the name of which occurs only in the catalogue of those who returned with Zerubbabel from the captivity. (Ezra 2:22; Nehemiah 7:26) 1 Esdr. 5:18. But, though not directly mentioned till so late a period, Netophah was really a much older place. Two of David's guard, (1 Chronicles 17:13,15) were Netophathites. The "villages of the Neophathites" were the residence of the Levites. (1 Chronicles 9:16) From another notice we learn that the particular Levites who inhabited these villages were singers. (Nehemiah 12:28) To judge from (Nehemiah 7:26) the town was in the neighborhood of, or closely connected with, Bethlehem.