Jaffa (Joppa)

Jaffa also is known as Joppa. A port city on the Mediterranean. After Joshua conquered the new land, Joppa became part of Dan. King Solomon used Joppa as a port to bring in timber from Lebanon for the Temple, and Ezra also had cedar trees brought into Joppa from Lebanon. The prophet Jonah sailed from Joppa on a ship going to Tarshish, but ended up in Nineveh.

In 701 BC Joppa was conquered by Assyria, and during the Persian conquest, it was given to the Sidonians. In 144 BC it was conquered by the Maccabees, who drove out the alien inhabitants, and later fell into the hands of the Romans. Tabitha, a disciple of Jesus was raised from the dead by Peter in Joppa (Acts 9:36-43).

Peter stayed in Joppa a long time in the house of Simon the Tanner, and it was here he saw his vision of the beasts on a sheet, coming out of Heaven. Excavations have found all soughts of habitations and fortifications during different eras. The city of Tel Aviv grew out of Joppa early in the 20th century, and combined, the cities form Israel's biggest metropolis.

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