Tsiphyon

צפיון


Genesis 46:16 names him as the eldest son of Gad; his siblings were Chagi (חגי), Shuni (שוני), Etsvon (אצבן), Eri (ערי), Arodi (ארודי) and Areli (אראלי).

Presumably from the root Tsaphon (צפון) = "north".

Numbers 26:15 gives the name as Tsephon (צפון), dropping the Yud.

But there are obvious links too to Yoseph's Mitsri (Egyptian) name of Tsaphnat Paneyach (צפנת פענח), and also to Tsepho (צפו) = "astronomical observer".

The town of Tsaphon (צפון) is mentioned in Joshua 13:27 as being part of the tribal hegemony of Gad, taken over from Siychon (סיחון), the Amorite king of Cheshbon (חֶשְׁבּוֹן), on the eastern shores of the sea of Genaseret (Kinneret/Sea of Galilee).




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