Joppa
City · Joppa → Jaffa, Tel Aviv
The port where Jonah took ship to flee. Long after, Peter saw his vision on a rooftop here.
People
- Jonah
- Peter
- Tabitha (Dorcas)
- Simon the tanner
At a glance
- Realm
- Israel (tribe of Dan); a coastal port
- Role
- Seaport nearest Jerusalem
- Peoples
- Israel and mixed coastal peoples
- First mention
- Joshua 19 (Japho)
The story
Joppa was the natural harbour closest to Jerusalem, and its rocky quay received the cedar of Lebanon that was floated down by sea for the building of the temple, and again for its rebuilding after the exile. It was Israel’s window on the great sea.
From Joppa the prophet Jonah took ship toward Tarshish to flee the call of the LORD. Long after, Peter raised Tabitha to life in this town, and on the rooftop of Simon the tanner he saw the sheet let down from heaven and learned that God calls no one common or unclean, and so the door was opened to the nations.