OPHEL

OPHEL hill; mound, the long, narrow, rounded promontory on the southern slope of the temple hill, between the Tyropoeon and the Kedron valley (2 Chronicles 27=>3; 33=>14; Nehemiah 3=>26, 27). It was surrounded by a separate wall, and was occupied by the Nethinim after the Captivity. This wall has been discovered by the engineers of the Palestine Exploration Fund at the south-eastern angle of the temple area. It is 4 feet below the present surface. In 2 Kings 5=>24 this word is translated “tower” (R.V., “hill”), denoting probably some eminence near Elisha’s house.