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 Davids guard, ( 1 Chronicles 17:13 1 Chronicles 17:15 ) 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.