Capharsalama

CAPHARSALAMA [ISBE]

CAPHARSALAMA - kaf-ar-sal'-a-ma, kaf-ar-sala'-ma (Chapharsalama): The site of an indecisive skirmish between Judas Maccabeus and Nicanor, an officer of the king of Syria and governor of Judea. The situation cannot be precisely fixed but it must have been in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, for Nicanor, after losing 5,000 men, retired with the remainder to "the city of David" (1 Macc 7:26-32). The first part of the word, "Caphar," means village or hamlet; the last part has been identified with Siloam and also with Khirbet Deir Sellam, about 12 1/2 miles West of Jerusalem.