Bible Dictionary
Suph
Suph is a place named in Moses’ address to Israel beyond the Jordan. Its exact location is uncertain, and some ancient versions understand the name as an abbreviation for the Red Sea.
Definition
Suph is a place or locality named in Moses’ address to Israel, beyond the Jordan in the wilderness. Its identification cannot be established with certainty. Some ancient versions understand the name as a shortened form of Yam-suph, “the Red Sea.”
Biblical Usage
Suph occurs in the setting of Moses’ address to the children of Israel in the wilderness beyond the Jordan.
Historical Background
Various proposed identifications include Suphah, es-Sufah, and Zuph, but no identification is possible with certainty. The interpretation as an abbreviation of the Red Sea follows ancient versions.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Deut. 1:1, R.V.; marg., “some ancient versions have the Red Sea,” as in the A.V.). Some identify it with Suphah (Num. 21:14, marg., A.V.) as probably the name of a place. Others identify it with es-Sufah = Maaleh-acrabbim (Josh. 15:3), and others again with Zuph (1 Sam. 9:5). It is most probable, however, that, in accordance with the ancient versions, this word is to be regarded as simply an abbreviation of Yam-suph, i.e., the “Red Sea.”
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>soof (cuph; plesion tes eruthras (thalasses); the King James Version Red Sea): As the verse stands, the place where Moses addressed the children of Israel is indicated as "beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah over against Suph" (De 1:1). the King James Version, following Septuagint, takes the name as a contraction of yam cuph (see RED SEA). The abbreviation is not found elsewhere. The name of the sea was not derived from that of a city; so we need not look in that direction. Knobel suggested Naqb es-Safa, a pass about 25 miles West-Southwest of the Dead Sea. But it is "unsuitably situated; nor does the name agree phonetically (for @@ ... agrees with ..., not with ...)" (Driver, "Deuteronomy," ICC, 4). No identification is possible.</p><p>W. Ewing</p>