JOPPA

The city of Joppa dates back to the seventeenth century B.C. Its name means "beauty," and it is sometimes called "Jaffa" or "Yafo." In Joshua’s time it was called "Japho." It is the only natural harbor on the Mediterranean Sea between Acco to the north and Egypt to the south. Joppa became the chief seaport of King Solomon in the tenth century B.C. The Cedars of Lebanon used to build the Temple were floated from Lebanon to the north to Joppa to be rolled over land to Jerusalem for construction. (II Chronicles 2:16) The prophet Jonah sailed from Joppa to Tarshish as he attempted in vain to run from the will of God. Joppa is prominent in the New Testament as the home of a righteous woman Dorcas whom Peter raised from the dead (Acts 9:36). Peter was in Joppa at the house of Simon the tanner when he had the vision of the clean and unclean things in Acts 10. Cornelius, who lived at Caesarea by the Sea, sent men to visit Peter at the house of Simon the tanner to ask Peter to come to Caesarea to explain the Gospel to him. Christian history was dramatically affected as Cornelius became the first Gentile convert.