a cow; increasing
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
PARAH.A city in Benjamin (Jos_18:23). Now the ruin Fârah, near the head of the Valley of Michmash.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
A city allotted to Benjamin (Jos_18:23). Now Farah, the wady Farah being an offshoot of the wady Suweinit.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Pa'rah. (heifer-town). One of the cities, in the territory allotted to Benjamin, named only in the lists of the conquest. Jos_18:23.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
pā?ra, par?a (הפּרה, ha-pārāh; Codex Vaticanus Φαρά, Phará; Codex Alexandrinus Ἀφάρ, Aphár): A city named as in the territory of Benjamin between Avvim and Ophrah (Jos_18:23). It may with some confidence be identified with Fārah on Wâdy Fārah, which runs into Wâdy Suweinı̄ṭ, about 3 miles Northeast of ‛Anata.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Parah
(Heb. Parah', פָּרָה[with the article], heifer; Sept. Φαρά v. r. Α᾿φάρ), a city of the tribe of Benjamin, named in the north-eastern group between Avim and Ophrah (Jos_18:23). Buckingham (Travels, p. 312) heard of a village named Farah, which Robinson, however, could not find; but the name exists farther to the south-east attached to the Wady el-Farah, one of the southern branches of the great Wady Suweinit, and to a site of ruins at the junction of the same with the main valley (Ritter, Pal. u. Syrien, 3:529). This identification is supported by Van de Velde (Memoir, p. 339) and Schwarz (Palestine, p. 126). The drawback mentioned by Dr. Robinson (Researches, 2:112), namely, that the Arabic word: (mouse) differs in signification from the Hebrew (the cow) is not of much force, since it is the habit of modern names to cling to similarity of sound with the ancient names, rather than of signification (Beit-ur, el-Aal, etc.). A view of the valley is given by Barclay (City of the Great King, p. 558), who proposes it for AENON SEE AENON (q.v.); but he incorrectly interprets the name (valley of delight).
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.