Bible Dictionary
Apharsites
The Apharsites were a people transplanted to Samaria by Asnapper of Assyria. They may have been a Median or Persian-related tribe and may be identical with the Apharsacites.
Definition
The Apharsites were a tribe transferred to Samaria by Asnapper of Assyria. They may have been identical with the Apharsachites, though the sources also suggest possible identification with a Median tribe or with the Persians.
Biblical Usage
The Apharsites are named among the peoples associated with the opposition to the rebuilding recorded in Ezra.
Historical Background
Their precise origin is uncertain. Proposed identifications include the Persians and a Median tribe mentioned in the inscriptions of Sennacherib as living in the district of Parsua.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Another of the tribes removed to Samaria (Ezra 4:9), or perhaps the same as the preceding.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>a-far'-sits ('apharcaye'): A tribe transferred to Samaria by Asnappar of Assyria (Ezr 4:9). Rawlinson identifies them with the APHARSACHITES (which see), taking Apharsites to be an accidental repetition of the same word. He understands "the Persians" to be meant in both cases. Others identify them with a Median tribe mentioned in the inscriptions of Sennacherib as dwellers in the district of Parsua.</p>