The Hebrew place name Apheq (H663) means "fortress" or "strength" and refers to several different locations in the Old Testament. Multiple cities bore this name: one in the territory of Asher (Joshua 13:4), one on the plain of Sharon (Joshua 12:18), one in Issachar (Joshua 19:30), and one in Aram (1 Kings 20:26).
The recurring place name Aphek — "fortress" or "strength" — marks sites of pivotal confrontation between Israel and her enemies. The Philistines twice mustered their armies at an Aphek (1 Samuel 4 and 29). The name itself speaks to the false security of human fortifications: what man calls a fortress, God can overthrow. True strength is found not in fortified cities but in the Lord Himself (Psalm 28:8).