Sepharad

Sepharad appears once in Scripture in Obadiah's prophecy of restoration after the Edomite betrayal of Jerusalem: "And the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south" (Obadiah 1:20). The exact identification is debated — traditional Jewish interpretation linked Sepharad with Spain (preserving the name "Sephardic" Jews), while modern scholars more commonly identify it with the Persian city of Sardis in Asia Minor or Saparda in northwestern Media. Either way, the prophet envisions the gathered exiles returning to repossess the southern Judean territory once Edom's judgment is complete.