No (Thebes)
Dictionary of Bible Names

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No (Thebes)
Bible Meaning: Disrupting
Strong's Concordance #H4996

Thebes was the capital of ancient Egypt's Upper Kingdom for most of its history and was its chief city when God rescued Israel from Egyptian bondage. The city was called by its Hebrew name, No, in the King James Old Testament.

While No appears in some Biblical translations like the KJV, the name Thebes does show up in some modern Bibles such as the NIV, NASB, HCSB and others.

The city of Thebes, located more than 310 miles (500 kilometers) from the mouth of the Nile River, was known for its wealth and splendor. It was also famous as the worship center for the Egyptian pagan deity Amon (Amun).

The few times No (Thebes) is directly referenced in Scripture revolve around God's judgment of the city.

The shortest

No is one of the shortest city names in the entire KJV Bible. Other two letter designations include the Israelites cities of Ai (Joshua 7:2) and Ar (Numbers 21:15), the Egyptian locations of On (Numbers 16:11) and So (2Kings 17:4), and Uz (Job 1:1) where Job lived.

Location of No (Thebes) in ancient Egypt Map

Important Verses

Jeremiah 46:25 - 26
The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith: Behold, I will punish the multitude of No (Thebes), and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their Gods, and their kings: even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:

And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord.

Ezekiel 30:13 - 16
Thus saith the Lord God; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No (Thebes).

And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt: and I will cut off the multitude of No (Thebes). And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.

Nahum 3:5, 8
Behold, I am against thee (Nineveh), saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame . . .

Art thou better than populous No (Thebes), that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

Additional Studies


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Series Notes
References are based on the
King James Bible translation (KJV).