What is "afek"

Afek is a Hebrew word that can refer to a number of places in the biblical Land of Israel.

• Aphek (biblical) refers to a number of sites with the same name mentioned in the Bible.
• Aphik (Asher) one of the biblical sites belonging to the Tribe of Asher.
  • Aphaca, a city in classical Syria believed by some to be the Asherite city
    • Afka, a modern town at the site in Lebanon.
  • Tel Afek, a site located near Haifa believed by some to be the Asherite city.
    • Afek, a modern village located at the Tel near Haifa.
• Another site known as Tel Afek or Antipatris, near Petah Tikva and Rosh HaAyin.
• Migdal Afek, also near Rosh HaAyin Majdal Yaba
• Aphek Turris also refers to Majdal Yaba
• A site in the Golan Heights.
  • Fiq, Syria, a former Syrian village at the Tel.
  • Afik, a current Israeli settlement and kibbutz at the Tel.
  • Fiq Airfield, a small civilian airfield near the settlement/kibbutz.
• Afek Oil & Gas, a subsidiary of Genie Energy Ltd. and controls Genie Energy Ltd.'s oil and gas exploratory project in Northern Israel, including the Golan Heights region
• Afikim, a kibbutz in the Galilee nearby, but unrelated to the Golan Heights site.

Also Afek (mythology), a cultural heroine in some Papuan groups' mythology (e.g. the Urapmin people)

Afek is a mythic heroine in the religion of the Min peoples living in the Sandaun Province of Papua New Guinea.

Humans were believed created in a multiple birth of the cultural heroine Afek, emerging immediately after the first dog. Afek gave the bush to the spirits right before birthing humans so that they would clear out the villages for the humans to dwell in.

Since as such dogs are spirits (and the "older brother" of man), Urapmin do not kill or eat them (unlike some neighboring tribes), nor do they let dogs breathe on their food. (This contrasts with humans—the Urapmin previously had no cannibalism taboo, but they can share food with them.) In fact, the taboo on eating dogs is one of the few still widely observed.