This place name designates a town in Judah, etymologically related to 'dropping' or 'dripping'—perhaps referencing a spring or water source. It appears in the lists of returning exiles, where the 'men of Netophah' number 56 (Ezra 2:22) or 188 (Neh 7:26), depending on which census list is followed. The town was also associated with a group called the Netophathites, some of whom were among David's warriors. Its exact location remains uncertain, though it was clearly in the Judean hill country.