Z

 

 
Zaanaim

(removings), The plain of, or more accurately, "the oak by Zaanaim," a tree-probably a sacred tree - mentioned as marking the spot near which Heber the Kenite was encamped when Sisera took refuge in his tent. (Judges 4:11) Its situation is defined as "near Kedesh," i.e. Kedesh-naphtali, the name of which still lingers on the high ground north of Safed and two or three miles west of the lake of el-Huleh (waters of Merom). This whole region abounds in oaks.

 

 
Zaanan

[Zenan]

 

 
Zaavan, Or Zavan

(migratory), a Horite chief, son of Ezer the son of Seir. (Genesis 36:27; 1 Chronicles 1:42)

 

 
Zabad

(gift).

  • Son of Nathan son of Attai, son of Ahlai Sheshan's daughter, (1 Chronicles 2:31-37) and hence called son of Ahlai. (1 Chronicles 11:41) (B.C. 1046.) He was one of David's mighty men but none of his deeds have been recorded. The chief interest connected with him is in his genealogy, which is of considerable importance in a chronological point of view.

  • An Ephraimite, if the text of (1 Chronicles 7:21) Isa correct.

  • Son of Shimeath, an Ammonitess; an assassin who, with Jehozabad, slew King Joash, according to (2 Chronicles 24:26) (B.C. 840); but in (2 Kings 12:21) his name is written, probably more correctly, Jozachar.

  • A layman of Israel, of the sons of Zattu, who put away his foreign wife at Ezra's command. (Ezra 10:27) (B.C. 458.)

  • One of the descendants of Hashum who had married a foreign wife after the captivity. (Ezra 10:33) (B.C. 458.)

  • One of the sons of Nebo whose name is mentioned under the same circumstances as the two preceding. (Ezra 10:43)

 

 
Zabadeans

an Arab tribe who were attacked and spoiled by Jonathan, on his way back to Damascus from his fruitless pursuit of the army of Demetrius. 1 Macc. 12:31. Their name probably survives in the village of Zebdany, about 26 miles from Damascus.

 

 
Zabbai

(pure).

  • One of the descendants of Bebai who had married a foreign wife in the days of Ezra. (Ezra 10:28) (B.C. 458.)

  • Father of Baruch who assisted Nehemiah in rebuilding the city wall. (Nehemiah 3:20) (B.C. before 446.)

 

 
Zabbud

(given) one of the sons of Bigvai, who returned in the second caravan with Ezra. (Ezra 8:14) (B.C. 459.)

 

 
Zabdi

(my gift).

 

 
Zabdiel

(gift of God).

  • Father of Jashobeam, a chief of David's guard. (1 Chronicles 27:2) (B.C. before 1046.)

  • A priest, son of the great men or as the margin gives it, "Haggedolim." (Nehemiah 11:14) (B.C. 459.)

 

 
Zabud

(given), son of Nathan, (1 Kings 4:5) is described as a priest (Authorized Version "principal officer"), and as holding at the court of Solomon the confidential post of "king's friend," which had been occupied by Hushai the Archite during the reign of David. (2 Samuel 15:37; 16:16; 1 Chronicles 27:33) (B.C. 1012.)

 

 
Zabulon

the Greek form of the name Zebulun. (Matthew 4:13; 15; Revelation 7:8)

 

 
Zaccai

(pure). The sons of Zaccai to the number of 760, returned with Zerrubbabel. (Ezra 2:9; Nehemiah 7:14) (B.C. before 536.)

 

 
Zacchaeus

(pure), a tax-collector near Jericho, who, being short in stature climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to obtain a sight of Jesus as he passed through that place. (Luke 19:1-10) Zacchaeus was a Jew, as may be inferred from his name and from the fact that the Saviour speaks of him expressly as "a son of Abraham." The term which designates his office -"the chief among the publicans" -is unusual, but describes him, no doubt, as the superintendent of customs or tribute in the district of Jericho, where he lived. The office must have been a lucrative one in such a region, and it is not strange that Zacchaeus is mentioned by the evangelists as a rich man. The Saviour spent the night probably in the house of Zacchaeus, and the next day pursued his journey. He was in the caravan from Galilee which was going to Jerusalem to keep the Passover.

 

 
Zacchur

a Simeonite, of the family of Mishma. (1 Chronicles 4:26)

 

 
Zaccur

(mindful).

 

 
Zachariah

(remembered by Jehovah), or properly Zechariah.

  • Son of Jeroboam II., fourteenth king of Israel, and the last of the house of Jehu. There is a difficulty about the date of his reign. Most chronologers assume an interregnum of eleven years between Jeroboam's death and Zachariah's accession. The latter event took place B.C. 772-1. His reign lasted only six months. He was killed in a conspiracy of which Shallum was the head, and by which the prophecy in (2 Kings 10:30) was accomplished,

  • The father of Abi or Abijah, Hezekiah's mother. (2 Kings 18:2)

 

 
Zacharias

(Greek form of Zechariah).

  • Father of John the Baptist. (Luke 1:5) etc. He was a priest of the course of Abia. the eighth of the twenty-four courses who ministered at the temple in turn. He probably lived at Hebron. His wife's name was Elisabeth. John was born to them in their old age, and the promise of this son was communicated to Zacharias by an angel while he was offering incense and praying in the temple.

  • Son of Barachias, who, our Lord says, was slain by the Jews between the altar and the temple. (Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:61) There has been much dispute who this Zacharias was. Many of the Greek fathers have maintained that the father of John the Baptist is the person to whom our Lord alludes but there can be little or no doubt that the allusion is to Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, (2 Chronicles 24:20,21) and he may have been called "the son" of Barachias from his grandfather. (B.C. 838.) He is mentioned as being the martyr last recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures (as Abel was the first) -d Chronicles being the last book in their canon.

 

 
Zacher

(memorial), one of the sons of Jehiel, the father or founder of Gibeon, by his wife Maachah. (1 Chronicles 8:31) (B.C. about 1450.)

 

 
Zadok

(just).

  • Son of Ahitub and one of the two chief priests in the time of David, Abiathar being the other. Zadok was of the house of Eleazar the son of Aaron, (1 Chronicles 24:3) and eleventh in descent from Aaron. (1 Chronicles 12:28) He joined David at Hebron after Saul's death, (1 Chronicles 12:28) and thenceforth his fidelity to David was inviolable. When Absalom revolted and David fled from Jerusalem, Zadok and all the Levites bearing the ark accompanied him. When Absalom was dead, Zadok and Abiathar were the persons who persuaded the elders of Judah to invite David to return. (2 Samuel 19:11) When Adonijah, in David's old age, set up for king, and had persuaded Joab, and Abiathar the priest, to join his party, Zadok was unmoved, and was employed by David to anoint Solomon to be king in his room. (1 Kings 1:34) For this fidelity he was rewarded by Solomon who "thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord," and "put in Zadok the priest" in his room. (1 Kings 2:27,35) From this time, however, we hear little of him. Zadok and Abiathar were of nearly equal dignity. (2 Samuel 15:35,36; 19:11) The duties of the office were divided, Zadok ministered before the tabernacle at Gibeon, (1 Chronicles 16:39) Abiathar had the care of the ark at Jerusalem.

  • According to the genealogy of the high priests in (1 Chronicles 6:12) there was a second Zadok, son of a second Ahitub son of Amariah, about the time of King Ahaziah. It is probable that no such person as this second Zadok ever existed, but that the insertion of the two names is a copyist's error.

  • Father of Jerushah, the wife of King Uzziah and mother of King Jotham. (2 Kings 15:33; 2 Chronicles 27:1)

  • Son of Baana, and 5. Son of Immer, persons who repaired a portion of the wall in Nehemiah's time. (Nehemiah 3:4,29)

  • In (1 Chronicles 9:11) and Nehe 11:11 Mention is made, in a genealogy, of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub; but it can hardly be doubtful that Meraioth is inserted by the error of a copyist, and that Zadok the son of Ahitub is meant.

 

 
Zaham

(fatness), son of Rehoboam by Abihail the daughter of Eliab. (2 Chronicles 11:19)

 

 
Zair

(small), a place named in (2 Kings 8:21) only, in the account of Joram's expedition against the Edomites. It has been conjectured that Zair is identical with Zoar.

 

 
Zalaph

(wound) father of Hanun, who assisted in rebuilding the city wall. (Nehemiah 3:30)

 

 
Zalmon

(shady), an Ahohite one of David's guard. (2 Samuel 23:28)

 

 
Zalmon, Mount

a wooded eminence in the immediate neighborhood of Shechem. (Judges 9:48) The name of Dalmanutha has been supposed to be a corruption of that of Zalmon.

 

 
Zalmonah

(shady), a desert station of the Israelites, (Numbers 33:41) lies on the east side of Edom.

 

 
Zalmunna

[Zebah]

 

 
Zamzummim

(Deuteronomy 2:20) only, the Ammonite name for the people who by others were called Rephaim. They are described as having originally been a powerful and numerous nation of giants. From a slight similarity between the two names, and from the mention of the Emim in connection with each, it is conjectured that the Zamzummim are identical with the Zuzim.

 

 
Zanoah

(marsh).

  • A town of Judah in the Shefelah or plain, (Joshua 15:34; Nehemiah 3:13; 11:30) possibly identical with Zanu'a .

  • A town of Judah in the highland district, (Joshua 15:66) not improbably identical with Sanute, about 10 miles south of Hebron.

  • In the genealogical lists of the tribe of Judah in 1 Chron., Jekuthiel is said to have been the father of Zanoah. ch. (1 Chronicles 4:18) As Zanoah is the name of a town of Judah, this mention of Bithiah probably points to some colonization of the place by Egyptians or by Israelites directly from Egypt.

 

 
Zaphnathpaaneah

a name given by Pharaoh to Joseph. (Genesis 41:45) The rabbins interpreted Zaphnath-paaneah as Hebrew in the sense revealer of a secret . As the name must have been Egyptian, it has been explained from the Coptic as meaning the preserver of the age.

 

 
Zaphon

(north), a place mentioned in the enumeration of the allotment of the tribe of Gad. (Joshua 13:27)

 

 
Zara, Or Zarah

the son of Judah. (Matthew 1:3)

 

 
Zarah, Or Zerah

the son of Judah. (Genesis 38:30; 48:12)

 

 
Zareah

the same as Zorah and Zoreah. (Nehemiah 11:29)

 

 
Zareathites, The

the inhabitants of Zareah or Zorah. (1 Chronicles 2:53)

 

 
Zared, The Valley Of

[Zered]

 

 
Zarephath

(smelting place), the residence of the prophet Elijah during the latter part of the drought. (1 Kings 17:9,10) It was near to, or dependent on, Zidon. It is represented by the modern village of Sura-fend . Of the old town considerable indications remain. One group of foundations is on a headland called Ain el-Kanatarah ; but the chief remains are south of this, and extend for a mile or more, with many fragments of columns, slabs and other architectural features. In the New Testament Zarephath appears under the Greek form of Sarepta. (Luke 4:26)

 

 
Zaretan, Or Zarthan

(Joshua 3:16)

 

 
Zarethshahar

(splendor of the dawn), a place mentioned only in (Joshua 13:19) in the catalogue of the towns allotted to Reuben.

 

 
Zarhites, The

a branch of the tribe of Judah, descended from Zerah the son of Judah. (Numbers 26:13,20; Joshua 7:17; 1 Chronicles 27:11,15)

 

 
Zartanah

(1 Kings 4:12) [Zaretan, Or Zarthan, Zarthan]

 

 
Zarthan

  • A place in the circle of Jordan, mentioned in connection with Succoth. (1 Kings 7:46)

  • It is also named in the account of the passage of the Jordan by the Israelites, (Joshua 3:18) where the authorized Version has Zaretan.

  • A place with the similar name of Zartanah. (1 Kings 4:12)

  • Further, Zeredathah, named in (2 Chronicles 4:17) only in specifying the situation of the foundries for the brass-work of Solomon's temple, is substituted for Zarthan; and this again is not impossibly identical with the Zererath of the story of Gideon. (Judges 7:22) All these spots agree in proximity to the Jordan, but beyond this we are absolutely at fault as to their position.

 

 
Zattu

The sons of Zattu were a family of laymen of Israel who returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:8; Nehemiah 7:13)

 

 
Zavan

(1 Chronicles 1:42) [Zaavan, Or Zavan]

 

 
Zaza

one of the sons of Jonathan, a descendant of Jerahmeel. (1 Chronicles 2:33)

 

 
Zebadiah

 

 
Zebah

and Zalmun'na (deprived of protection), the two "kings" of Midian who commanded the great invasion of Palestine, and who finally fell by the hand of Gideon himself. (Judges 8:5-21; Psalms 83:11) (B.C. 1250.) While Oreb and Zeeb, two of the inferior leaders of the incursion, had been slain, with a vast number of their people, by the Ephraimites, at the central fords of the Jordan the two kings had succeeded in making their escape by a passage farther to the north (probably the ford near Bethshean), and thence by the Wady Yabis, through Gilead, to Kurkor, high up on the Hauran. Here they sere reposing their with 15,000 men, a mere remnant of their huge horde, when Gideon overtook them. The people fled in dismay, and Gideon captured the two kings and brought them to his native village, Ophrah where he slew them because they had killed his brothers.

 

 
Zebaim

(the gazelles), mentioned in the catalogue of the families of "Solomon's slaves" who returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:57; Nehemiah 7:59)

 

 
Zebedee

(my gift) (Greek form of Zabdi) a fisherman of Galilee, the father of the apostles James the Great and John (Matthew 4:21) and the husband of Salome. (Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40) He probably lived either at Bethsaida or in its immediate neighborhood. It has been inferred from the mention of his "hired servants," (Mark 1:20) and from the acquaintance between the apostle John and Annas the high priest, (John 18:15) that the family of Zebedee were in easy circumstances. comp. (John 19:27) although not above manual labor. (Matthew 4:21) He appears only twice in the Gospel narrative, namely, in (Matthew 4:21,22; Mark 1:19,20) where he is seen in his boat with his two sons mending their nets.

 

 
Zebina

(purchase), one of the sons of Nebo who had taken foreign wives after the return from Babylon, (Ezra 10:43)

 

 
Zeboim

(gazelles).

  • One of the five cities of the "plain" or circle of Jordan. It is mentioned in (Genesis 10:19; 14:2,8; 29:23; Hosea 11:8) in each, of which passages it is either coupled with Admah or placed next it in the lists - perhaps represented by Talaa Sebaan, a name attached to extensive ruins on the high ground between the Dead Sea and Kerak . In (Genesis 14:2,8) the name is given more correctly in the Authorized Version ZEBOIIM.

  • The valley of Zeboim, a ravine or gorge, apparently east of Michmash, mentioned only in (1 Samuel 13:18) The road running from Michmash to the east is specified as "the road of the border that looketh to the ravine of Zeboim toward the wilderness." The wilderness is no doubt the district of uncultivated mountain tops and sides which lies between the central district of Benjamin and the Jordan valley. In that very district there is a wild gorge bearing the name of Shuk ed-Dubba', ravine of the hyena, "the exact equivalent of Ge hat-tsebo'im .

 

 
Zebudah

(bestowed), wife of Josiah and mother of King Jehoiakim. (2 Kings 23:36) (B.C. 653.)

 

 
Zebul

(habitation), chief man (Authorized Version "ruler") of the city of Shechem at the time of the contest between Abimelech and the native Canaanites. (Judges 9:28,30,36,41) (B.C. 1209.)

 

 
Zebulonite

a member of the tribe of Zebulun. (Judges 12:11,12) Applied only to Elon, the one judge produced by the tribe. (Judges 12:11,12)

 

 
Zebulun

(a habitation), the tenth of the sons of Jacob, according to the order in which their births are enumerated, the sixth and last of Leah. (Genesis 30:20; 35:23; 46:14; 1 Chronicles 2:1) His birth is mentioned in (Genesis 30:19,20) Of the individual Zebulun nothing is recorded. The list of Genesis46 ascribes to him three sons, founders of the chief families of the tribe (comp.) (Numbers 26:26) at the time of the migration to Egypt. The tribe is not recorded to have taken part, for evil or good, in any of the events of the wandering or the conquest. The statement of Josephus is probably in the main correct, that it reached on the one side to the Lake of Gennesareth and on the other to Carmel and the Mediterranean. On the south it was bounded by Issachar, who lay in the great plain or valley of the Kishon; on the north it had Naphtali and Asher. Thus remote from the centre of government, Zebulun remains throughout the history with one exception, in the obscurity which envelops the whole of the northern tribes. That exception, however, is a remarkable one. The conduct of the tribe during the struggle with Sisera, when they fought with desperate valor side by side with their brethren of Naphtali, was such as to draw down the special praise of Deborah, who singles them out from cell the other tribes. (Judges 5:18)

 

 
Zebulunites, The

the members of the tribe of Zebulun. (Numbers 26:27) only.

 

 
Zechariah

  • The eleventh in order of the twelve minor prophets. He is called in his prophecy the son of Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo, whereas in the book of Ezra, (Ezra 5:1; 6:14) he is said to have been the son of Iddo. It is natural to suppose as the prophet himself mentions his father's name, whereas the book of Ezra mentions only Iddo, that Berechiah had died early, and that there was now no intervening link between the grandfather and the grandson. Zechariah, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel before him, was priest as well as prophet. He seems to have entered upon his office while yet young, (Zechariah 2:4) and must have been born in Babylon whence he returned with the first caravan of exiles under Zerubbabel and Jeshua. It was in the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, that he first publicly discharged his office. In this he acted in concert with Haggai. Both prophets had the same great object before them; both directed all their energies to the building of the second temple. To their influence we find the rebuilding of the temple in a great measure ascribed. If the later Jewish accounts may be trusted, Zechariah, as well as Haggai, was a member of the Great Synagogue. The genuine writings of Zechariah help us but little in our estimate of his character. Some faint traces, however, we may observe in them, of his education in Babylon. He leans avowedly on the authority of the older prophets, and copies their expressions. Jeremiah especially seems to have been his favorite; and hence the Jewish saying that "the spirit of Jeremiah dwelt in Zechariah." But in what may be called the peculiarities of his prophecy, he approaches more nearly to Ezekiel and Daniel. Like them he delights in visions; like them he uses symbols and allegories rather than the bold figures and metaphors which lend so much force and beauty to the writings of the earlier prophets. Generally speaking, Zechariah's style is pure, and remarkably free from Chaldaisms.

  • Son of Meshelemiah or Shelemiah a Korhite, and keeper of the north gate of the tabernacle of the congregation, (1 Chronicles 9:21) (B.C. 1043.)

  • One of the sons of Jehiel. (1 Chronicles 9:37)

  • A Levite of the second order in the temple band as arranged by David, appointed to play "with psalteries on Alamoth." (1 Chronicles 15:18,20) (B.C. 1043.)

  • One of the princes of Judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 17:7) (B.C. 910.)

  • Son of the high priest Jehoiada, in the reign of Joash king of Judah (2 Chronicles 24:20) and therefore the king's cousin. After the death of Jehoiada, Zechariah probably succeeded to his office, and in attempting to check the reaction in favor of idolatry which immediately followed he fell a victim to a conspiracy formed against him by the king, and was stoned in the court of the temple. He is probably the same as the "Zacharias son of Barachias" who was slain between the temple and the altar. (Matthew 23:35) [Zacharias, No. 2] (B.C. 838.)

  • A Kohathite Levite in the reign of Josiah. (2 Chronicles 34:12) (B.C. 628.)

  • The leader of the sons of Pharosh who returned with Ezra. (Ezra 8:3) (B.C. 450.)

  • Son of Behai. (Ezra 8:11)

  • One of the chiefs of the people whom Ezra summoned in council at the river Ahava. (Ezra 8:16) He stood at Ezra's left hand when he expounded the law to the people. (Nehemiah 8:4) (B.C. 459.)

  • One of the family of Elam who had married a foreign wife after the captivity. (Ezra 10:26) (B.C.458.)

  • Ancestor of Athaiah or Uthai. (Nehemiah 11:4)

  • A Shilonite, descendant of Perez. (Nehemiah 11:5)

  • A priest, son of Pashur. (Nehemiah 11:12)

  • The representative of the priestly family of Iddo in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua. (Nehemiah 12:16) (B.C. 536.) possibly the same as Zechariah the prophet, the son of Iddo.

  • One of the priests, son of Jonathan, who blew with the trumpets at the dedication of the city wall by Ezra and Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 12:36,41) (B.C. 446.)

  • A chief of the Reubenites at the time of the captivity by Tiglath-pileser. (1 Chronicles 5:7) (B.C. 740.)

  • One of the priests who accompanied the ark from the house of Obed-edom. (1 Chronicles 15:24) (B.C. 1043.)

  • Son of Isshiah or Jesiah, a Kohathite Levite descended from Uzziel. (1 Chronicles 24:25) (B.C. 1043.)

  • Fourth son of Hosah of the children of Merari. (1 Chronicles 26:11)

  • A Manassite. (1 Chronicles 27:21,22)

  • The father of Jahaziel. (2 Chronicles 20:14)

  • One of the sons of Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 21:2)

  • A prophet in the reign of Uzziah who appears to have acted as the king's counsellor, but of whom nothing is known. (2 Chronicles 26:5) (B.C. 807.)

  • The father of Abijah or Abi, Hezekiah's mother. (2 Chronicles 29:1)

  • One of the family of Asaph in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 29:13) (B.C. 727.)

  • One of the rulers of the temple in the reign of Josiah. (2 Chronicles 35:8) (B.C. 628.)

  • The son of Jeberechiah, who was taken by the prophet Isaiah as one of the "faithful witnesses to record," when he wrote concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. (Isaiah 8:2) (B.C. 723.) He may have been the Levite of the same name who in the reign of Hezekiah assisted in the purification of the temple. (2 Chronicles 29:13) Another conjecture is that he is the same as Zechariah the father of Abijah, the queen of Ahaz.

 

 
Zechariah, The Book Of

The book of Zechariah, in its existing form, consists of three principal parts, vis. chs. 1-8; chs. 9-11; chs. 12-14.

  • The first of these divisions is allowed by the critics to be the genuine work of Zechariah the son of Iddo. It consists, first, of a short introduction or preface in which the prophet announces his commission; then of a series of visions, descriptive of all those hopes and anticipations of which the building of the temple was the pledge and sure foundation and finally of a discourse, delivered two years later, in reply to questions respecting the observance of certain established fasts.

  • The remainder of the book consists of two sections of about equal length, chs. 9-11 and 12-14, each of which has an inscription. (1) In the first section he threatens Damascus and the seacoast of Palestine with misfortune, but declares that Jerusalem shall be protected. (2) The second section is entitled "The burden of the word of Jehovah for Israel." But Israel is here used of the nation at large, not of Israel as distinct from Judah. Indeed the prophecy which follows concerns Judah and Jerusalem, in this the prophet beholds the near approach of troublous times, when Jerusalem should be hard pressed by enemies. But in that day Jehovah shall come to save them an all the nations which gather themselves against Jerusalem shall be destroyed. Many modern critics maintain that the later chapters, from the ninth to the fourteenth, were written by some other prophet, who lived before the exile. The prophecy closes with a grand and stirring picture. All nations are gathered together against Jerusalem, and seem already sure of their prey. Half of their cruel work has been accomplished, when Jehovah himself appears on behalf of his people. He goes forth to war against the adversaries of his people. He establishes his kingdom over all the earth. All nations that are still left shall come up to Jerusalem, as the great centre of religious worship, and the city; from that day forward shall be a holy city. Such is, briefly, an outline of the second portion of that book which is commonly known as the Prophecy of Zechariah. Integrity . -Mede was the first to call this in question. The probability that the later chapters, from the ninth to the fourteenth, were by some other prophet seems first to have been suggested to him by the citation in St. Matthew. He rests his opinion partly on the authority of St. Matthew and partly-on the contents of the later chapters, which he considers require a date earlier than the exile. Archbishop Newcombe went further. He insisted on the great dissimilarity of style as well as subject between the earlier and later chapters and he was the first who advocated the theory that the last six chapters of Zechariah are the work of two distinct prophets.

 

 
Zedad

(mountain side), one of the landmarks on the north border of the land of Israel, as Promised by Moses, (Numbers 34:8) and as restored by Ezekiel. (Ezekiel 47:15) A place named Sudud exists to the east of the northern extremity of the chain of Anti-Libanus, about fifty miles east-northeast of Baalbec . This may be identical with Zedad.

 

 
Zedekiah

(justice of Jehovah).

  • The last king of Judah and Jerusalem. He was the son of Josiah by his wife Hamutal, and therefore own brother to Jehoahaz. (2 Kings 24:18) comp. 2Kin 23:31 His original name was Mattaniah, which was changed to Zedekiah by Nebuchadnezzar when he carried off his nephew Jehoiachim to Babylon and left him on the throne of Jerusalem. Zedekiah was but twenty-one years old when he was thus placed in charge of an impoverished kingdom, B.C. 597. His history is contained in a short sketch .of the events of his reign given in (2 Kings 24:17; 2 Kings 25:7) and, with some trifling variations in (Jeremiah 39:1-7; 62:1-11) together with the still shorter summary in (1 Chronicles 38:10) etc.; and also in Jere 21,24,27,28,29,32,34,37,38 and (Ezekiel 16:11-21) From these it is evident that Zedekiah was a man not so much bad at heart as weak in will. It is evident from Jere 27 and 28 that the earlier portion of Zedekiah's reign was marked by an agitation throughout the whole of Syria against the Babylonian yoke. Jerusalem seems to have taken the lead, since in the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign we find ambassadors from all the neighboring kingdoms - Tyre, Sidon, Edom and Moab - at his court to consult as to the steps to be taken. The first act of rebellion of which any record survives was the formation of an alliance with Egypt, of itself equivalent to a declaration of enmity with Babylon. As a natural consequence it brought on Jerusalem an immediate invasion of the Chaldaeans. The mention of this event in the Bible though indisputable, is extremely slight, and occurs only in (Jeremiah 37:5-11; 34:21) and Ezek 17:15-20 But Josephus (x.7,3) relates it more fully, and gives the date of its occurrence, namely, the eighth year of Zedekiah. (B.C. 589.) Nebuchadnezzar at once sent an army to ravage Judea. This was done, and the whole country reduced, except Jerusalem and two strong places in the western plain, Lachish and Azekah, which still held out. (Jeremiah 34:7) Called away for a time by an attack from Pharaoh and the Egyptians, on the tenth day of the tenth month of Zedekiah's ninth year the Chaldeans were again before the walls. (Jeremiah 52:4) From this time forward the siege progressed slowly but surely to its consummation, The city was indeed reduced to the last extremity. The bread had for long been consumed, (Jeremiah 38:9) and all the terrible expedients had been tried to which the wretched inhabitants of a besieged town are forced to resort in such cases. At last, after sixteen dreadful months the catastrophe arrived. It was on the ninth day of the fourth month, about the middle of July at midnight, as Josephus with careful minuteness informs us, that the breach in those strong and venerable walls was effected. The moon, nine days old, had gone down. The wretched remnants of the army acquitted the city in the dead of night; and as the Chaldaean army entered the city at one end, the king and his wives fled from it by the opposite gate. They took the road toward the Jordan. As soon as the dawn of day permitted it, swift pursuit was made. The king's party were overtaken near Jericho and carried to Nebuchadnezzar, who was then at Riblah, at the upper end of the valley of Lebanon. Nebuchadnezzar, with a refinement of barbarity characteristic of those cruel times ordered the sons of Zedekiah to be killed before him, and lastly his own eyes to be thrust out. He was then loaded with brazen fetters, and at a later period taken to Babylon, where he died.

  • Son of Chenaanah, a false prophet at the court of Ahab, head, or, if not head, virtual leader, of the college. (B.C. 896.) He appears but once viz. as spokesman when the prophets are consulted by Ahab on the result of his proposed expedition to Ramoth-gilead. 1Kin 22; 2Chr 18. Zedekiah had prepared himself for the interview with a pair of iron horns, with which he illustrated the manner in which Ahab should drive the Syrians before him. When Micaiah the prophet of the Lord appeared and had delivered his prophecy, Zedekiah sprang forward and struck him a blow on the face, accompanying it by a taunting sneer.

  • The son of Maaseiah, a false prophet in Babylon. (Jeremiah 29:21,22) He was denounced in the letter of Jeremiah for having, with Ahab the son of Kolaiah, buoyed up the people with false hopes, not for profane and flagitious conduct. Their names were to become a by-word, tend their terrible fate a warning. (B.C. 595.)

  • The son of Hananiah, one of the princes of Judah in the time of Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 38:12) (B.C. 605.)

 

 
Zeeb

(wolf), one of the two "princes" of Midian in the great invasion of Israel. (B.C. about 1250.) He is always named with Oreb. (Judges 7:25; 8:3; Psalms 83:11) Zeeb and Oreb were not slain at the first rout of the Arabs, but at a later stage of the struggle, probably ill crossing the Jordan at a ford farther down the river. Zeeb, the wolf, was brought to bay in a wine-press which in later times bore his name - the "wine-press of Zeeb." [Oreb]

 

 
Zelah

(a rib), a city in the allotment of Benjamin, (Joshua 18:28) contained the family tomb of Kish, the father of Saul. (2 Samuel 21:14) [Perhaps the same as Zelzah]

 

 
Zelok

(fissure), an Ammonite, one of David's guard. (2 Samuel 23:37; 1 Chronicles 11:39)

 

 
Zelophehad

(first-born), son of Zepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh. (Joshua 17:3) (B.C. before 1450.) He was apparently the second son of Hepher. (1 Chronicles 7:15) Zelophehad came out of Egypt with Moses, but died in the wilderness, as did the whole of that generation. (Numbers 14:35; 27:3) On his death without male heirs, his five daughters, just after the second numbering in the wilderness, came before Moses and Eleazar to claim the inheritance of their father in the tribe of Manasseh. The claim was admitted by divine direction. (Numbers 26:33; 27:1-11)

 

 
Zelotes

the epithet given to the apostle Simon to distinguish him from Simon Peter. (Luke 6:15) [Canaanite, The; Simon, 5]

 

 
Zelzah

(shadow), a place named once only, (1 Samuel 10:2) as on the boundary of Benjamin close to Rachel's sepulchre, five miles southwest of Jerusalem.

 

 
Zemaraim

(double fleece of wool), a town in the allotment of Benjamin, (Joshua 18:22) perhaps identical with Mount Zemaraim, mentioned in (2 Chronicles 13:4) only, which was "in Mount Ephraim," that is to say, within the general district of the highlands of that great tribe. (2 Chronicles 13:4)

 

 
Zemarite, The

one of the Hamite tribes who in the genealogical table of (Genesis 10:18) and 1Chr 1:16 Are represented as "sons of Canaan." Nothing is certainly known of this ancient tribe. The old interpreters place them at Emessa, the modern Hums .

 

 
Zemira

(a song), one of the sons of Becher the son of Benjamin. (1 Chronicles 7:8) (B.C. after 1706.)

 

 
Zenan

(pointed), a town in the allotment of Judah, situated in the district of the Shefelah. (Joshua 15:37) It is probably identical with Zaanan. (Micah 1:11)

 

 
Zenas

a believer, and, as may be inferred from the context, a preacher of the gospel, who is mentioned in (Titus 3:13) in connection with Apollos. He is further described as "the lawyer." It is impossible to determine whether Zenas was a Roman jurisconsult or a Jewish doctor.

 

 
Zephaniah

(hidden by Jehovah).

  • The ninth in order of the twelve minor prophets. His pedigree is traced to his fourth ancestor, Hezekiah, (Zephaniah 1:1) supposed to be the celebrated king of that name. The chief characteristics of this book are the unity and harmony of the composition, the grace, energy and dignity of its style, and the rapid and effective alternations of threats and promises. The general tone of the last portion is Messianic, but without any specific reference to the person of our Lord. The date of the book is given in the inscription - viz, the reign of Josiah, from 642 to 611 B.C. It is most probable moreover, that the prophecy was delivered before the eighteenth year of Josiah.

  • The son of Maaseiah, (Jeremiah 21:1) and sagan or second priest in the reign of Zedekiah. (B.C. 588.) He succeeded Jehoida, (Jeremiah 29:25,26) and was probably a ruler of the temple, whose office it was, among others, to punish pretenders to the gift of prophecy. (Jeremiah 29:29) On the capture of Jerusalem he was taken and slain at Riblah. (Jeremiah 52:24,27; 2 Kings 25:18,21)

  • Father of Josiah, 2, (Zechariah 6:10) and of Hen, according to the reading of the received text of (Zechariah 6:14)

 

 
Zephath

(watch-tower), the earlier name, (Judges 1:17) of a Canaanite town, which after its capture and destruction was called by the Israelites Hormah. [Hormah]

 

 
Zephathah

(watch-tower), The valley of, the spot in which Asa joined battle with Zerah the Ethiopian. (2 Chronicles 14:10) only.

 

 
Zephi

(1 Chronicles 1:36) [Zepho]

 

 
Zepho

(watch-tower), son of Eliphaz, son of Esau, (Genesis 36:11) and one of the "dukes" or phylarchs of the Edomites. ver. (Genesis 36:15) In (1 Chronicles 1:36) he is called Zephi. (B.C. after 1760.)

 

 
Zephon

(watch), the son of Gad, (Numbers 26:15) and ancestor of the family of the Zephonites. Called Ziphion In (Genesis 46:16) (B.C. 1706.)

 

 
Zer

(flint), a fortified town in the allotment of Naphtali, (Joshua 19:35) only, probably in the neighborhood of the southwest side of the Lake of Gennesareth.

 

 
Zerah

(rising (of the sun)).

  • A son of Reuel, son of Esau, (Genesis 36:13; 1 Chronicles 1:37) and one of the "dukes" or phylarchs of the Edomites. (Genesis 36:17) (B.C. after 1760.)

  • Less properly, Zarah, twin son, with his elder brother Pharez, of Judah and Tamar. (Genesis 38:30; 1 Chronicles 2:4; Matthew 1:3) (B.C. about 1728.) His descendants were called Zarhites, Ezrahites and Izrahites. (Numbers 26:20; 1 Kings 4:31; 1 Chronicles 27:8,11)

  • Son of Simeon, (1 Chronicles 4:24) called Zohar in (Genesis 46:10) (B.C. 1706.)

  • A Gershonite Levite, son of Iddo or Adaiah. (1 Chronicles 6:21,41) (B.C. 1043.)

  • The Ethiopian or Cushite, an invader of Judah, defeated by Asa about B.C. 941. [Asa] Zerah is probably the Hebrew name of Usarken I., second king of the Egyptian twenty-second dynasty; or perhaps more probably Usarken II his second successor. In the fourteenth year of Asa, Zerah the Ethiopian, with a mighty army of or million, invaded his kingdom, and advanced unopposed in the field as far as the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. The Egyptian monuments enable us to picture the general disposition of Zerah's army. The chariots formed the first corps in a single or double line; behind them, massed in phalanxes, were heavy-armed troops; probably on the flanks stood archers and horsemen in lighter formations. After a prayer by Asa, his army attacked the Egyptians and defeated them. The chariots, broken by the charge and with horses made unmanageable by flights of arrows must have been forced back upon the cumbrous host behind. So complete was the overthrow that the Hebrews could capture and spoil the cities around Gerah which must have been in alliance with Zerah. The defeat of the Egyptian army is without parallel in the history of the Jews. On no other occasion did an Israelite army meet an army of one of the great powers and defeat it.

 

 
Zerahiah

(Jehovah has risen).

  • A priest, son of Uzzi and ancestor of Ezra the scribe. (1 Chronicles 6:6,51; Ezra 7:4)

  • Father of Elihoenai of the sons of Pahath-moab, whose descendants returned from the captivity with Ezra. (Ezra 8:4)

 

 
Zered

(osier brook), (2:13,14) or Za'red, (Numbers 21:12) a brook or valley running into the Dead Sea near its southeast corner, which Dr. Robinson with some probability suggests as identical with the Wady el-Ahsy . It lay between Moab and Edom and is the limit of the proper term of the Israelites' wandering. (2:14)

 

 
Zereda

(the fortress) the native place of Jeroboam. (1 Kings 11:26) Zereda or Zeredah has been supposed to be identical with Zeredathah and Zarthan or Zartanah; but the last two were in the valley of the Jordan, while Zeredah was, according to the repeated statement of the LXX., on Mount Ephraim.

 

 
Zeredathah

[Zaretan, Or Zarthan, Zarthan]

 

 
Zererath

[Zaretan, Or Zarthan, Zarthan]

 

 
Zeresh

(gold), the wife of Haman the Agagite. (Esther 5:10,14; 6:13) (B.C. 475.)

 

 
Zereth

(splendor), son of Ashur, the founder of Tekoa, by his wife Helah. (1 Chronicles 4:7) (B.C. 1440.)

 

 
Zeri

(built), one of the sons of Jeduthun in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles 25:3) (B.C. 1043.)

 

 
Zeror

(a bundle), a Benjamite, ancestor of Kish the father of Saul. (1 Samuel 9:1) (B.C. about 1730.)

 

 
Zeruah

(full breasted), the mother of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. (1 Kings 11:26) (B.C. 973.)

 

 
Zerubbabel

(born at Babel, i.e. Babylon), the head of the tribe of Judah at the time of the return from the Babylonish captivity in the first year of Cyrus. The history of Zerabbabel in the Scriptures is as follows: In the first year of Cyrus he was living at Babylon, and was the recognized prince of Judah in the captivity, - what in later times was called "the prince of the captivity," or "the prince." On the issuing of Cyrus' decree he immediately availed himself of it, and placed himself at the head of those of his countrymen "whose spirit God had raised to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem." It is probable that he was in the king of Babylon's service, both from his having, like Daniel and the three children, received a Chaldee name, Sheshbazzar, and from the fact that he was appointed by the Persian king to the office of governor of Judea. On arriving at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel's great work, which he set about immediately, was the rebuilding of the temple. In the second month of the second year of the return the foundation was laid with all the pomp which could be commanded. The efforts of the Samaritans were successful in putting a stop to the work during the seven remaining years of the reign of Cyrus and through the eight years of Cambyses and Smerdis. Nor does Zerubbabel appear quite blameless for this long delay. The difficulties in the way of building the temple were not such as need have stopped the work and during this long suspension of sixteen years Zerubbabel and the rest of the people had been busy in building costly houses for themselves. But in the second year of Darius, light dawned upon the darkness of the colony from Babylon. In that year - it was the most memorable event in Zerabbabel's life - the spirit of prophecy suddenly blazed up with a most brilliant light among the returned captives. Their words fell like sparks upon tinder. In a moment Zerubbabel roused from his apathy, threw his whole strength into the work. After much opposition [see Nehemiah, The Book Of] and many hindrances find delays, the temple was at length finished, in the sixth pear of Darius, and was dedicated with much pomp and rejoicing. [Temple] The only other works of Zerubbabel of which we learn from Scripture are the restoration of the courses of priests and Levites and of the provision for their maintenance, according to the institution of David (Ezra 6:18; Nehemiah 12:47) the registering the returned captives according to their genealogies, (Nehemiah 7:5) and the keeping of a Passover in the seventh year of Darius, with which last event ends all that we know of the life of Zerubbabel, His apocryphal history is told in 1 Esdr. 3-7. The exact parentage of Zerubbabel is a little obscure, from his being always called the son of Shealtiel, (Ezra 3:2,8; 5:2) etc.; (Haggai 1:1,12,14) etc., end appearing as such in the genealogies of Christ (Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27) whereas in (1 Chronicles 3:19) he is represented as the son of Pedaiah, Shealtiel or Salathiel's brother, and consequently as Salathiel's nephew. Zerubbabel was the legal successor and heir of Jeconiah's royal estate, the grandson of Neri and the lineal descendant of Nathan the son of David. In the New Testament the name appears in the Greek form of Zorobabel.

 

 
Zeruiah

(balsam), the mother of the three leading heroes of David's army - Abishai, Joah and Asahel - known as the "sons of Zeruiah." Of Zeruiah's husband there is no mention in the Bible. (B.C. before 1046.)

 

 
Zetham

(olive), the son of Laadan, a Gershonite Levite. (1 Chronicles 23:8) (B.C. 1043.)

 

 
Zethan

(olive), a Benjamite of the sons of Bilhan. (1 Chronicles 7:10) (B.C. probably 1014.)

 

 
Zethar

(star), one of the seven eunuchs of Ahasuerus, (Esther 1:10) (B.C. 453.)

 

 
Zia

(motion), one of the Gadites who dwelt in Bashan. (1 Chronicles 5:13) (B.C. 1014.)

 

 
Ziba

(statue), a servant of Saul whom David made steward of Saul's son Mephibosheth. (2 Samuel 9:2-18; 16:1-4; 19:17,29) [Mephibosheth] (B.C. 1023.)

 

 
Zibeon

(robber), father of Anah, whose daughter Aholibamah was Esau's wife. (Genesis 36:2) (B.C. 1797.) Although called a Hivite, he is probably the same as Zibeon the son of Seir the Horite. (Genesis 36:20,24,29; 1 Chronicles 1:38,40)

 

 
Zibia

(roe), a Benjamite, apparently the son of Shaharaim by his wife Hodesh. (1 Chronicles 8:9) (B.C. 1440.)

 

 
Zibiah

(roe), a native of Beersheba and mother of King Joash. (2 Kings 12:1; 2 Chronicles 24:1) (B.C. 876)

 

 
Zichri

(memorable).

 

 
Ziddim

(the declivities), a fortified town in the allotment of Naphtali, (Joshua 10:35)

 

 
Zidkijah

(justice of Jehovah) a priest or family of priests who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:1) (B.C. 410.)

 

 
Zidon, Or Sidon

(Genesis 10:15,19; Joshua 11:8; 19:28; Judges 1:31; 18:28; Isaiah 23:2,4,12; Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3; Ezekiel 28:21,22; Joel 3:4) (Joel 4:4); Zech 9:2; Matt 11:21,22; 15:21; Mark 3:8; 1:24,31; Luke 6:17; 10:13,14 An ancient and wealthy city of Phoenicia, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, less than twenty English miles to the north of Tyre. Its Hebrew name, Tsidon, signifies fishing or fishery . Its modern name is Saida . It is situated in the narrow plain between the Lebanon and the sea. From a biblical point of view this city is inferior in interest to its neighbor Tyre; though in early times Sidon was the more influential of the two cities. This view is confirmed by Zidonians being used as the generic name of Phoenicians or Canaanites. (Joshua 13:6; Judges 18:7) From the time of Solomon to the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar Zidon is not often directly mentioned in the Bible, and it appears to have been subordinate to Tyre. When the people called "Zidonians" are mentioned, it sometimes seems that the Phoenicians of the plain of Zidon are meant. (1 Kings 5:6; 11:1,5,33; 16:31; 2 Kings 23:13) All that is known are respecting the city is very scanty, amounting to scarcely more than that one of its sources of gain was trade in slaves, in which the inhabitants did not shrink from selling inhabitants of Palestine and that it was governed by kings. (Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3) During the Persian domination Zidon seems to have attained its highest point of prosperity; and it is recorded that, toward the close of that period, it far excelled all other Phoenician cities in wealth and importance. Its prosperity was suddenly cut short by an unsuccessful revolt against Persia, which ended in the destruction of the town, B.C. 351. Its king, Tennes had proved a traitor and betrayed the city to Ochus, king of the Persians; the Persian troops were admitted within the gates, and occupied the city walls. The Zidonians, before the arrival of Ochus, had burnt their vessels to prevent any one's leaving the town; and when they saw themselves surrounded by the Persian troops, they adopted the desperate resolution of shutting themselves up with their families, and setting fire each man to his own house. Forty thousand persons are said to have perished in the flames. Zidon however, gradually recovered from the blow, and became again a flourishing town. It is about fifty miles distant from Nazareth, and is the most northern city which is mentioned in connection with Christ's journeys. (The town Saida still shows signs of its former wealth, and its houses are better constructed and more solid than those of Tyre, many of them being built of stone; but it is a poor, miserable place, without trade or manufactures worthy of the name. The city that once divided with Tyre the empire of the seas is now almost without a vessel. Silk and fruit are its staple products. Its population is estimated at 10,000, 7000 of whom are Moslems, and the rest Catholics, Maronites and Protestants. - McClintock and Strong's Cyclopaedia. There is a flourishing Protestant mission here. - ED.)

 

 
Zidonians

the inhabitants of Zidon. They were among the nations of Canaan; left to give the Israelites practice in the art of war, (Judges 3:3) and colonies of them appear to have spread up into the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephothmaim, (Joshua 13:4,6) whence in later times they hewed cedar trees for David and Solomon. (1 Chronicles 22:4) They oppressed the Israelites on their first entrance into the country, (Judges 10:12) and appear to have lived a luxurious, reckless life. (Judges 18:7) They were skillful in hewing timber, (1 Kings 5:8) and were employed for this purpose by Solomon. They were idolaters, and worshipped Ashtoreth as their tutelary goddess, (1 Kings 11:5,33; 2 Kings 23:13) as well as the sun-god Baal from whom their king was named. (1 Kings 16:31)

 

 
Zif

(1 Kings 6:1) [Month]

 

 
Ziha

(parched).

  • The children of Ziha were a family of Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:43; Nehemiah 7:46) (B.C. 536.)

  • Chief of the Nethinim in Ophel. (Nehemiah 11:21) The name is probably identical with the preceding.

 

 
Ziklag

(winding), a place which possesses a special interest from its having been the residence and the private property of David. It is first mentioned in the catalogue of the towns of Judah in (Joshua 15:31) and occurs, in the same connection among the places which were allotted out of the territory of Judah to Simeon. (Joshua 19:5) We next encounter it in the possession of the Philistines (1 Samuel 27:6) when it was, at David's request, bestowed upon him by Achish king of Gath. He resided there for a year and four months. (1 Samuel 27:6,7; 30:14,26; 1 Chronicles 12:1,20) It was there he received the news of Saul's death. (2 Samuel 1:1; 4:10) He then relinquished it for Hebron. (2 Samuel 2:1) Ziklag is finally mentioned as being reinhabited by the people of Judah after their return from captivity. (Nehemiah 11:28) The situation of the town is difficult to determine, and we only know for certain that it was in the south country.

 

 
Zillah

(shade). [Lamech]

 

 
Zilpah

(a trickling), a Syrian given by Laban to his daughter Leah as an attendant, (Genesis 29:24) and by Leah to Jacob as a concubine. She was the mother of Gad and Asher. (Genesis 30:9-13; 35:26; 37:2; 46:18) (B.C. 1753.)

 

 
Zilthai

(shady).

 

 
Zimmah

(purpose).

  • A Gershonite Levite, son of Jahath. (1 Chronicles 6:20) (B.C. after 1706.)

  • Another Gershonite, son of Shimei, (1 Chronicles 6:42) possibly the same as the preceding.

  • Father of ancestor of Joab, a Gershonite in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 29:12) (B.C. before 726.) At a much earlier period we find the same collocation of names, Zimmah and Joah as father and son. (1 Chronicles 6:20)

 

 
Zimran

(celebrated), the eldest son of Keturah. (Genesis 25:2; 1 Chronicles 1:32) His descendants are not mentioned, nor is any hint given that he was the founder of a tribe. (B.C. 1855.)

 

 
Zimri

  • The son of Salu, a Simeonite chieftain, slain by Phinehas with the Midianitish princess Cozbi. (Numbers 25:14). (B.C. 1450.)

  • Fifth sovereign of the separate kingdom of Israel, of which he occupied the throne for the brief period of seven days, B.C. 930 or 929. Originally in command of half the chariots in the royal army, he gained the crown by the murder of King Elah; son of Baasha. But the army made their general, Omri, king, who marched against Tirzah, where Zimri was. Zimri retreated into the innermost part of the late king's palace, set it on fire, and perished in the ruins. (1 Kings 16:9-20)

  • One of the five sons of Zerah the son of Judah. (1 Chronicles 2:6) (B.C. after 1706.)

  • Son of Jehoadah and descendant of Saul. (1 Chronicles 8:36; 9:42)

  • An obscure name, mentioned (Jeremiah 25:25) in probable connection with Dedan, Tema, Buz, Arabia, the "mingled people." Nothing further is known respecting Zimri, but the name may possibly be the same as, or derived from, Zimran, which see.

 

 
Zin

(flat), the name given to a portion of the desert tract between the Dead Sea, Ghor, and Arabah on the east, and the general plateau of the Tih which stretches westward. The country in question consists of two or three successive terraces of mountain converging to an acute single at the Dead Sea's southern verge, toward which also they slope. Kadesh lay in it, and here also Idumea was conterminous with Judah; since Kadesh was a city in the border of Edom. [See Kadesh, Kadeshbarnea]. (Numbers 13:21; 20:1; 27:14; 33:36; 34:3; Joshua 15:1)

 

 
Zina

(abundance); Zizah, the second son of Shimei the Gershonite. (1 Chronicles 23:10) comp. 1Chr 23:11

 

 
Zion

[Jerusalem]

 

 
Zior

(smallness), a town in the mountain district of Judah. (Joshua 15:54) It belongs to the same group with Hebron.

 

 
Ziph

(battlement), the name of two towns in Judah.

  • In the south, named between Ithnan and Telem. (Joshua 15:24) It does not appear again in the history, nor has any trace of has been met with.

  • In the highland district, named between Carmel and Juttah. (Joshua 15:55) The place is immortalized by its connection with David. (1 Samuel 23:14,15,24; 26:2) These passages show that at that time it had near it a wilderness (i,e, a waste pasture-ground) and a wood. The latter has disappeared but the former remains. The name of Zif if, found about three miles south of Hebron, attached to a rounded hill of some 100 feet in height, which is called Tell Zif .

  • Son of Jehaleleel. (1 Chronicles 4:16)

 

 
Ziphah

(feminine of Ziph), another son of Jehaleleel. (1 Chronicles 4:16)

 

 
Ziphim, The

the inhabitants of Ziph, 2. In this form the name is found in the Authorized Version only in the title of (Psalms 54:1) In the narrative it occurs in the more usual form of ZIPHITES. (1 Samuel 23:19; 26:1)

 

 
Ziphion

son of Gad (Genesis 46:18) elsewhere called Zephon.

 

 
Ziphran

(fragrance), appoint in the north boundary of the promised land as specified by Moses. (Numbers 34:9)

 

 
Zippor

(sparrow), father of Balak king of Moab. (Numbers 22:2,4,10,16; 23:18; Joshua 24:9; Judges 11:25) Whether he was the "former king of Moab" alluded to in (Numbers 21:26) we are not told. (B.C. 1451.)

 

 
Zipporah, Or Zipporah

daughter of Reuel or Jethro, the priest of Midian, wife of Moses and mother of his two sons Gershom and Eliezer. (Exodus 2:21; 4:25; 18:2) comp. Exod 18:6 (B.C. 1530.) The only incident recorded in her life is that of the circumcision of Gershom. (Exodus 4:24-28)

 

 
Zithri

(protection of Jehovah), properly Sithri; one of the sons of Uzziel the son of Kohath. (Exodus 6:22) In (Exodus 6:21) Zithri should be Zichri, as in Authorized Version of 1611.

 

 
Ziz

(the projection), The cliff of, the pass by which the horde of Moabites, Ammonites and Mehunim made their way up from the shores of the Dead Sea to the wilderness of Judah near Tekoa. (2 Chronicles 20:16) only; comp. 2Chr 20:20 It was the pass of Ain Jidy - the very same route which is taken by the Arabs in their marauding expeditions at the present day.

 

 
Ziza

(shining).

  • Son of Shiphi, a chief of the Simeonites in the reign of Hezekiah. (1 Chronicles 4:37) (B.C. about 725.)

  • Son of Rehoboam by Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom. (2 Chronicles 11:20) (B.C. after 973.)

 

 
Zizah

a Gershonite Levite, second son of Shimei, (1 Chronicles 23:11) called Zina in ver. (1 Chronicles 23:10)

 

 
Zoan

(place of departure), an ancient city of lower Egypt, called Tanis by the Greeks. It stood on the eastern bank of the Tanitic branch of the Nile. Its name indicates a place of departure from a country, and hence it has been identified with Avaris (Tanis, the modern San), the capital of the Shepherd dynasty in Egypt, built seven years after Hebron and existing before the time of Abraham. It was taken by the Shepherd kings in their invasion of Egypt, and by them rebuilt, and garrisoned, according to Manetho, with 240,000 men. This cite is mentioned in connection with the plagues in such a manner as to leave no doubt that it is the city spoken of in the narrative in Exodus as that where Pharaoh dwelt, (Psalms 78:42,43) and where Moses wrought his wonders on the field of Zoan a rich plain extending thirty miles toward the east. Tanis gave its name to the twenty-first and twenty-third dynasties and hence its mention in Isaiah. (Isaiah 19:13; 30:4) (The present "field of Zoan" is a barren waste, very thinly inhabited. "One of the principal capitals of Pharaoh is now the habitation of fishermen the resort of wild beasts, and infested with reptiles and malignant fevers." There have been discovered a great number of monuments here which throw light upon the Bible history. Brugsch refers to two statues of colossal size of Mermesha of the thirteenth dynasty, wonderfully perfect in the execution of the individual parts and says that memorials of Rameses the Great lie scattered broadcast like the mouldering bones of generations slain long ago. The area of the sacred enclosure of the temple is 1500 feet by 1250.-ED.)

 

 
Zoar

(smallness), one of the most ancient cities of the land of Canaan. Its original name was Bela. (Genesis 14:2,8) It was in intimate connection with the cities of the "plain of Jordan" - Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, See also (Genesis 13:10) but not Genesis10:19 In the general destruction of the cities of the plain Zoar was spared to afford shelter to Lot. (Genesis 19:22,23,30) It is mentioned in the account of the death of Moses as one (of the landmarks which bounded his view from Pisgah, (34:3) and it appears to have been known in the time both of Isaiah, (Isaiah 15:5) and Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 48:34) These are all the notices of Zoar contained in the Bible. It was situated in the same district with the four cities already mentioned, viz. in the "plain" or "circle" of the Jordan, and the narrative of (Genesis 19:1)... evidently implies that it was very near to Sodom. vs. (Genesis 19:15; 23:27) The definite position of Sodom is, and probably will always be, a mystery; but there can be little doubt that the plain of the Jordan was at the north side of the Dead Sea and that the cities of the plain must therefore have been situated there instead of at the southern end of the lake, as it is generally taken for granted they were. [Sodom] (But the great majority of scholars from Josephus and Eusebius to the present of the Dead Sea.)

 

 
Zoba, Or Zobah

(station), the name of a portion of Syria which formed a separate kingdom in the time of the Jewish monarchs Saul, David and Solomon. It probably was eastward of Coele-Syria, and extended thence northeast and east toward, if not even to, the Euphrates. We first hear of Zobah in the time of Saul, when we find it mentioned as a separate country, governed apparently by a number of kings who owned no common head or chief. (1 Samuel 14:47) Some forty years later than this we find Zobah under a single ruler Hadadezer son of Rehob. He had wars with Toi king of Hamath, (2 Samuel 8:10) and held various petty Syrian princes as vassals under his yoke. (2 Samuel 10:19) David, (2 Samuel 8:3) attacked Hadadezer in the early part of his reign, defeated his army, and took from him a thousand chariots, seven hundred (seven thousand,) (1 Chronicles 18:4) horsemen and 20,000 footmen. Hadadezer's allies, the Syrians of Damascus, were defeated in a great battle. The wealth of Zobah is very apparent in the narrative of this campaign. A man of Zobah, Rezon son of Eliadah, made himself master of Damascus where he proved a fierce adversary to Israel all through the reign of Solomon. (1 Kings 11:23-25) Solomon also was, it would seem engaged in a war with Zobah itself. (2 Chronicles 8:3) This is the last that we hear of Zobah in Scripture. The name however, is found at a later date in the inscriptions of Assyria, where the kingdom of Zobah seems to intervene between Hamath and Damascus.

 

 
Zobebah

(the slow), son of Coz, of the tribe of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:8)

 

 
Zohar

(light).

 

 
Zoheleth

(serpent), The stone, This was "by En-rogel," (1 Kings 1:9) and therefore, if En-rogel be the modern Um-ed-Deraj, this stone, "where Adonijah slew sheep and oxen," was in all likelihood not far from the well of the Virgin.

 

 
Zoheth

son of Ishi of the tribe of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:20)

 

 
Zophah

(a cruse) son of Helem or Hotham the son of Heber, an Asherite. (1 Chronicles 7:35,36)

 

 
Zophai

(descended from Zuph), a Kohathite Levite, son of Elkanah and ancestor of Samuel. (2 Chronicles 6:26) (11). In ver. 35 he is called Zuph.

 

 
Zophar

(sparrow), one of the three friends of Job. (Job 2:11; 11:1; 20:1; 42:9)

 

 
Zophim

(watchers), The field of, a spot on or near the top of Pisgah, from which Balaam had his second view of the encampment of Israel. (Numbers 23:14) The position of the field of Zophim is not defined. Possibly it is the same place which later in the history is mentioned as Mizpah-moab.

 

 
Zorah

(hornet), a town in the allotment of the tribe of Dan, (Joshua 19:41) It is previously mentioned ch. (Joshua 15:33) in the catalogue of Judah, among the places in the district of the Shefelah (Authorized Version "Zoreah"), It was the residence of Manoah and the native place of Samson. It is mentioned among the places fortified by Rehoboam. (2 Chronicles 11:10) It is perhaps identical with the modern village of Sur'ah .

 

 
Zorathites, The

i.e. the people of Zorah, mentioned in (1 Chronicles 4:2) as descended from Shobal.

 

 
Zoreah

[Zorah]

 

 
Zorites, The

are named in the genealogies of Judah, (1 Chronicles 2:54) apparently among the descendants of Salma and near connections of Joab.

 

 
Zorobabel

(Matthew 1:12,13; Luke 3:27) [Zerubbabel]

 

 
Zuar

(littleness), father of Nethaneel the chief of the tribe of Issachar at the time of the exodus. (Numbers 1:8; 2:5; 7:18,23; 10:15) (B.C. 2491.)

 

 
Zuph

a Kohathite Levite, ancestor of Elkanah and Samuel. (1 Samuel 1:1; 1 Chronicles 6:35) In (1 Chronicles 6:26) he is called Zophai.

(honeycomb), The land of, a district at which Saul and his servant arrived after passing through the possessions of Shalisha, of Shalim and of the Benjamites. (1 Samuel 9:5) only. It evidently contained the city in which they encountered Samuel, ver. 6, and that again was certainly not far from the "tomb of Rachel." It may perhaps be identified with Soba, a well-known place about seven miles due west of Jerusalem.

 

 
Zur

(a rock).

 

 
Zuriel

(my rock is God) son of Abihail, and chief of the Merarite Levites at the time of the exodus. (Numbers 3:35)

 

 
Zurishaddai

(my rock is the Almighty), father of Shelumiel, the chief of the tribe of Simeon at the time of the exodus. (Numbers 1:6; 2:12; 7:36,41; 10:19)

 

 
Zuzim, The

An ancient people who, lying in the path of Chedorlaomer and his allies, were attacked and overthrown by them. (Genesis 14:5) The Zuzim perhaps inhabited the country of the Ammonites, who were identical with the Zamzummim, who are known to have ben exterminated and succeeded in their land by the Ammonites [Zamzummim].

 



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