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Zaanaim – Zeruah
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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. () 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. (; )
Zabad
(gift).
1. Son of Nathan son of Attai, son of Ahlai Sheshan’s daughter, () and hence called son of Ahlai. () (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.
2. An Ephraimite, if the text of () Isa correct.
3. Son of Shimeath, an Ammonitess; an assassin who, with Jehozabad, slew King Joash, according to () (B.C. 840); but in () his name is written, probably more correctly, JOZACHAR.
4. A layman of Israel, of the sons of Zattu, who put away his foreign wife at Ezra’s command. () (B.C. 458.)
5. One of the descendants of Hashum who had married a foreign wife after the captivity. () (B.C. 458.)
6. One of the sons of Nebo whose name is mentioned under the same circumstances as the two preceding. ()
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).
1. One of the descendants of Bebai who had married a foreign wife in the days of Ezra. () (B.C. 458.)
2. Father of Baruch who assisted Nehemiah in rebuilding the city wall. () (B.C. before 446.)
Zabbud
(given) one of the sons of Bigvai, who returned in the second caravan with Ezra. () (B.C. 459.)
Zabdi
(my gift).
1. Son of Zerah the son of Judah, and ancestor of Achan. (,,) (B.C. before 1480.)
2. A Benjamite, of the sons of Shimhi. () (B.C. about 1442.)
3. David’s officer over the produce of the vineyards for the wine-cellars. () (B.C. 1043.)
4. Son of Asaph the minstrel, () called ZACCUR in () and ZICHRI in () (B.C. before 446.)
Zabdiel
(gift of God).
1. Father of Jashobeam, a chief of David’s guard. () (B.C. before 1046.)
2. A priest, son of the great men or as the margin gives it, "Haggedolim." () (B.C. 459.)
Zabud
(given), son of Nathan, () 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. (; ; ) (B.C. 1012.)
Zabulon
the Greek form of the name Zebulun. (; ; )
Zaccai
(pure). The sons of Zaccai to the number of 760, returned with Zerrubbabel. (; ) (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. () 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. ()
Zaccur
(mindful).
1. Father of Shammua, the Reubenite spy. () (B.C. 1451.)
2. A Merarite Levite, son of Jaaziah. ()
3. Son of Asaph the singer. (,; )
4. The son of Imri who assisted Nehemiah in rebuilding the city wall. () (B.C. 446.)
5. A Levite, or family of Levites, who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. () (B.C. 410.)
6. A Levite whose son or descendant Hanan was one of the treasurers over the treasuries appointed by Nehemiah. ()
Zachariah
(remembered by Jehovah), or properly Zechariah.
1. 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 () was accomplished,
2. The father of Abi or Abijah, Hezekiah’s mother. ()
Zacharias
(Greek form of Zechariah).
1. Father of John the Baptist. () 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.
2. Son of Barachias, who, our Lord says, was slain by the Jews between the altar and the temple. (; 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, (,) 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. () (B.C. about 1450.)
Zadok
(just).
1. 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, () and eleventh in descent from Aaron. () He joined David at Hebron after Saul’s death, () 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. () 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. () 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. (,) From this time, however, we hear little of him. Zadok and Abiathar were of nearly equal dignity. (,; ) The duties of the office were divided, Zadok ministered before the tabernacle at Gibeon, () Abiathar had the care of the ark at Jerusalem.
2. According to the genealogy of the high priests in () 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.
3. Father of Jerushah, the wife of King Uzziah and mother of King Jotham. (; )
4. Son of Baana, and 5. Son of Immer, persons who repaired a portion of the wall in Nehemiah’s time. (,)
5. In () and 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. ()
Zair
(small), a place named in () 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. ()
Zalmon
(shady), an Ahohite one of David’s guard. ()
Zalmon, Mount
a wooded eminence in the immediate neighborhood of Shechem. () The name of Dalmanutha has been supposed to be a corruption of that of Zalmon.
Zalmonah
(shady), a desert station of the Israelites, () lies on the east side of Edom.
Zalmunna
[ZEBAH]
Zamzummim
() 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).
1. A town of Judah in the Shefelah or plain, (; ; ) possibly identical with Zanu’a .
2. A town of Judah in the highland district, (Joshua 15:66) not improbably identical with Sanute , about 10 miles south of Hebron.
3. In the genealogical lists of the tribe of Judah in 1 Chron., Jekuthiel is said to have been the father of Zanoah. ch. () 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. () 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. ()
Zara, Or Zarah
the son of Judah. ()
Zarah, Or Zerah
the son of Judah. (; )
Zareah
the same as Zorah and Zoreah. ()
Zareathites, The
the inhabitants of Zareah or Zorah. ()
Zared, The Valley Of
[ZERED]
Zarephath
(smelting place), the residence of the prophet Elijah during the latter part of the drought. (,) 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. ()
Zaretan, Or Zarthan
()
Zarethshahar
(splendor of the dawn), a place mentioned only in () 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. (,; ; ,)
Zartanah
() [ZARETAN, OR ZARTHAN, ZARTHAN]
Zarthan
1. A place in the circle of Jordan, mentioned in connection with Succoth. ()
2. 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.
3. A place with the similar name of Zartanah. ()
4. Further, Zeredathah, named in () 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. () 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. (; )
Zavan
() [ZAAVAN, OR ZAVAN]
Zaza
one of the sons of Jonathan, a descendant of Jerahmeel. ()
Zebadiah
1. A Benjamite of the sons of Beriah. ()
2. A Benjamite of the sons of Elpaal. ()
3. One of the sons of Jeroham of Gedor. ()
4. Son of Asahel, the brother of Joab. ()
5. Son of Michael, of the sons of Shephatiah. ()
6. A priest Of the sons of Immer, who had married a foreign wife after the return from Babylon. ()
7. Third son of Meshelemiah the Korhite. ()
8. A Levite in the reign of Jehoshaphat. ()
9. The son of Ishmael and prince of the house of Judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat. ()
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. (; ) (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. (; )
Zebedee
(my gift) (Greek form of Zabdi) a fisherman of Galilee, the father of the apostles James the Great and John () and the husband of Salome. (; ) He probably lived either at Bethsaida or in its immediate neighborhood. It has been inferred from the mention of his "hired servants," () and from the acquaintance between the apostle John and Annas the high priest, () that the family of Zebedee were in easy circumstances. comp. () although not above manual labor. () He appears only twice in the Gospel narrative, namely, in (,; ,) 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, ()
Zeboim
(gazelles).
1. One of the five cities of the "plain" or circle of Jordan. It is mentioned in (; ,; ; ) 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 (,) the name is given more correctly in the Authorized Version ZEBOIIM.
2. The valley of Zeboim, a ravine or gorge, apparently east of Michmash, mentioned only in () 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. () (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. (,,,) (B.C. 1209.)
Zebulonite
a member of the tribe of Zebulun. (,) Applied only to Elon, the one judge produced by the tribe. (,)
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. (; ; ; ) His birth is mentioned in (,) 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.) () 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. ()
Zebulunites, The
the members of the tribe of Zebulun. () only.
Zechariah
1. 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, (; ) 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, () 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.
2. Son of Meshelemiah or Shelemiah a Korhite, and keeper of the north gate of the tabernacle of the congregation, () (B.C. 1043.)
3. One of the sons of Jehiel. ()
4. A Levite of the second order in the temple band as arranged by David, appointed to play "with psalteries on Alamoth." (,) (B.C. 1043.)
5. One of the princes of Judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat. () (B.C. 910.)
6. Son of the high priest Jehoiada, in the reign of Joash king of Judah () 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. () [ZACHARIAS, No. 2] (B.C. 838.)
7. A Kohathite Levite in the reign of Josiah. () (B.C. 628.)
8. The leader of the sons of Pharosh who returned with Ezra. () (B.C. 450.)
9. Son of Behai. ()
10. One of the chiefs of the people whom Ezra summoned in council at the river Ahava. () He stood at Ezra’s left hand when he expounded the law to the people. () (B.C. 459.)
11. One of the family of Elam who had married a foreign wife after the captivity. () (B.C.458.)
12. Ancestor of Athaiah or Uthai. ()
13. A Shilonite, descendant of Perez. ()
14. A priest, son of Pashur. ()
15. The representative of the priestly family of Iddo in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua. () (B.C. 536.) possibly the same as Zechariah the prophet, the son of Iddo.
16. One of the priests, son of Jonathan, who blew with the trumpets at the dedication of the city wall by Ezra and Nehemiah. (,) (B.C. 446.)
17. A chief of the Reubenites at the time of the captivity by Tiglath-pileser. () (B.C. 740.)
18. One of the priests who accompanied the ark from the house of Obed-edom. () (B.C. 1043.)
19. Son of Isshiah or Jesiah, a Kohathite Levite descended from Uzziel. () (B.C. 1043.)
20. Fourth son of Hosah of the children of Merari. ()
21. A Manassite. (,)
22. The father of Jahaziel. ()
23. One of the sons of Jehoshaphat. ()
24. A prophet in the reign of Uzziah who appears to have acted as the king’s counsellor, but of whom nothing is known. () (B.C. 807.)
25. The father of Abijah or Abi, Hezekiah’s mother. ()
26. One of the family of Asaph in the reign of Hezekiah. () (B.C. 727.)
27. One of the rulers of the temple in the reign of Josiah. () (B.C. 628.)
28. 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. () (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. () 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.
1. 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.
2. 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, () and as restored by Ezekiel. () 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).
1. The last king of Judah and Jerusalem. He was the son of Josiah by his wife Hamutal, and therefore own brother to Jehoahaz. () comp. 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 (; ) and, with some trifling variations in (; 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 () 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 (; ) and 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. () 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. () 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, () 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.
2. 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; 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.
3. The son of Maaseiah, a false prophet in Babylon. (,) 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.)
4. The son of Hananiah, one of the princes of Judah in the time of Jeremiah. () (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. (; ; ) 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, () contained the family tomb of Kish, the father of Saul. () [Perhaps the same as ZELZAH]
Zelok
(fissure), an Ammonite, one of David’s guard. (; )
Zelophehad
(first-born), son of Zepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh. () (B.C. before 1450.) He was apparently the second son of Hepher. () Zelophehad came out of Egypt with Moses, but died in the wilderness, as did the whole of that generation. (; ) 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. (; )
Zelotes
the epithet given to the apostle Simon to distinguish him from Simon Peter. () [CANAANITE, THE; SIMON, 5]
Zelzah
(shadow), a place named once only, () 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, () perhaps identical with Mount Zemaraim, mentioned in () only, which was "in Mount Ephraim," that is to say, within the general district of the highlands of that great tribe. ()
Zemarite, The
one of the Hamite tribes who in the genealogical table of () and 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. () (B.C. after 1706.)
Zenan
(pointed), a town in the allotment of Judah, situated in the district of the Shefelah. () It is probably identical with ZAANAN. ()
Zenas
a believer, and, as may be inferred from the context, a preacher of the gospel, who is mentioned in () 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).
1. The ninth in order of the twelve minor prophets. His pedigree is traced to his fourth ancestor, Hezekiah, () 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.
2. The son of Maaseiah, () and sagan or second priest in the reign of Zedekiah. (B.C. 588.) He succeeded Jehoida, (,) and was probably a ruler of the temple, whose office it was, among others, to punish pretenders to the gift of prophecy. () On the capture of Jerusalem he was taken and slain at Riblah. (,; ,)
3. Father of Josiah, 2, () and of Hen, according to the reading of the received text of ()
Zephath
(watch-tower), the earlier name, () 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. () only.
Zephi
() [ZEPHO]
Zepho
(watch-tower), son of Eliphaz, son of Esau, () and one of the "dukes" or phylarchs of the Edomites. ver. () In () he is called ZEPHI. (B.C. after 1760.)
Zephon
(watch), the son of Gad, () and ancestor of the family of the Zephonites. Called ZIPHION In () (B.C. 1706.)
Zer
(flint), a fortified town in the allotment of Naphtali, () only, probably in the neighborhood of the southwest side of the Lake of Gennesareth.
Zerah
(rising (of the sun)).
1. A son of Reuel, son of Esau, (; ) and one of the "dukes" or phylarchs of the Edomites. () (B.C. after 1760.)
2. Less properly, Zarah, twin son, with his elder brother Pharez, of Judah and Tamar. (; ; ) (B.C. about 1728.) His descendants were called Zarhites, Ezrahites and Izrahites. (; ; ,)
3. Son of Simeon, () called ZOHAR in () (B.C. 1706.)
4. A Gershonite Levite, son of Iddo or Adaiah. (,) (B.C. 1043.)
5. 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).
1. A priest, son of Uzzi and ancestor of Ezra the scribe. (,; )
2. Father of Elihoenai of the sons of Pahath-moab, whose descendants returned from the captivity with Ezra. ()
Zered
(osier brook), (2:13,14) or Za’red, () 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. () 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. (,; ) (B.C. 475.)
Zereth
(splendor), son of Ashur, the founder of Tekoa, by his wife Helah. () (B.C. 1440.)
Zeri
(built), one of the sons of Jeduthun in the reign of David. () (B.C. 1043.)
Zeror
(a bundle), a Benjamite, ancestor of Kish the father of Saul. () (B.C. about 1730.)
Zeruah
(full breasted), the mother of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. () (B.C. 973.)
William Smith, A Dictionary of the Bible (1884 edition). Public domain. Text from the CrossWire Bible Society.