Bible Encyclopedia: Zarephath

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ZAREPHATH

zar'-e-fath (tsarephath; Sarepta): The Sidonian town in which Elijah was entertained by a widow after he left the brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:9). Obadiah refers to it as a Canaanite (probably meaning Phoenicia) town (Obadiah 1:20). It appears in the Greek form Sarepta in Luke 4:26 (the King James Version), and is said to be in the land of Sidon. Josephus (Ant., VIII, xiii, 2) says it was not "far from Sidon and Tyre, for it lay between them." Eusebius, Onomasticon (s.v. "Sarefta"), places it on the public road, i.e. the road along the seashore. It can be no other than the modern Sarafend, about 13 miles North of Tyre, on the spur of the mountain which divides the plain of Tyre from that of Sidon.

The site of the ancient town is marked by the ruins on the shore to the South of the modern village, about 8 miles to the South of Sidon, which extend along the shore for a mile or more. They are in two distinct groups, one on a headland to the West of a fountain called Ain el-Qantara, which is not far from the shore. Here was the ancient harbor which still affords shelter for small craft. The other group of ruins is to the South, and consists of columns, sarcophagi and marble slabs, indicating a city of considerable importance. The modern village of Sarafend was built some time after the 12th century, since at the time of the Crusades the town was still on the shore.

It is conjectured that the Syrophoenician woman mentioned in Luke 4:26 was an inhabitant of Zarephath., and it is possible that our Lord visited the place in His journey to the region as narrated in Mark 7:24-31, for it is said that he "came through Sidon unto the sea of Galilee."

The place has been identified by some with Misrephoth-maim of Joshua 11:8 and 13:6, but the latter passage would indicate that Misrephoth-maim was at the limit of the territory of the Sidonians, which Zarephath was not in the days of Joshua.

See MISREPHOTH-MAIM; SIDON.

Originally Sidonian, the town passed to the Tyrians after the invasian of Shalmaneser IV, 722 B.C. It fell to Sennacherib 701 B.C. The Wely, or shrine bearing the name of el-Khudr, the saint in whom George is blended with Elijah, stands near the shore. Probably here the Crusaders erected a chapel on what they believed to be the site of the widow's house.

W. Ewing

Greek

4558. Sarepta -- Sarepta, a city near Sidon
... a city near Sidon. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: Sarepta Phonetic
Spelling: (sar'-ep-tah) Short Definition: Zarephath Definition: Zarephath, a ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4558.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

6886. Tsarephath -- "smelting place," a city South of Sidon
... Tsarephath. 6887 . "smelting place," a city South of Sidon. Transliteration:
Tsarephath Phonetic Spelling: (tsaq-ref-ath') Short Definition: Zarephath. ... Zarephath ...
/hebrew/6886.htm - 6k

Library

The Voice of Stern Rebuke
... "Arise," He bade him, "get thee to Zarephath, [known in New Testament times as Sarepta],
which belongeth to Zidon, and ... "So he arose and went to Zarephath. ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 10 the voice of.htm

Elijah and the Widow's Son.
... Climbing the wooded hills of Galilee, he started to go down the other side to the
town of Zarephath, by the seashore, where he would be out of King Ahab's ...
/.../anonymous/children of the old testament/elijah and the widows son.htm

Elijah Fed by Ravens.
... But after many days the brook dried up, and God told him to go to Zarephath, where
a widow would sustain him. So he arose and went to Zarephath. ...
/.../anonymous/mother stories from the old testament/elijah fed by ravens.htm

Elijah and the Widow's Son
... Then this message from Jehovah came to him, "Arise, go to Zarephath which
belongs to Sidon, and live there. I have commanded a widow ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/elijah and the widows son.htm

A Prophet's Strange Providers
... brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.8. And the word of the
Lord came unto him, saying, 9. Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/a prophets strange providers.htm

Elijah's Weakness, and Its Cube
... his 'young man,' as the original has it, whom Rabbinical tradition identified with
the miraculously resuscitated son of the widow of Zarephath, and supposed to ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/elijahs weakness and its cube.htm

The Prophecy of Obadiah.
... Ver.20. "And the exiles of this host of the children of Israel (shall possess) what
are Canaanites unto Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem that are in ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/the prophecy of obadiah.htm

The First Period. Ch. 4:14-44
... shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the
land; 26 and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, in the ...
/.../erdman/the gospel of luke an exposition/a the first period ch.htm

Elijah the Great Heart of Israel.
... [Illustration: Ravens bringing food to Elijah]. Then Elijah was told to go to Zarephath,
for a woman there had been told to feed him, and he went at once. ...
/.../lathbury/childs story of the bible/chapter xxvii elijah the great.htm

A visit to his Home.
... was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all
the land; and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, in the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/barton/his life/a visit to his home.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Zarephath

ambush of the mouth

Smith's Bible Dictionary

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)

ATS Bible Dictionary

Zarephath

Obadiah 1:20, a Phoenician seaport on the Mediterranean between Tyre and Zidon, usually subject to Tyre.

During a famine in Israel, the prophet Elijah resided here, with a widow whose cruse of oil and barrel of flour were supplied and whose child was restored to life by miracle. Her noble faith in God is worthy of everlasting remembrance; universal imitation, 1 Kings 17:9-24. The place was afterwards called by the Greeks Sarepta, Luke 4:26, and is now known as Sarafend, a large village on the hills adjoining the seacoast.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Smelting-shop, "a workshop for the refining and smelting of metals", a small Phoenician town, now Surafend, about a mile from the coast, almost midway on the road between Tyre and Sidon. Here Elijah sojourned with a poor widow during the "great famine," when the "heaven was shut up three years and six months" (Luke 4:26; 1 Kings 17:10). It is called Sarepta in the New Testament (Luke 4:26).

Thesaurus

Zarephath (4 Occurrences)
... It is called Sarepta in the New Testament (Luke 4:26). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
ZAREPHATH. ... W. Ewing. Multi-Version Concordance Zarephath (4 Occurrences) ...
/z/zarephath.htm - 11k

Zar'ephath (4 Occurrences)
... Zarephath, Zar'ephath. Zaretan . ... Luke 4:26 But Elijah was not sent to one of
them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ...
/z/zar'ephath.htm - 7k

Zarephat (1 Occurrence)
... Obadiah 1:20 The captives of this army of the children of Israel, who are among
the Canaanites, will possess even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem ...
/z/zarephat.htm - 6k

Sarepta (1 Occurrence)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary (Luke 4:26). See ZAREPHATH. Int. Standard Bible
Encyclopedia. SAREPTA. sa-rep'-ta (Sarepta): The name in ...
/s/sarepta.htm - 7k

Widow (71 Occurrences)
... Luke 4:26 Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon,
to a woman who was a widow. (WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). ...
/w/widow.htm - 31k

Sidon (35 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). Luke 4:26 Elijah was sent to none
of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ...
/s/sidon.htm - 25k

Elijah (104 Occurrences)
... When the brook dried up God sent him to the widow of Zarephath, a city of Zidon,
from whose scanty store he was supported for the space of two years. ...
/e/elijah.htm - 71k

Obadiah (21 Occurrences)
... persecution. He met Elijah on his return from Zarephath, and bore to Ahab
the news of Elijah's reappearance (1 Kings 18:3-16). (2 ...
/o/obadiah.htm - 32k

Sticks (25 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 17:10 So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of
the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks: and he called to her ...
/s/sticks.htm - 14k

Bible Concordance

Zarephath (4 Occurrences)

Luke 4:26 Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
(WEB WEY ASV BBE NAS NIV)

1 Kings 17:9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Kings 17:10 So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, "Please get me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Obadiah 1:20 The captives of this army of the children of Israel, who are among the Canaanites, will possess even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS NIV)

Subtopics

Zarephath

Zarephath: Called Sarepta (Av) In

Zarephath: Elijah Performs Two Miracles In

Related Terms

Zar'ephath (4 Occurrences)

Zarephat (1 Occurrence)

Sarepta (1 Occurrence)

Widow (71 Occurrences)

Sidon (35 Occurrences)

Elijah (104 Occurrences)

Obadiah (21 Occurrences)