Greek word · G4558
Σάρεπτα
sarepta
Zarephath
Sarepta (Hebrew Tsarephath, modern Sarafand in Lebanon) was a Phoenician port town on the coast between Tyre and Sidon. 'Sidonia' means the territory of Sidon. Phoenicians were often called 'Sidonians' in general (1 Kings 16:31; Homer uses the same term).
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
Sarepta (Hebrew Tsarephath, modern Sarafand in Lebanon) was a Phoenician port town on the coast between Tyre and Sidon. 'Sidonia' means the territory of Sidon. Phoenicians were often called 'Sidonians' in general (1 Kings 16:31; Homer uses the same term).
- Against the English
English versions vary: 'Zarephath in Sidon' (BSB), 'Sarepta, [a city] of Sidon' (KJV, using the Greek form), 'in the land of Sidon' (WEB, ESV), 'in the region of Sidon' (NIV). They all agree that the place is outside Israel. That fact is the whole point.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Luke's phrase matches the Septuagint wording of 1 Kings 17:9 word for word: eis Sarepta tēs Sidōnias. Josephus describes Sarephtha as 'not far from Sidon and Tyre, for it lies between them' (Antiquities 8.320). He also cites the Phoenician historian Menander for a drought in the reign of Ithobalos (Ethbaal), Jezebel's father (Ant. 8.324). Excavations by J. B. Pritchard (1969–74) uncovered the Phoenician town.
Where it appears
Luke · 1
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Luke 4:26 Σάρεπτα Zarephath
Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon.
Here: The Greek spelling, taken from the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament), of Hebrew Tsarephath. This was a Phoenician coastal town between Tyre and Sidon, outside Israel.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.