Hebrew word · H2130

זִיפִי

zifim

Ziphite

A name meaning 'person from Ziph'. Ziph was a town in the hill country of Judah (Josh 15:55, listed with Maon and Carmel). It is usually identified with Tell Zif, about 7 km (4–5 miles) south-east of Hebron, on the edge where farmland gives way to the eastern desert.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Group of ziph (זִיף "Ziph" H2128H)

§ Ziphites = "smelters"

an inhabitant of Ziph

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Samuel 23:19

Range of meaning

A name meaning 'person from Ziph'. Ziph was a town in the hill country of Judah (Josh 15:55, listed with Maon and Carmel). It is usually identified with Tell Zif, about 7 km (4–5 miles) south-east of Hebron, on the edge where farmland gives way to the eastern desert. The 'wilderness of Ziph' (23:14–15) is the rough grazing land east of the town.

Against the English

English versions all simply say 'Ziphites'. That is accurate, but it gives no hint that these men are Judahites, David's own tribe. A modern reader can easily assume they are foreigners or enemies.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ziph is named in Joshua's town list for Judah and among towns Rehoboam fortified (2 Chr 11:8). The name zyp appears on the 'lmlk' ("belonging to the king") stamped storage-jar handles from the late 8th century BC, which shows it remained an important Judahite administrative centre. The title of Psalm 54 quotes this verse: 'when the Ziphites went and said to Saul, "Is not David hiding among us?"'

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 23:19 זִפִים֙ Ziphites

    Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon?

    Here: People of Ziph, a town of Judah south-east of Hebron. Notably they are of David's own tribe, so this is betrayal by his own people. With no article, the phrase sounds like 'some Ziphites', a delegation rather than the whole town.

  2. 1 Samuel 26:1 הַזִּפִים֙ the Ziphites

    Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?”

Psalms · 1

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.