Hebrew word · H6762

צֵלַע

vetzela'

Zela

A place name, Zela (Zelah), a town of Benjamin (Josh 18:28). The same consonants make the ordinary noun ṣelaʿ, 'rib, side, slope of a hill' (Gen 2:21–22).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Zelah = "a rib"

a city in Benjamin containing the family burial place of Saul

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 2 Samuel 21:14

Range of meaning

A place name, Zela (Zelah), a town of Benjamin (Josh 18:28). The same consonants make the ordinary noun ṣelaʿ, 'rib, side, slope of a hill' (Gen 2:21–22).

Against the English

English versions transliterate it as a place name, Zela or Zelah. The Greek and Latin versions took it as 'side'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josh 18:28 lists 'Zela, Haeleph' (some read this as one name, 'Zela-haeleph') among Benjamin's towns near Jerusalem and Gibeah. The site has not been securely identified.

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 18:28 וְצֵלַ֡ע and Zelah

    Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.

    Here: A town whose name means 'rib' or 'side' (perhaps of a hill). This is where Saul and Jonathan were later reburied in the tomb of Saul's father Kish (2 Samuel 21:14). Where it stood is unknown.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 21:14 בְּצֵלָ֗ע at Zela

    And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded, God answered their prayers for the land.

    Here: A Benjaminite town listed in Joshua 18:28. Where it was is unknown. The same letters spell the ordinary word for 'rib' or 'side', and the Greek translators read it that way.

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