Hebrew word · H6886

צָֽרְפַת

tzarefat

Zarephath

A place name. The town is Phoenician Sarepta, modern Sarafand on the Lebanese coast, about 13 km (8 miles) south of Sidon and about 20 km north of Tyre. The name is usually connected with the root ts-r-p, 'to smelt, refine', so it may mean something like 'smelting place' or 'refinery'.

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

What it means

Zarephath = "refinery"

a city on the coast south of Sidon and the residence of Elijah during the last part of the drought; modern 'Sura-fend'

Also named: Sarepta (Σάρεπτα "Zarephath" G4558)

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 Kings 17:9

Range of meaning

A place name. The town is Phoenician Sarepta, modern Sarafand on the Lebanese coast, about 13 km (8 miles) south of Sidon and about 20 km north of Tyre. The name is usually connected with the root ts-r-p, 'to smelt, refine', so it may mean something like 'smelting place' or 'refinery'. That link comes from the root and is not certain.

Against the English

English versions simply write 'Zarephath'. Most readers do not know it lay outside Israel, in the heartland of Baal worship.

Used elsewhere in the period

Named in Egyptian texts (Papyrus Anastasi I) and in Sennacherib's annals among the cities of Sidon. In the Bible it appears again only in Obadiah 20, as a far northern limit, and in Luke 4:26 ('Sarepta of Sidon'). Excavations by J. B. Pritchard (1969–74) uncovered an Iron Age port town with pottery kilns and a shrine. An inscription found there names the goddess Tanit-Ashtart.

From the study of 1 Kings 17:10

Range of meaning

A place name: a Phoenician coastal town about 13 km south of Sidon, between Sidon and Tyre (modern Sarafand, Lebanon). The name is commonly linked to the root ṣ-r-p, "to smelt, refine", i.e. "smelting place". That etymology is plausible but not certain.

Against the English

English versions transliterate it as "Zarephath". The New Testament form "Sarepta" (Luke 4:26) comes from the Greek Septuagint.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mentioned in Obad 20 and Luke 4:26. Assyrian records list it among Sidon's towns. James Pritchard's excavations (1969–74) uncovered pottery and dye workshops and a shrine with an ivory plaque inscribed to Tanit-Ashtart. It was a working Phoenician town with Phoenician gods.

Where it appears

1 Kings · 2

  1. 1 Kings 17:9 צָרְפַ֙תָה֙ Zarephath towards

    “Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

    Here: The name with a Hebrew ending that means 'toward': 'Zarephath-ward'. This was a Phoenician coastal town between Tyre and Sidon, in foreign territory outside Israel.

  2. 1 Kings 17:10 צָרְפַ֗תָה Zarephath towards

    So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.”

    Here: The ending -āh means "toward". Zarephath was a Phoenician coastal town "belonging to Sidon" (v.9), the home kingdom of Jezebel's father. Elijah is sent out of Israel into the heartland of Baal worship.

Obadiah · 1

  1. Obadiah 1:20 צָ֣רְפַ֔ת Zarephath

    And the exiles of this host of the Israelites will possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath; and the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the cities of the Negev.

    Here: A Phoenician town on the coast between Tyre and Sidon (the town of Elijah and the widow, 1 Kings 17:9). It marks the far northern edge of the coastland.

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