Difference between revisions of "Zoar"

<p> [[Zoar]] ( ''Zô'Ar'' ), ''Smallness.'' &nbsp;Genesis 19:22-23; &nbsp;Genesis 19:30. One of the cities of Canaan. Its earlier name was Bela. &nbsp;Genesis 14:2; &nbsp;Genesis 14:8. In the general destruction of the cities of the plain, Zoar was spared to afford shelter to Lot. It was one of the landmarks which Moses saw from Pisgah, &nbsp;Deuteronomy 34:3, and it appears to have been known in the time of Isaiah, &nbsp;Isaiah 15:5, and Jeremiah. &nbsp;Jeremiah 48:34. It was situated in the same district with the four cities of the "plain" of the Jordan, and near to Sodom. &nbsp;Genesis 19:15; &nbsp;Genesis 19:23; &nbsp;Genesis 19:27. See Sodom. </p>

<p> (Heb. '''''צעִר''''' '','' [fully '''''צוֹעִר''''' , &nbsp;Genesis 19:22-23; &nbsp;Genesis 19:30], ''Smallness;'' Sept. '''''Σηγώρ''''' , '''''Ζογορ''''' , or '''''Ζόγορα''''' '; Josephus '''''᾿Ζοώρ''''' , '''''Τὰ''''' '''''Ζόαρα''''' or '''''Ζώαρα''''' ; Vulg. Segor), one of the cities of the Jordan and Dead-Sea valley, and apparently, from the way in which it is mentioned, the most distant from the western highlands of [[Palestine]] (&nbsp;Genesis 13:10). Its original name was BELA, and it was still so called at the time of Abram's first residence in [[Canaan]] (&nbsp;Genesis 14:2; &nbsp;Genesis 14:8). It was then in intimate connection with the cities of the "plain of Jordan" '''''—''''' Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim (see also &nbsp;Genesis 13:10; but not &nbsp;Genesis 10:19)- and its king took part with the kings of those towns in the battle with the [[Assyrian]] host which ended in their defeat and the capture of Lot. The change is thus, explained in the narrative of Lot's escape from Sodom. When urged by the angel to flee to the mountain, he pointed to Bela, and said, "This city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one ( '''''מצער''''' ) ''.'' Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not ''A Little One?'' ) and my soul shall live." The angel consented and the incident proved a new baptism to the place, "Therefore the name of the city was called [[Zoar]] ," that is, "little" (&nbsp;Genesis 5:22). </p> <p> This incident further tends to fix its site, at least relatively to Sodom. It must have been nearer than the mountains, and yet outside the boundary of the plain or vale of Siddim, which was destroyed during the conflagration. It would seem from &nbsp;Genesis 19:22-23; &nbsp;Genesis 30:30 that it lay at the foot of the mountain into, which Lot subsequently went up, and where he dwelt. That mountain was most probably the western declivity of Moab, overlooking the Dead Sea. [[In.]] &nbsp;Deuteronomy 34:3 there is another slight indication of the position of Zoar. From the top of [[Pisgah]] Moses obtained his view of the [[Promised]] Land. The east, the north, and the west he viewed, and- lastly "the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, into Zoar. This is not quite definite; but, considering the scope of the passage, it may be safely concluded that the general basin of the Dead Sea is meant, and that Zoar was near its southern end. Isaiah reckons Zoar amon </p>

<p> ''''' zō´ar ''''' ( צער , צוער , <i> ''''' cō‛ar ''''' </i> ; the [[Septuagint]] usually Σηγώρ , <i> ''''' Sēgṓr ''''' </i> , Ζόγορα , <i> ''''' Zógora ''''' </i> ): The name of the city to which Lot escaped from Sodom (&nbsp; Genesis 19:20-23 , &nbsp;Genesis 19:30 ), previously mentioned in &nbsp;Genesis 13:10; &nbsp;Genesis 14:2 , &nbsp;Genesis 14:8 , where its former name is said to have been Bela. In &nbsp;Genesis 19:22 , its name is said to have been given because of its littleness, which also seems to have accounted for its being spared. The location of Zoar has much to do with that of the cities of the Plain or Valley of Siddim, with which it is always connected. In &nbsp;Deuteronomy 34:3 , Moses is said to have viewed "the Plain of the valley of [[Jericho]] the city of palm trees, unto Zoar," while in &nbsp;Isaiah 15:5 and &nbsp; Jeremiah 48:4 (where the Septuagint reads unto "Zoar," instead of "her little ones") it is said to be a city of Moab. The traditional location of the place is at the south end of the Dead Sea. Josephus says ( <i> BJ </i> , IV, viii, 4) that the Dead Sea extended "as far as Zoar of Arabia," while in <i> Ant. </i> , I, xi, 4, he states that the place was still called Zoar. Eusebius ( <i> Onomasticon </i> , 261) locates the Dead Sea between Jericho and Zoar, and speaks of the remnants of the ancient fertility as still visible. [[Ptolemy]] (&nbsp;Jeremiah 48:17 , &nbsp;Jeremiah 48:5 ) regards it as belonging to [[Arabia]] Petrea. The [[Arabian]] geographers mention it under the name <i> ''''' Zughar ''''' </i> , <i> ''''' Sughar ''''' </i> , situated 1 degrees South of Jericho, in a hot and unhealthful valley at the end of the Dead Sea, and speak of it as an important station on the trade route between Akkabah and Jericho. The Crusaders mention "Segor" as situated in the midst of palm trees. The place has not been definitely identified by modern explorers, but from &nbsp;Genesis 19:19-30 we infer that it was in the plain and not in the mountain. If we fix upon the south end of the Dead Sea as the [[Vale]] of Siddim, a very natural place for Zoar and one which agrees with all the traditions would be at the base of the mountains of Moab, East of <i> ''''' Wâdy ''''' </i> <i> ''''' Ghurundel ''''' </i> , where there is still a well-watered oasis several miles long and 2 or 3 wide, which is probably but a remnant of a fertile plain once extending out over a considerable portion of the shallow south end of the Dead Sea when, as shown elsewhere (see [[Dead Sea]] ), the water level was considerably lower than now. </p> <p> Robinson would locate it on the northeast corner of <i> ''''' el ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' Lisân ''''' </i> on the borders of the river Kerak, but this was done entirely on theoretical grounds which would be met as well in the place just indicated, and which is generally fixed upon by the writers who regard the Vale of [[Siddim]] as at the south end of the Dead Sea. Conder, who vigorously maintains that the Vale of Siddim is at the north end of the Dead Sea, looks favorably upon theory of W.H. Birch that the place is represented by the present <i> ''''' Tell ''''' </i> <i> ''''' Shaghur ''''' </i> , a white rocky mound at the foot of the [[Moab]] Mountains, a mile East of <i> ''''' [[Beth]] ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' haram ''''' </i> ( <i> ''''' Tell ''''' </i> <i> ''''' er ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' Râmeh ''''' </i> ), 7 miles Northeast of the mouth of the Jordan, a locality remarkable for its stone monuments and well-supplied springs, but he acknowledges that the name is more like the [[Christian]] Segor than the original Zoar. </p>