Zoara

Zoara, called Zoar/Tzoar^[1]^[a] or Bela^[b] in the Hebrew Bible,^[2] Segor^[c] in the Septuagint, and Zughar^[d] by medieval Arabs,^[3] was an ancient city located in the Dead Sea basin in the Transjordan.^[4]

Biblical Zoar is described in Genesis as one of the five "cities of the plain"^[5] – a pentapolis at the time of Abram/Abraham (see Patriarchal age), situated in a highly fertile valley mentioned in the Book of Genesis, apparently stretching along the lower Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea plain. The biblical narrative shows the city being spared the "brimstone and fire" which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in order to provide a refuge for Lot and his daughters.^[6]

The town of Zoara, located at modern-day Ghor es-Safi in Jordan, is mentioned in the 1st-5th centuries CE by various geographers and historians. The Catholic Encyclopedia, writing about the time preceding the Crusades, called it "a flourishing oasis where the balsam, indigo, and date trees bloom luxuriantly".^[7] Arab authors of the 10th century mention its indigo production and praise its dates.^[3]

^ Genesis 14:8, Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB): "...the Melech Bela (the same is Tzoar)..."
^ Politis 2020, p. 20.
^ ^a ^b Guy Le Strange (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500]. Alexander P. Watt for the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, p. 289. Re-accessed 15 Jan 2024.
^ Jericke, Detlef (March 2010). "Zoar". Das wissenschaftliche Bibellexikon im Internet (WiBiLex) (in German). Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.
^ Genesis 13:10, 14:2–8
^ Genesis 19:22–30
^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Vailhé, Siméon (1912). "Zoara". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 2023-07-06.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

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[1] Genesis 14:8, Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB): "...the Melech Bela (the same is Tzoar)..."

[FOOTNOTEPolitis202020-4] Politis 2020, p. 20.

[GLS-7] Guy Le Strange (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500]. Alexander P. Watt for the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, p. 289. Re-accessed 15 Jan 2024.

[8] Jericke, Detlef (March 2010). "Zoar". Das wissenschaftliche Bibellexikon im Internet (WiBiLex) (in German). Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.

[9] Genesis 13:10, 14:2–8

[10] Genesis 19:22–30

[CE-11] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Vailhé, Siméon (1912). "Zoara". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 2023-07-06.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

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