Keraia
Places

Zoar

Zoar, also known as Bela, was a small city near Sodom where Lot fled when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah .

The name Zoar means “little; small”

PlaceOld Testament5 books10 verses

Summary

A location first mentioned at Genesis 13:10; referred to as Zoar (צֹ֫עַר), Bela (בֶּ֫לַע), or Zair (צָעִיר).

Location

Identified as
Al Safi
Certainty
Possible (35% of scholarship) · 8 other possible locations
Coordinates
31.037° N, 35.488° E
Zoar
See it on the map of biblical places

Glossary entries

Zoar Bela (Place) Zair

Alternative names

Mentions

  1. Genesis 13:10צֹ֫עַר · Zoar
    And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
  2. Genesis 14:2בֶּ֫לַע · Bela; צֹ֫עַר · Zoar
    …went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
  3. Genesis 14:8בֶּ֫לַע · Bela; צֹ֫עַר · Zoar
    Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Valley of Siddim
  4. Genesis 19:22צֹ֫עַר · Zoar
    Hurry! Run there quickly, for I cannot do anything until you reach it.” That is why the town was called Zoar.
  5. Genesis 19:23צֹ֫עַר · Zoar
    And by the time the sun had risen over the land, Lot had reached Zoar.
  6. Genesis 19:30צֹ֫עַר · Zoar
    Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains—for he was afraid to stay in Zoar—where they lived in a cave.
  7. Deuteronomy 34:3צֹ֫עַר · Zoar
    …the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho (the City of Palms) all the way to Zoar.
  8. 2 Kings 8:21צָעִיר · Zair
    So Jehoram crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. When the Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, he rose up and attacked by night. His troops, however, fled to their homes.
  9. Isaiah 15:5צֹ֫עַר · Zoar
    My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath-shelishiyah. With weeping they ascend the slope of Luhith; they lament their destruction on the road to Horonaim.
  10. Jeremiah 48:34צֹ֫עַר · Zoar
    There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.