A Phoenician city where Elijah stayed with a widow
Zarephath
Named in 4 verses across 3 books, first in 1 Kings 17:9.
צָֽרְפַתZarephath
ΣάρεπταZarephath
The name means “ambush of the mouth.” Hitchcock's Bible Names, 1869
About Zarephath Written by AI
Zarephath, also known as Sarepta, was a Phoenician city located between Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean coast. The city is most notably mentioned in the Bible in connection with the prophet Elijah. During a severe famine, God directed Elijah to go to Zarephath, where he had commanded a widow to provide for him (1Kgs. 17:9). Upon arriving at the city gate, Elijah met the widow and asked her for water and bread. Despite her limited resources, the widow shared her last meal with Elijah, and as a result, her flour and oil miraculously never ran out until the end of the famine (1Kgs. 17:10-16). Later, when the widow's son fell ill and died, Elijah prayed to God and raised the boy back to life (1Kgs. 17:17-24). In the New Testament, Jesus references Elijah's stay in Zarephath as an example of God's grace extending beyond Israel to the Gentiles (Luke 4:26). The city is also mentioned in the Book of Obadiah, where it is prophesied that the exiles of Israel will possess the land as far as Zarephath (Obad. 1:20). Zarephath's significance in the Bible lies in its connection to Elijah's ministry and its role in demonstrating God's power and provision.
Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.
Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897
Smelting-shop, “a workshop for the refining and smelting of metals”, a small Phoenician town, now Surafend, about a mile from the coast, almost midway on the road between Tyre and Sidon. Here Elijah sojourned with a poor widow during the “great famine,” when the “heaven was shut up three years and six months” (Luke 4:26; 1 Kings 17:10). It is called Sarepta in the New Testament (Luke 4:26).
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.
33.433, 35.300 See it on a map
Where the Bible names it
- 1 Kings 17:9
“Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
- 1 Kings 17:10
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.”
- Obadiah 1:20
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.
- Luke 4:26
Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon.
From STEPBible's TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0): names, family, references and the AI written article. Verse text is the BSB.