Encyclopedia entry
Zarephath
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).
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
(smelting place), the residence of the prophet Elijah during the latter part of the drought. (1 Kings 17:9,10) It was near to, or dependent on, Zidon. It is represented by the modern village of Sura-fend . Of the old town considerable indications remain. One group of foundations is on a headland called Ain el-Kanatarah ; but the chief remains are south of this, and extend for a mile or more, with many fragments of columns, slabs and other architectural features. In the New Testament Zarephath appears under the Greek form of Sarepta. (Luke 4:26)
In the Bible
4
Verses where Zarephath is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 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.”
- Luke 4:26
Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon.
- 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.
Scripture on Zarephath
3
Voices on Zarephath
2
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.