1Ki 17:9; Luke 4:26.
Sarepta (Heb. Tsarefath, “refining”; cun. Sâriptu; Eg. 93rpti; on an ancient seal found in Tsarafand it appears as Tsrpt; Gr. sarepta). Phoenician population located about 22.5 km north of Tyre, today a village called Tsarafand. Since it was located along the coastal road that led to Phoenicia, many armies passed through its vicinity and that is why it appears in ancient records, but it was never an important city. It is mentioned as the city where Elijah was cared for by a poor widow on the occasion of a great drought, and whose son was later resurrected in 1057 as a reward for his self-sacrifice (1Ki 17:8-24; Luk 4:26). Obadiah foresaw that the limits of Israel’s territory would extend to Zarephath (Oba_20; figs 451, 517). Map IX, B-3. 451. The village of Tsarafand, the biblical Zarephath, in Lebanon. Excavations carried out under the direction of JB Pritchard, starting in 1969, have revealed the Phoenician and Roman remains of the town, as well as the port built by the Romans. It is evident that this place was inhabited in the last part of the 2nd millennium BC and most of the 1st millennium. More than 20 kilns were discovered to manufacture pottery items, which shows that it must have been a center for the production of this craft. Bib.: TL McClellan, IDBS:977, 978, JB Pritchard, Sarepta (Philadelphia, 1975).
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
ancient city and port in Phenicia, north of Tyre, between this city and Sidon. The prophet Elijah of Tishbe took refuge in this city when he was persecuted by Queen Jezebel, the princess of Tire, wife of King Ajab. There he found welcome in the house of a widow, in which he performed the miracles of the pitcher of flour and the oil can, whose contents were not exhausted until the country’s drought and famine had passed; he likewise resurrected the widow’s son, who had become gravely ill, dying, 1 Kings 17, 7-24; Lk 4, 26.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
(Heb., tsarephath, refinement).
OT population remembered primarily because Elijah resided there during the second part of the famine caused by drought (1Ki 17:9ff.). In Luk 4:26 it is mentioned by the Greek name Sarepta, and it is described as being located in the land of Sidon.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
(refinement).
Phoenician city where Elijah raised the widow’s son, 1 Kings 17, Luke 4:26. Its ruins are south of modern Sarafand.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
City on the Phoenician coast, about 13 km south of †¢Sidon. God sent †¢Elijah to be fed there by a widow, when the great drought in the days of †¢Ahab. The widow’s son died and Elijah raised him from the dead (1Ki 17:8-24; Luke 4:24-26). An oracle of Obadiah (verse 20) promises that the exiles of Israel “will possess what is of the Canaanites until S.†
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
type, CITY
sit, a1, 346, 52
veth, Dependent City of Sidon (1 Kings 17:9; Lk. 4:26; Ant. 8:13, 2). The brook Cherith having dried up, Elijah went to Zarephath, following God’s order. Despite the prevailing famine, a widow from Zarephath gave hospitality to the prophet. This woman was rewarded, because there was no lack of flour or oil, and her son was brought back to life (1 Kings 17: 8-24). Obadiah predicted that Zarephath would fall to Israel (Obd. 20). The name of the city has been perpetuated in that of Surafend, a town on a hill, near the sea, about 22 km north of Tire and 13 km from Sidon. The ancient city is at the foot of the hill, on the banks of the river, and its ruins extend for more than 1.5 km.
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Sarepta, a Sidonian town about 21 km north of Tire and 11 km from Sidon. Here Elijah, after leaving the brook Cherith, was entertained by the widow whose jar of flour was not short and whose son Elijah raised from the dead, 1 Kings 17;
Luke 4:26.
Source: Geographic Dictionary of the Bible
(possibly from a root meaning: †œrefine† ).
A Phoenician population that †˜belonged to†™ Sidon or was apparently dependent on it in the days of Elijah. A poor widow of this city showed Elijah hospitality, so miraculously her flour and oil did not run out during a time of great famine. The prophet also raised his son from the dead by the power of God. (1Ki 17:8-24; Lu 4:25, 26) Later, he marked a boundary of the former Canaanite territory predicted to come into the possession of the exiled Israelites. (Abd 20.) His name has been preserved at Sarafand, about 13 km SSW. from Sidon, although Zarephath may have been located a little further on the Mediterranean coast.
Source: Dictionary of the Bible
(“smelting place”). Ac. ṣariptu; see œarãpu, ‘refine (metals), burn (bricks)’. Small Phoenician city (modern Sarafand), originally belonging to *Sidon; it appears in the papyrus Anastasi 1 (ANET3, pp. 477) from the end of the ss. XIII. It was captured by Sennacherib in 701 BC (Zarebtu, ANET3, pp. 287) and by Esar-haddon, ca. 680–669 BC, who gave it to Baali, King of Tire (JB Pritchard, “Sarepta in History and Tradition,” in J. Reumann (eds.), Understanding the Sacred Text, 1971, pp. 101–114).
Located about 13 km S of Sidon on the Lebanese coast on the route to *Tyre, it is mentioned in 1 Kings 17:9ff. as the place to which *Elijah went during the drought in the reign of Ahab, and where he returned life to the son of the widow with whom he was staying. Lc. 4.26 refers to this incident.
Obadiah prophesied that in the “day of Jehovah” the children of Israel who were deported by Sargon after the fall of Samaria would possess Ferotia as far as Zarephath.
For excavations beginning in 1969 see AJA 74, 1970, pp. 202; 76, 1972, p. 216; Archeology 24, 1971, p. 61–63; J. Pritchard, Sarepta, 1975.
RAHG
Douglas, J. (2000). New Biblical Dictionary: First Edition. Miami: United Bible Societies.
Source: New Bible Dictionary