Places in the Bible Today:

Zair

Data

Translated NameZair
Typesettlement
Geo Data KML (for Google Earth)
GeoJSON (for GIS applications)

4 Possible Identifications

  1. another name for Zoar (ancient): 60% confidence. It may be:

    1. panorama of Al SafiAl Safi

    2. panorama of hills in the region south of the Lisanin the region south of the Lisan

    3. panorama of a region north of the Dead Seain the region north of the Dead Sea

    4. satellite view of the region around Tell al Sheikh IsaTell al Sheikh Isa

    5. canyon at the mouth of Wadi Mujibmouth of Wadi Mujib

    6. satellite view of the region around Tawahin el SukkarTawahin el Sukkar

    7. satellite view of the region around Esh ShaghurEsh Shaghur

    8. satellite view of the region around Tall IktanuTall Iktanu

    9. ruins at Bab edh DhraBab edh Dhra

  2. in Mount Seir 1 (ancient): less than 10% confidence. It may be:

    1. satellite view of the region around Jebel esh Sherain the region around Jebel esh Shera

    2. panorama of mountains southwest of the Dead Seain the mountains southwest of the Dead Sea

  3. another name for Zior (ancient): less than 10% confidence. It may be:

    1. ruins at Tel Rumeidawithin 10 km of Tel Rumeida

    2. satellite view of the region around SairSair

  4. Sair (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. satellite view of the region around SairSair

Verses (1)

2Kgs 8:21

Linked Data Identifiers

SourceIdentifier
Logos FactbookZair
OpenBible.info (2007)Zair
OpenBible.infoa74c453 (Zair)
TIPNRZoar@Gen.13.10
UBS Names Databaseot ID_2524

Sources

  1. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (1992): Zair (place)
  2. Baly, Atlas of the Biblical World (1971): Zair
  3. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000): Zair
  4. Grollenberg, Atlas of the Bible (1957): Zair
  5. HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (2011): Zair
  6. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2003)
  7. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979): Zair
  8. Lexham Bible Dictionary (2016): Zair
  9. New Bible Dictionary (1996): Zair
  10. New Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary (2009)
  11. Oxford Bible Atlas, Fourth Edition (2007)
  12. Rogerson, New Atlas of the Bible (1985): page 94
  13. Tyndale Bible Dictionary (2001): Zair
  14. Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible (1956): Zair
  15. Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (2010)
  16. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (2009): 2Kgs 8:21

Confidence Trends over Time

This chart indicates how confidence in the identifications is changing over time. Each dot (connected by a dotted line) reflects the confidence of an identification over the preceding ten years (e.g., the 2009 dot reflects scholarship from 2000 to 2009), and the corresponding solid line reflects a best-fit line for the identification. Confidences that cluster near or below 0% indicate low confidence. Because of the small dataset, it's best to use this chart for general trends; if one identification is trending much higher than the others (in this case, another name for Zoar), then you can probably have higher confidence in the identification. This chart only reflects the sources I consulted (listed above), not an exhaustive review of the literature.

Thumbnail Image Credits

Ana al’ain, Adeeb Atwan, Вячеслав Ребров, Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2019, hikinginjordan, Ana al’ain, Godot13, Dr. Avishai Teicher

About

This page attempts to identify all the possible locations where this biblical place could be. The confidence levels add up to less than 100%, indicating that the modern location is uncertain. It's best to think about the confidences in relative rather than absolute terms. Often they reflect different schools of thought, each confident in their identifications.

The isobands you see on the map (gray areas with dark borders) attempt to give you confidence where a region is. Because many ancient regions aren't precisely defined, I consulted atlases to determine where the biblical region is located and used that data to build the isobands. The smaller isobands reflect more confidence that the given isoband is in the region, while the larger isobands reflect less confidence. Isobands are a kind of contour line that here indicate confidence levels.