Where is Zoar in the Bible?
Zoar, also known as Bela, was one of the five cities of the plain, along with Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen.14.2,8). Zoar appears in 6 verses across 3 books of the Bible.
What happened at Zoar?
Zoar, also known as Bela, was one of the five cities of the plain, along with Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen.14.2,8). It was originally called Bela but was renamed Zoar, which means "small," when Lot pleaded for it to be spared from destruction due to its small size (Gen.19.20-22). Lot and his daughters fled to Zoar when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen.19.23). Later, Lot left Zoar and settled in the mountains with his daughters (Gen.19.30). Zoar is mentioned as a reference point for the description of the Promised Land (Deut.34:3). The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah used Zoar to illustrate the extent of God's judgment on Moab (Isa.15.5; Jer.48.34). Zoar is most likely located at the southern end of the Dead Sea, although its exact location is uncertain. It is possibly to be identified with Khirbet el-Keryeh or Tell Iktanu. The name Zair is used in reference to a different location, where Joram fought against Edom (2Ki.8.21).
Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.
Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.
Where does Zoar appear in the Bible?
Zoar is referenced in 6 verses across 3 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.
- Deuteronomy 34:3
- Genesis 13:10
- Genesis 19:22
- Genesis 19:23
- Genesis 19:30
- Isaiah 15:5
What else appears in these passages?
These turn up in the same passages as Zoar.
Common questions
How many times does the Bible mention Zoar?
Zoar appears in 6 verses across 3 books, most often in Genesis, which accounts for 4 of them.
Which books of the Bible mention Zoar?
Genesis, Deuteronomy, Isaiah.
Where can I read every verse about Zoar?
This page lists 6 of them. Protos carries all 6, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.
