{
  "id": "dict_006189",
  "term": "Zorah",
  "slug": "zorah",
  "letter": "Z",
  "entry_type": "biblical_place",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "A town in the tribal territory of Dan, near the border with Judah, best known as the home area of Samson’s family.",
  "simple_one_line": "Zorah was a biblical town in Dan, closely associated with Samson and his family.",
  "tooltip_text": "A town in Dan’s territory, on the border with Judah, and the hometown area of Samson.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Samson",
    "Manoah",
    "Dan",
    "Judah",
    "Judges",
    "Philistines",
    "Eshtaol"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Beth-shemesh",
    "Sorek Valley",
    "Zanoah",
    "Timnah"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Zorah is a biblical town in the territory of Dan, located near the border with Judah and remembered especially as the home area of Samson’s family.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "Zorah was an Israelite town in Dan’s inheritance, situated in the border region near Judah and associated in Scripture with Manoah and Samson.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "A real Old Testament town, not a theological concept • Listed among Dan’s towns and border settlements • Best known as the hometown area of Samson • Often identified with the modern site of Sar‘a"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Zorah is an Old Testament town originally assigned to the tribe of Dan and situated in the border region with Judah. It is especially significant as the home area of Manoah and Samson in Judges. The entry is a biblical place-name rather than a doctrinal term.",
  "description_academic_full": "Zorah is a biblical town mentioned in Old Testament tribal and boundary lists and located in the Shephelah, near the border between Dan and Judah. Scripture places it within the inheritance of Dan and later associates it with Manoah and Samson, making it especially important in the Samson narrative. Its significance is primarily geographical and historical: Zorah helps locate key events in Israel’s settlement period and in the book of Judges. It is commonly identified with the site of modern Sar‘a, though the biblical point of emphasis is its role in Israel’s territory and narrative, not a theological concept in itself.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Zorah appears in the territorial lists for Dan and in the Samson narratives. Judges presents it as the family area of Manoah and Samson, and later references connect it with border and settlement history in Israel.",
  "background_historical_context": "Zorah belonged to Israel’s central hill-country and Shephelah border zone, an area shaped by conflict and shifting tribal control. Its location helps explain the proximity of Samson’s activity to Philistine territory.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In ancient Israelite geography, towns like Zorah mattered for tribal inheritance, settlement, and identity. Later Jewish tradition and historical geography generally treat it as a known site in Dan’s allotment near Judah’s border.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Joshua 15:33",
    "Joshua 19:41",
    "Judges 13:2, 25",
    "Judges 16:31",
    "Judges 18:2, 8, 11"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Judges 1:34–35",
    "1 Chronicles 2:53",
    "Nehemiah 11:29"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Hebrew צָרְעָה (often transliterated Zorah), the name of an Israelite town in the Danite border region.",
  "theological_significance": "Zorah has no major doctrinal significance in itself, but it provides concrete historical setting for the Samson account and shows how God worked through ordinary places and people in Israel’s life.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "As a place-name, Zorah is significant because biblical theology is grounded in real geography and history. Scripture’s narrative claims are set in identifiable locations rather than abstract religious ideas alone.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not treat Zorah as a theological doctrine or symbol by itself. Its main value is historical and narrative. The site is usually identified with modern Sar‘a, but that identification is an informed historical judgment rather than a direct biblical statement.",
  "major_views_note": "There is broad agreement that Zorah is a real biblical town in Dan’s border region and that it is linked with Samson’s family. The main variation concerns archaeological identification of the site, not the basic biblical data.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Zorah should be understood as a biblical location, not as a doctrinal category or allegorical figure. Its significance supports, but does not itself define, any doctrine.",
  "practical_significance": "Zorah reminds readers that God’s redemptive work unfolds in ordinary places, families, and local histories. The setting of Samson’s life also underscores that God can raise up deliverers from obscure locations.",
  "meta_description": "Zorah was a biblical town in Dan near Judah’s border, best known as the home area of Samson’s family.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/zorah/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/zorah.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}