Place · City
Zoar
Also known as Bela, Zair
Named in 9 verses across 4 books, first in Genesis 13:10.
In the Bible
All 9 verses, in Bible order. Text from the Berean Standard Bible; verse numbers follow the KJV.
Genesis
- Genesis 13:10
And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
- Genesis 14:2
went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
- Genesis 14:8
Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Valley of Siddim
- Genesis 19:22
Hurry! Run there quickly, for I cannot do anything until you reach it.” That is why the town was called Zoar.
- Genesis 19:23
And by the time the sun had risen over the land, Lot had reached Zoar.
- Genesis 19:30
Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains—for he was afraid to stay in Zoar—where they lived in a cave.
Deuteronomy
- Deuteronomy 34:3
the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho (the City of Palms) all the way to Zoar.
Isaiah
- Isaiah 15:5
My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath-shelishiyah. With weeping they ascend the slope of Luhith; they lament their destruction on the road to Horonaim.
Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 48:34
There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.
Dictionary
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), as attached to this record by Theographic. Its geography and “modern” descriptions date from the 1890s. Easton wrote in 1897, and some of his views are now debated.
Read Easton’s entry
Small, a town on the east or south-east of the Dead Sea, to which Lot and his daughters fled from Sodom (Gen. 19:22, 23). It was originally called Bela (14:2, 8). It is referred to by the prophets Isaiah (15:5) and Jeremiah (48:34). Its ruins are still seen at the opening of the ravine of Kerak, the Kir-Moab referred to in [2 Kings 3](/2kgs#2Kgs.3), the modern Tell esh-Shaghur.