Zerah

Sunrise. (1.) An “Ethiopian,” probably Osorkon II., the successor of Shishak on the throne of Egypt. With an enormous army, the largest we read of in Scripture, he invaded the kingdom of Judah in the days of Asa (2 Chr. 14:9-15). He reached Zephathah, and there encountered the army of Asa. This is the only instance “in all the annals of Judah of a victorious encounter in the field with a first-class heathen power in full force.” The Egyptian host was utterly routed, and the Hebrews gathered “exceeding much spoil.” Three hundred years elapsed before another Egyptian army, that of Necho (B.C. 609), came up against Jerusalem.

(2.) A son of Tamar (Gen. 38:30); called also Zara (Matt. 1:3).

(3.) A Gershonite Levite (1 Chr. 6:21, 41).

1. A son of Reuel, son of Esau, (Genesis 36:13; 1 Chronicles 1:37) and one of the "dukes" or phylarchs of the Edomites. (Genesis 36:17) (B.C. after 1760.)
2. Less properly, Zarah, twin son, with his elder brother Pharez, of Judah and Tamar. (Genesis 38:30; 1 Chronicles 2:4; Matthew 1:3) (B.C. about 1728.) His descendants were called Zarhites, Ezrahites and Izrahites. (Numbers 26:20; 1 Kings 4:31; 1 Chronicles 27:8,11)
3. Son of Simeon, (1 Chronicles 4:24) called ZOHAR in (Genesis 46:10) (B.C. 1706.)
4. A Gershonite Levite, son of Iddo or Adaiah. (1 Chronicles 6:21,41) (B.C. 1043.)
5. The Ethiopian or Cushite, an invader of Judah, defeated by Asa about B.C. 941. [ASA] Zerah is probably the Hebrew name of Usarken I., second king of the Egyptian twenty-second dynasty; or perhaps more probably Usarken II his second successor. In the fourteenth year of Asa, Zerah the Ethiopian, with a mighty army of or million, invaded his kingdom, and advanced unopposed in the field as far as the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. The Egyptian monuments enable us to picture the general disposition of Zerah’s army. The chariots formed the first corps in a single or double line; behind them, massed in phalanxes, were heavy-armed troops; probably on the flanks stood archers and horsemen in lighter formations. After a prayer by Asa, his army attacked the Egyptians and defeated them. The chariots, broken by the charge and with horses made unmanageable by flights of arrows must have been forced back upon the cumbrous host behind. So complete was the overthrow that the Hebrews could capture and spoil the cities around Gerah which must have been in alliance with Zerah. The defeat of the Egyptian army is without parallel in the history of the Jews. On no other occasion did an Israelite army meet an army of one of the great powers and defeat it.

ze'-ra (zerach, meaning uncertain):

(1) In Ge 38:30; 46:12; Nu 26:20; Jos 7:1,18,24; 22:20; 1Ch 2:4,6; 9:6; Ne 11:24; Mt 1:3, younger twin-son of Judah and Tamar, and an ancestor of Achan. In Nu 26:20; Jos 7:17 f he is the head of the Zerahites (also 1Ch 27:11,13). the King James Version has "Zarah" in Ge 38:30; 46:12, and "Zarhites" for "Zerahites" in Numbers, Joshua and 1 Chronicles. See Curtis (Chronicles, 84 f) for identification of Ezrahite with Zerahite.

(2) Edomites:

(a) an Edomite chief (Ge 36:13,17; 1Ch 1:37);

(b) father of an Edomite king (Ge 36:33; 1Ch 1:44).

(3) Levites:

(a) 1Ch 6:21 (Hebrew verse 6);

(b) 1Ch 6:41 (Hebrew verse 26).

(4) Head of the Zerahites (Nu 26:13, the King James Version "Zarhites"; 1Ch 4:24). In Nu 26:13 = "Zohar" of Ge 46:10; Ex 6:15.

See ZOHAR, (2).

(5) Cushite king (2Ch 14:9). See the next article

David Francis Roberts

• 1. Son of Reuel Ge 36:13,17; 1Ch 1:37
• 2. Father of Jobab Ge 36:33; 1Ch 1:44
• 3. ZERAH
  • See ZARAH
• 4. Son of Simeon Nu 26:13; 1Ch 4:24
• 5. A Gershonite 1Ch 6:21
• 6. A Levite 1Ch 6:41
• 7. King of Ethiopia 2Ch 14:9-15