ZADOK. The son of Ahitub and the father of Ahimaaz and one of David’s leading priests. He remained loyal to David during Absalom’s rebellion but sided with Solomon against Adonijah. When his colleague and competitor Abiatar was banished to Anatot, Zadok inherited his office and position. Zadok served as the apical ancestor of the line of the high priests of Jerusalem. In post-exilic times his descendants, the Zadokite priestly family, became by far the most powerful clerical group at the temple of Jerusalem. It is sometimes suggested that Zadok was in reality related to the pre-Israelite royal house of Jerusalem. His name appears as part of the names of Canaanite kings related to Jerusalem or Salem, such as Melchizedek (Gen 14:18) and Adoni-zedek (Josh 10:1). By sparing an offspring of the former royal house, David was able to maintain good relations between his own Israelites and the Jebusites, the former inhabitants of Jerusalem, or so it is assumed.
ZEBAH AND ZALMUNNA. Two kings of the Midianites. When he defeated the Midianites, Gideon captured the two Midianite princes and had them executed because they had killed his brothers at Tabor (Judg 8).
ZEBUL. (Meaning “prince”). A champion of Abimelech living in Shechem. When Gaal raised the population of Shechem against Abimelech, Zebul reported the rebellion to Abimelech who returned to Shechem and put an end to it (Judg 9).
ZEBULON. A son of Jacob and Leah, and the eponymous ancestor of the tribe of Zebulon. The Old Testament mostly has positive things to say about Zebulon, although it has little in the way of solid information to present. The tribe of Zebulon is said to live close to Sidon in Phoenicia. Its territory was in southwestern Galilee. The Zebulonites were active defending their territory against the Canaanites (Judg 4-5) and the Midianites (Judg 6). The territory was lost to Assyria after 732 B.C.E.
ZECHARIAH. (Meaning “Yahweh remembers”). King of Israel c. 753-752 B.C.E. Although the son of Jeroboam II, and ruling in a seemingly prosperous time for the kingdom of Israel in the mid eighth century B.C.E., Zechariah was murdered by Shallum after a reign of only six months (2 Kgs 15:8-12).
ZECHARIAH, PROPHET. According to the witness of the prophetic book carrying the prophet’s name, Zechariah functioned as a prophet in the years following the Babylonian exile. Some of his prophecies relate to the activity of Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua and the rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem.
ZEDEKIAH. (Meaning “Yahweh is righteous”). King of Judah (597-587 B.C.E.), son of Josiah. He succeeded his nephew King Jehoiachin in 597 B.C.E. when Nebuchadnezzar removed the royal family of Judah and sent it into exile in Babylon. As his personal choice, Nebuchadnezzar chose Zedekiah to be the successor to the throne of Judah and changed his name from Mattaniah to Zedekiah (2 Kgs 24:17). Probably inspired by the visit of Pharaoh Apries (Wahibre) to Palestine in 589 B.C.E., Zedekiah revolted against his Babylonian master. Nebuchadnezzar reacted immediately. Shortly thereafter his army laid siege to Jerusalem, and after 18 months, the city fell. Zedekiah was caught and brought to Riblah and his children executed. Blinded, Zedekiah was carried away to Babylon. Nothing more is known about his fate.
ZERUBBABEL. A Babylonian Jew who returned to Jerusalem in 538 B.C.E. after the exile (Ezra 2:2). Here he functioned as Persian governor and was active in the rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem. The name means “the seed of Babylon,” but he was of royal Judean descent, the son of Shealtiel, who was son of Jehoiachim, king of Judah, who was carried into exile in 597 B.C.E. He is sometimes without proper evidence identified with Sheshbazzar (cf. Ezra 1:8) who carried the same title as Zerubbabel. The biblical sources have nothing to say about Zerubbabel’s fate after c. 520 B.C.E., a fact that has led scholars to propose all sorts of mishaps, for example, that he was arrested and executed by his Persian overlords.
ZERUIAH’S SONS. Three mighty warriors of the family of David, namely Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Their mother was Zeruiah, the sister of David (1 Chron 2:16).
ZIBA. A servant of Saul, entrusted by David with the administration of Mephiboshet’s property. By betraying Mephibosphet, Ziba acquired his possessions but had to give half of them back, when Mephiboshet defended himself in front of the king (2 Sam 9; 16:1-4; 19:24-30).
ZIGGURAT. See BABEL, TOWER.
ZIGLAG. A city of the Negeb in the tribal territory of Judah (Josh 15:31). Ziglag was the home base of David when he was in Philistine service. It was his personal fief granted him by Achish, the king of Gath. As such it remained in the possession of the king of Judah after David’s time (1 Sam 27:6). Its present location has not been firmly established. Most scholars prefer Tell esh-Shari‘a between Beersheba and Gaza, where excavations made between 1972 and 1982 discovered a city with remains going back to the Chalcolithic period, but also with ample remains from the Bronze and Iron Age.
ZIMRI. Zimri, a commander in the army of Baasha, who slew Elah, his master, exterminated the house of Baasha, and made himself king of Israel (886 B.C.E.). After a reign of only seven days, Zimri committed suicide when Omri laid siege to the city of Tirzah.
ZION. Another name for Jerusalem or a district of the city, probably originally a fortress within the city. Today, the name is linked with the southwestern hill of Jerusalem, including the traditional place of David’s grave.
ZIPH. A city in the territory of Judah, located at Tell Zif c. 8 kilometers southeast of Hebron. It served as a refuge for David fleeing from Saul, but David was betrayed by the citizens of Ziph (1 Sam 23:14-24; 26:1). It was fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chron 11:8).
ZIPPORAH. Moses’ Midianite wife, the daughter of Jethro (Reuel), the priest of Midian, who saved her husband in the enigmatic text about the blood-bridegroom (Exod 4:24-26).