ZIPH

[possibly, flowing].

1. A descendant of Judah through Jehallelel.—1 Chron. 4:15, 16.

2. A city in the southern part of Judah. (Josh. 15:21, 24) It is usually identified with Khirbet ez-Zeifeh, about twenty miles (c. 32 kilometers) SE of Beer-sheba.

3. A city in the mountainous region of Judah. (Josh. 15:20, 48, 55, 57) It is apparently the Ziph ‘fathered’ by Mesha. (1 Chron. 2:42) Geographers generally connect it with Tell Zif, some four miles (c. 6 kilometers) SE of Hebron. David sought refuge from King Saul in the wilderness surrounding Ziph, and the men of the city twice revealed his whereabouts to the king. (1 Sam. 23:14, 15, 19, 24, 29; 26:1, 2; compare Psalm 54, superscription.) This Ziph apparently was the one later fortified by Rehoboam.—2 Chron. 11:5-8.