Zorah
A place in the Bible
A town of the tribe of Dan, in the hills west of Jerusalem. Samson was born there. In the Douay-Rheims it is called “Saraa.”
What happened here
- Samson’s parents: in Zorah lived Manoah, of the tribe of Dan. His wife could not have children, and the angel of the Lord told her she would have a son.
- Samson: the boy grew up and the Lord blessed him. The spirit of the Lord began to stir him between Zorah and Eshtaol.
- His tomb: he was buried between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the tomb of his father Manoah.
Today
It is identified with a place called Sur’ah, high on a hill above the Valley of Sorek, west of Jerusalem.
Where it appears in the Bible
Judges 13:2-3; Judges 13:24-25; Judges 16:31
What the Bible says
Judges 13:2-3
2Now there was a certain man of Saraa, and of the race of Dan, whose name was Manue, and his wife was barren. 3And an angel of the Lord appeared to her, and said: Thou art barren and without children: but thou shalt conceive and bear a son.
Judges 13:24-25
24And she bore a son, and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. 25And the spirit of the Lord began to be with him in the camp of Dan, between Saraa and Esthaol.
Judges 16:31
And his brethren and all his kindred, going down took his body, and buried it between Saraa and Esthaol in the buryingplace of his father Manue: and he judged Israel twenty years.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), “Zorah”