Sidon

Biblical References

Old Testament

• In Genesis 10:15, Sidon is the name of the firstborn son of Canaan. In Genesis 10:19, Sidon is the northern point at which the border of the land of Canaan begins. Canaan was a son of Ham (see Shem, Ham, and Japheth).
• Joshua 11:8 and 19:28 call the city "great Zidon." According to Judges 1:31, the tribe of Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Sidon (see Twelve Tribes of Israel). Judges 10:6 mentions "the gods of Zidon" that Israel served, and Judges 10:12 refers to the Zidonians' oppression of Israel.
• In 1 Kings 5:6, Solomon, seeking timber for building the temple, says, "there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians." According to 1 Kings 11:1 and 11:5, Solomon took Zidonian women as wives and went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians.
• In 1 Kings 16:31, Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of "Ethbaal king of the Zidonians," and served Baal (see Ahab and Jezebel). In 1 Kings 17:9, God sends Elijah to "Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon" (see Widow of Zarephath).
• In the prophetic books, Isaiah 23, Jeremiah 47:4, Ezekiel 28:20–23, and Joel 3:4 pronounce judgment on Sidon, along with Tyre, Philistia, and others.

New Testament

• In Matthew 11:21–22 and Luke 10:13–14, Jesus rebukes Chorazin and Bethsaida for failing to repent, declaring that it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment. Matthew 11:23 goes on to rebuke Capernaum.
• Matthew 15:21–28 and Mark 7:24–31 record Jesus healing the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman in the region of Tyre and Sidon.
• According to Mark 3:8 and Luke 6:17, great multitudes also came to Jesus from the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon.
• In Luke 4:25–26, Jesus speaks of Elijah being sent "unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow."
• In Acts 12:20, Herod is highly displeased with the people of Tyre and Sidon. In Acts 27:3, Paul, while being taken to Rome as a prisoner, stops at Sidon and is received by his friends.

Background

Sidon was a Phoenician city (biblical "Phenice") on the coast north of Tyre. It prospered through maritime trade and crafts. Its Hebrew name, Tsidon, is commonly explained as related to a word meaning "fishing" or "hunting," though this explanation is not certain. Many scholars hold that the Old Testament term "Sidonians" could refer not only to the inhabitants of this city but to the Phoenicians as a whole. Sidon came successively under Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman rule.

Significance in the Bible as a Whole

In the Old Testament, Sidon was a trading partner of Israel. At the same time, it was a channel through which the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth entered Israel, and a Gentile nation against which the prophets pronounced judgment. The New Testament presents this Gentile land in a new light, as a place reached by God's grace, as illustrated by Elijah's journey to the widow of Zarephath and Jesus' encounter with the Syrophoenician woman. Sidon also serves as a point of contrast with the Galilean towns that had persisted in unbelief.

Interpretations and Issues

• The reference in Luke 4:26 is generally read as signifying that God's grace extends even to the Gentiles. The text goes on to indicate that it was precisely this statement that enraged those in the synagogue at Nazareth.
• Interpretations of Matthew 11:22 differ. Some take it as evidence of degrees of punishment at the Last Judgment, while others hold that its main point is the greater responsibility of those who have received greater revelation.
• The Gospels state only that Jesus went into the "coasts" (region) of Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 15:21) and that he passed through Sidon on his return to Galilee (Mark 7:31). There is no record of his ministering within the city of Sidon itself.
• One tradition reads the lament over the "king of Tyrus" in Ezekiel 28:11–19 in connection with the fall of Satan. The prophecy concerning Sidon (28:20–23), however, is a separate, brief oracle.
• The "friends" in Acts 27:3 are commonly interpreted as the community of believers in Sidon, although the text says nothing further.

Spelling

The Korean Revised Version (Revised Edition) renders the name of the same village differently in the Old Testament (1 Kings 17:9, Sareubat) and in the New Testament (Luke 4:26, Sarepda). The KJV similarly uses "Zarephath" and "Sarepta" respectively.