ZEPHATHAH (zĕf'a-tha, Heb. tsephāthâh, watchtower). A valley near Mareshah in the western part of Judah, where King Asa met the army of Zerah the Cushite, and where, in answer to prayer, God gave a great victory to Judah (2Chr.14.9-2Chr.14.12).


ZEPHATHAH, Valley of zĕf’ ə thə (גֵּ֥יא צְפַ֖תָה; LXX apparently read בַּגַּיְא צָפוֹנָה “in the valley to the north”). According to the MT the valley lay near Mareshah (q.v.) on the edge of the lowlands NE of Lachish. The LXX reading suggests the [[Valley of Elah]] (q.v.) but the whole region has such a complex topography in the gently sloping foothills around Mareshah that the exact valley cannot now be identified with certainty. Here Asa defeated Zerah the Cushite, a well-equipped Ethiopian (or possibly Arabian) raider (2 Chron 14:10). (See [[Zerah]] 5.)

Zephathah