The Bible Commentaries and Others: Zaanan

Zaanan

ZAANAN (PLACE) [Heb ṣa˒ănān (צַאֲנָן)]. A village in the Shephelah of Judah (Mic 1:11). While the town is otherwise unknown, it is likely to be identified with Zenan (Josh 15:37), listed in the context of the other Shephelah towns Adullum, Lachish, Achzib, and Mareshah (vv 33–44), which are all mentioned in Micah’s dirge (1:10–16). The difference in spelling is an ˒alep; the nomen proprium loci could have had variant spellings, the Joshua occurrence could have been written defectively, or Micah could have added the ˒alep to make clear his wordplay on yāṣĕ˒â “get out.” The grammatical situation is not exactly the same but it may be noteworthy that Mareshah is spelled with an ˒alep in the Joshua list and without it in Micah’s (Josh 15:44 where variant mss record the defective spelling of Mareshah like Mic 1:15). In Mic 1:11, the Greek versions spell “Zaanan” alternatively Sennaar, Sennan, Sainnan, Sanaoµn, and Saniōn. Symmachus translates the word euthēnousa “thriving, flourishing,” evidently reading ša˒ănān “at ease, secure” as attested by 1 MS Kenn. and 4 de Rossi. Peshitta records Zoan. On the basis of Arabic el-˓Araq, some have identified with modern ˓Arâq el-Kharba W of Lachish, but this location has gained no consensus (Abel GP 2: 455).

Micah’s lament is well known for its paronomasia whereby a town’s nomen is its omen, and for its personification of the Shephelah towns with their inhabitants [Heb yôšebet] as women (verbs and suffixes are feminine). See MAROTH. As mentioned, Zaanan is a pun on the Hebrew word for “get out,” and the wordplay is continued with the following Beth-ezel. Therefore, v 11b should be translated, “ ‘Lady Exiton’ [Zaanan] will not get out; mourning in ‘Witholdon’ [Beth-ezel] will keep her support from you!” The point is that the neighboring village of Beth-ezel will be so busy mourning her own destruction that she will be unable to come to the rescue of her sister village Zaanan. See Elliger 1934; Kellerman 1978.

Bibliography

Elliger, K. 1934. Die Heimat des Propheten Micha. ZDPV 57: 127.

Kellermann, D. 1978. Überlieferungsprobleme alttestamentlicher Ortsnamen. VT 28: 429–32.

Lamontte M. Luker

Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (6:1029). New York: Doubleday.

ZA´ANAN (zaʹa-nan). A place named by Micah (Mic. 1:11) in his address to the towns of the Shephelah. Keil objects to its identification with Zenan, “as Zenan was in the plain, and Zaanan was most probably to the north of Jerusalem.”

Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.

ZAANAN. A place mentioned in Mi. 1:11, the inhabitants of which remained in their city when invading forces passed through the land. It may he identical with Zenan in the Shephelah of Judah listed in Jos. 15:37. j.d.d.

Wood, D. R. W., Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996, c1982, c1962). New Bible Dictionary. Includes index. (electronic ed. of 3rd ed.) (1261). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

Zaanan (Heb. ṣa˒ănān)

An unidentified site in the Shephelah of Judah (Mic. 1:11). It may be the same as Zenan at Josh. 15:37, which also appears in context with Lachish.

Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (1405). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.

Zaanan — place of flocks, mentioned only in Micah 1:11. It may be identified with Zenan, in the plain country of Judah (Josh. 15:37).

Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

ZAANAN Village mentioned in Micah’s lament over Jerusalem (Mi 1:11). Zaanan is probably a play on the Hebrew word yatsa’, “to come forth.” The village was in the Shephelah; it is probably the same place as Zenan.