Zaanannim
Zaanannim is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Galilee in modern-day Israel. Known today as Hanot Taggarim. It appears across 2 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Zaanannim appears twice in the Old Testament, most memorably in Judges 4:11, where it is described as the plain or oak of Zaanannim near Kedesh in the territory allotted to Naphtali in northern Galilee. The site is significant as the backdrop for one of Israel's most dramatic deliverances: it was near this location that Heber the Kenite had pitched his tent, and it was into that tent that Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite forces under King Jabin of Hazor, fled after his army was routed by the forces of Barak and Deborah (Judges 4:17). The story of Jael's bold act of killing Sisera while he slept, recounted in both the prose narrative of Judges 4 and the poetic Song of Deborah in Judges 5, is among the most celebrated accounts of divine deliverance in the entire Hebrew Bible. The region of Zaanannim thus stands as a landmark of God's faithfulness to Israel during the turbulent period of the judges, when the nation repeatedly cried out for relief from foreign oppression and the Lord raised up unexpected deliverers.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The site is traditionally associated with modern Hanot Taggarim (sometimes rendered Khan et-Tujjar) in the lower Galilee region near Tabor. This location sits in a fertile agricultural area along an ancient trade route connecting the Jordan Valley with the Jezreel Valley, which would explain the strategic importance of the plain in the narrative of Judges 4. While no excavations have specifically targeted Zaanannim, surface surveys in the region have identified Bronze and Iron Age pottery consistent with occupation during the period of the judges. The area's oak trees, noted in the Hebrew text, correspond to the woodland character of the lower Galilee hills.
Verse Appearances (2)
Josh
Judg
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]