Zain (Hastings' Dictionary)
The seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and as such employed in the 119th Psalm to designate the 7th part, each verse of which be- gins with this letter. It is transliterated in this Dictionary by «. _ ZAIR (Tyy).— According to the MT of 2 K 8=', Joram, in the course of his campaign against Edom, ' passed over to Zair ' (B e/s Zeitip, A om.) In the parall. passage 2 Ch 21' the Heb. is ' passed over with his princes ' {r-it^c^ ; LXX /iera.
tup apxif- Tuf), which may be confidently pronounced to be a corruption of the text in Kings. The latter itself is unfortunately not certain. No place of the name of Za'ir being mentioned elsewhere, it has been conjectured that Zu'ar (Ewald, el al.) or Se'ir (cf. Vulg. Seira) should be read. 'The latter, however, is somewhat vague, and against the claims of Zdar may be urged the LXX -etup, whereas that name is elsewhere reproduced by Z-qyiip (cf. Buhl, Edom.
65, who also objects to Conder's suggested identifica- tion of Za'ir with ez-Zuwera S.E. of the Dead Sea).
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Zain
## The Hebrew Letter Zain Zain (ז) is the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet, with a numerical value of seven. In ancient Hebrew, the pictograph for Zain represented a weapon or a tool, often interpreted as a sword or a plowshare, symbolizing both provision and protection. This dual imagery reflects God's role as both provider and defender in the biblical narrative. ## Zain in the Acrostic Psalms Zain appears prominently in the acrostic psalms, where each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The most famous example is Psalm 119, which is divided into 22 stanzas, each corresponding to a letter. The Zain stanza (verses 49-56) focuses on God's faithfulness and comfort. For instance, Psalm 119:49 says, "Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope." This section emphasizes how God's promises sustain believers in times of affliction. Other acrostic psalms include Psalm 9, 10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, and 145. In these, Zain contributes to the poetic structure that underscores the completeness of God's revelation. The use of the alphabet signifies…
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia