Original Word: זֶרֶד
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Zered
Pronunciation: ZE-red
Phonetic Spelling: (zeh'-red)
KJV: Zared, Zered
NASB: Zered
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to be exuberant in growth]

1. lined with shrubbery
2. Zered, a brook East of the Dead Sea

Zared, Zered

From an unused root meaning to be exuberant in growth; lined with shrubbery; Zered, a brook East of the Dead Sea -- Zared, Zered.

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a wadi E. of the Dead Sea
NASB Translation
Zered (4).

זֶ֫רֶד proper name, of a river (√ dubious; on form compare Lg^{BN 77}) — נַחַל זֶ֫רֶד Deuteronomy 2:13; נַחַל זָרֶ֑ד Numbers 21:12 (JE), Deuteronomy 2:13,14; identification disputed; Rob^{BR ii. 157} proposes Wady-el-Aµsy (= נַחַל הָעֲרָבִים Isaiah 15:7), between Moab & Edom; < either Sail Sa±îde (Kn), chief source of Arnon from southeast (Burckh^{Syrien, 635}), or west Kerak (Ges Ke Di); so also GASm^{Geog. 557}.

Geographical Setting

The Zered is identified with the modern Wadi al-Hasa, a rugged seasonal riverbed that flows from the Moabite plateau eastward to the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea. In biblical times it marked the southern boundary of Moab and the northern limit of Edom. Its steep canyon walls, intermittent water flow, and strategic location made it a natural frontier on the Transjordan trade routes, particularly the King’s Highway.

Biblical Occurrences

1. Numbers 21:12 serves as the travel log’s anchor point as Israel journeys northward: “From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered.”
2. Deuteronomy 2:13 records Moses’ retrospective command: “Now rise up and cross over the Valley of Zered.”
3. Deuteronomy 2:14 immediately follows with a chronological note: the forty-year wilderness discipline ended when Israel crossed the Zered, as the last of the unbelieving generation died off.

Historical Significance

Crossing the Zered forms the turning point between judgment and forward movement:
• Forty years earlier the fathers had refused to enter Canaan from Kadesh-barnea; their children now cross a symbolic threshold of obedience.
• The brook delineated the spheres of Moab and Edom, yet God granted Israel peaceful passage, underscoring His sovereignty over borders and nations (compare Deuteronomy 2:4-9).
• The precise time reference in Deuteronomy 2:14 (“thirty-eight years passed… until all the men of war had perished”) provides an indispensable chronological peg for reconstructing Israel’s itinerary.

Theological and Ministry Insights

Promise Kept: The Zered crossing demonstrates the constancy of God’s covenant mercy. Though the previous generation fell, the promise to Abraham remained intact.

Discipline and Renewal: The brook represents both a grave marker for disbelief and a baptismal line into renewed mission. Leaders today may draw from this juncture the dual lessons of divine severity toward unbelief and readiness to empower the obedient.

Boundary of Holiness: As a frontier between hostile nations, the Zered underscores God’s call to moral separation. Israel must abstain from Moabite and Edomite land except by divine sanction, prefiguring the believer’s pilgrimage through, yet not of, the world (compare John 17:15-16).

Archaeological and Extra-Biblical Corroboration

Survey work along Wadi al-Hasa has uncovered Iron Age settlements and caravan stations, confirming its role as a Transjordan artery. Bronze Age pottery attests to occupation contemporary with the Exodus period, aligning with the biblical narrative that the region was inhabited by Moabites whom Israel was forbidden to harass (Deuteronomy 2:9).

Application for Believers Today

• Seasons of waiting are purposeful; God counts the days until faith matures and new chapters open.
• Spiritual progress often requires literal or figurative boundary crossings, undertaken by faith in God’s clear word.
• Memory markers like the Zered remind churches to retell how the Lord has guided them from discipline to destiny, fostering gratitude and perseverance.

זֶ֔רֶד זָ֑רֶד זָֽרֶד׃ זרד זרד׃ zā·reḏ Zared zāreḏ ze·reḏ Zered zereḏInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts