6868. Tsredah
Lexical Summary
Tsredah: Zeredah

Original Word: צְרֵדָה
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Tsredah
Pronunciation: tseh-reh-DAH
Phonetic Spelling: (tser-ay-daw')
KJV: Zereda, Zeredathah
Word Origin: [apparently from an unused root meaning to pierce]

1. puncture
2. Tseredah, a place in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Zereda, Zeredathah

Or Tsredathah {tser-ay-daw'-thaw}; apparently from an unused root meaning to pierce; puncture; Tseredah, a place in Palestine -- Zereda, Zeredathah.

Brown-Driver-Briggs
צְרֵדָה proper name, of a location home of Jeroboam 1 Kings 11:26, Σαρειρα, A Συριδα; see [ צְרֵרָה] צָֽרְתָן.

צְרֵדָתָה2Chron 4:17 see צָֽרְתָן.

I, II. צָרָה see I, II. צרר.

צרה (√ of following; compare Arabic (,) of vein, run blood, bleed, an odorific tree, or its gum, compare HomA. und A. i. 4, Sabean צֿרו SabDenkm83; (Syriac fructus pini, etc. is loan-word); Late Hebrew = Biblical Hebrew; as to form compare Greek στύραξ (hardly "" in meaning, LagM. i. 234, 384, see Ency. Bib. below), compare LewyFremdw. 41).

Topical Lexicon
Biblical Occurrences

1 Kings 11:26: “Now Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, a servant of Solomon whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king.”
2 Chronicles 4:17: “The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zeredah.”

Geographical Setting

Zeredah lay within the tribal homeland of Ephraim yet bordered the broad Jordan Valley opposite Succoth. Its situation at the juncture of upland hills and the river plain gave it ready access to both the highland road system that linked Shechem, Bethel, and Jerusalem and the industrial resources of the lower Jordan basin. The Chronicle’s notice places it in the same district as Zarethan (1 Kings 7:46), suggesting a cluster of settlements straddling the Jordan-side clay beds that provided ideal soil for large-scale bronze work. Proposed identifications include modern Tell es-Sidieh (near the Jabbok confluence) and Khirbet Banat Bar north of the Wadi Farah.

Historical Significance

1. Birthplace of Jeroboam I. From this obscure Ephraimite village came the future founder of the northern kingdom. His rise from forced labor supervisor (1 Kings 11:28) to king over ten tribes underscores how rapidly political power could shift in Israel’s monarchy and how God can use peripheral locales to accomplish larger covenant purposes, whether in blessing or judgment.
2. Industrial center for Solomon’s temple furnishings. The immense bronze sea, pillars, and utensils (2 Chronicles 4:1–18) were “cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zeredah.” The site offered four strategic advantages: abundant river water for cooling, plentiful clay for molds, ample fuel from Jordan thickets, and flat terrain for massive foundry pits. Thus Zeredah contributed materially to the glory of the Jerusalem temple, even as one of its sons would later lead Israel into idolatry.

Theological and Ministry Insights

• Providence and Paradox. The same village that helped adorn the house of the LORD also produced the king who erected rival shrines at Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12:26–30). Zeredah therefore becomes a living parable of the human capacity to serve or subvert divine purposes.
• Warning against misplaced ambition. Jeroboam’s path from Zeredah to the throne illustrates how legitimate grievances (11:27–28) can be exploited in ways that ultimately defy God’s revealed worship.
• Hope for humble beginnings. Zeredah reminds believers that no birthplace is too small for God’s redemptive plans—whether for craftsmanship that magnifies His glory or for leadership that calls a nation to account.

Archaeological and Scholarly Notes

• Textual variation. The parallel account in 1 Kings 7:46 reads “Zarethan,” while the Chronicler has “Zeredah” (or “Zeredathah” in some manuscripts). Most scholars regard the names as dialectal or scribal variants of the same locality.
• Foundry evidence. Surveys in the lower Jordan Valley have uncovered large slag heaps and kiln fragments consistent with Late Iron Age metallurgy, lending plausibility to the biblical description of an outdoor bronze-casting operation of extraordinary scale.
• Continuity of tradition. Rabbinic sources sometimes equate Zeredah with the region of Jericho’s clay pits, reinforcing the biblical link between the river plain and foundry activity.

Key Themes for Teaching and Preaching

• The double-edged legacy of a community: service in temple building versus service in idol building.
• God’s sovereign selection of unexpected places and people.
• The stewardship of skill: Zeredah’s artisans used natural resources to fashion objects dedicated to worship; modern believers likewise steward abilities for kingdom purposes.

Related References

• Zarethan: Joshua 3:16; 1 Kings 7:46
• Jeroboam’s apostasy: 1 Kings 12:25–33
• Ephraim’s inheritance: Joshua 16:1–10
• Bronze work in Scripture: Exodus 38:8; 2 Kings 25:13–17

Forms and Transliterations
הַצְּרֵדָ֗ה הצרדה צְרֵדָֽתָה׃ צרדתה׃ haṣ·ṣə·rê·ḏāh haṣṣərêḏāh hatztzereDah ṣə·rê·ḏā·ṯāh ṣərêḏāṯāh tzereDatah
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
1 Kings 11:26
HEB: אֶפְרָתִ֜י מִן־ הַצְּרֵדָ֗ה וְשֵׁ֤ם אִמּוֹ֙
NAS: an Ephraimite of Zeredah, Solomon's
KJV: an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's
INT: an Ephraimite at of Zeredah name mother's

2 Chronicles 4:17
HEB: סֻכּ֖וֹת וּבֵ֥ין צְרֵדָֽתָה׃
NAS: between Succoth and Zeredah.
KJV: ground between Succoth and Zeredathah.
INT: Succoth between and Zeredah

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 6868
2 Occurrences


haṣ·ṣə·rê·ḏāh — 1 Occ.
ṣə·rê·ḏā·ṯāh — 1 Occ.

6867
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