Sidon

Sidon, also called Great Sidon, was a prominent Phoenician city known for its trade and culture, and was the hometown of Jezebel, wife of King Ahab (1Ki 16:31). It is mentioned in various contexts throughout the Bible, including the Old Testament (Gen. 10:19; Josh. 11:8; Judg. 10:6; Isa. 23:2-4; Jer. 27:3; Ezek. 28:21-22) and the New Testament (Matt. 11:21-22; Luke 4:26; Act.27.3).

Sidon was an ancient Phoenician city located on the Mediterranean coast. First mentioned in Genesis as a border marker of Canaan (Genesis 10:19), it was named among the territories that Israel failed to conquer (Judges 1:31).

The city was known for its maritime expertise. Sidonians were skilled sailors and craftsmen, particularly noted for their lumber trade. They supplied cedar for both Solomon's temple and the post-exile reconstruction (1Ki.5.6; Ezra 3:7). Ezekiel described Sidon's mariners as skilled oarsmen (Ezk.27.8).

Sidon frequently appears in connection with idolatry. The city's deities, particularly Ashtoreth, influenced Israelite worship during periods of apostasy (Judges 10:6). Solomon's Sidonian wives led him into idol worship (1Ki.11.1,5), and Jezebel, a Sidonian princess, promoted Baal worship in Israel (1Ki.16.31).

Several prophets pronounced judgment against Sidon. Isaiah depicted it as a mourning merchant city (Isaiah 23:2,4,12). Jeremiah included it among nations to drink God's cup of wrath (Jeremiah 25:22). Ezekiel prophesied against it, declaring God would be glorified through its judgment (Ezk.28.21-22).

In the New Testament, Jesus mentioned Sidon in comparing it favorably to unrepentant Jewish cities (Matthew 11:21-22). He visited the region of Tyre and Sidon (Mrk.7.24,31), and people from these areas came to hear him (Luke 6:17). The apostle Paul visited Sidon during his journey to Rome (Act.27.3).

The city maintained commercial relations with Herod's territories, as evidenced by the reference to Tyre and Sidon's dependence on Herod's country for food (Act.12.20).

Probably corresponds to modern Saida in Lebanon, which has maintained continuous habitation since ancient times.

A fishery, a town on the Mediterranean coast, about 25 miles north of Tyre. It received its name from the “first-born” of Canaan, the grandson of Noah (Gen. 10:15, 19). It was the first home of the Phoenicians on the coast of Palestine, and from its extensive commercial relations became a “great” city (Josh. 11:8; 19:28). It was the mother city of Tyre. It lay within the lot of the tribe of Asher, but was never subdued (Judg. 1:31). The Zidonians long oppressed Israel (Judg. 10:12). From the time of David its glory began to wane, and Tyre, its “virgin daughter” (Isa. 23:12), rose to its place of pre-eminence. Solomon entered into a matrimonial alliance with the Zidonians, and thus their form of idolatrous worship found a place in the land of Israel (1 Kings 11:1, 33). This city was famous for its manufactures and arts, as well as for its commerce (1 Kings 5:6; 1 Chr. 22:4; Ezek. 27:8). It is frequently referred to by the prophets (Isa. 23:2, 4, 12; Jer. 25:22; 27:3; 47:4; Ezek. 27:8; 28:21, 22; 32:30; Joel 3:4). Our Lord visited the “coasts” of Tyre and Zidon = Sidon (q.v.), Matt. 15:21; Mark 7:24; Luke 4:26; and from this region many came forth to hear him preaching (Mark 3:8; Luke 6:17). From Sidon, at which the ship put in after leaving Caesarea, Paul finally sailed for Rome (Acts 27:3, 4).

This city is now a town of 10,000 inhabitants, with remains of walls built in the twelfth century A.D. In 1855, the sarcophagus of Eshmanezer was discovered. From a Phoenician inscription on its lid, it appears that he was a “king of the Sidonians,” probably in the third century B.C., and that his mother was a priestess of Ashtoreth, “the goddess of the Sidonians.” In this inscription Baal is mentioned as the chief god of the Sidonians.