Zorah or Tzorah, perhaps "place of wasps," was a biblical town in the low country of Judah

Kingdom of Judah

The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....

.

Location

Zorah was situated on the crest of a hill overlooking the valley of Sorek

Brook of Sorek

Nahal Sorek , also Soreq, is one of the largest, most important drainage basins in the Judean Hills. It is mentioned in the Book of Judges 16:4 of the Bible as the border between the ancient Philistines and the Tribe of Dan of the ancient Israelites...

, and was fortified by Rehoboam

Rehoboam

Rehoboam was initially king of the United Monarchy of Israel but after the ten northern tribes of Israel rebelled in 932/931 BC to form the independent Kingdom of Israel he was king of the Kingdom of Judah, or southern kingdom. He was a son of Solomon and a grandson of David...

 . It has been identified with Sar'a

Sar'a

Sar'a , was a Palestinian Arab village located 25 km west of Jerusalem.-History:The Canaanites referred to Sar'a by the name of Sur'a or Zorah, mentioned in the Amarna letters. It was known as part of the territory of the Tribe of Judah, on the boundary of the Tribe of Dan. Later, the Romans...

, 23 kilometers west of Jerusalem near Nahal Sorek.

History

Zorah was mentioned together with Ajalon

Ajalon

Ajalon was a place in the lowland of Shephelah in the ancient Land of Israel, identified today as Yalo at the foot of the Bethoron pass, a Palestinian Arab village located southeast of Ramla in the West Bank. Its name is Hebrew for "place of gazelles".The place may have been the site of several...

 in the Amarna letters

Amarna letters

The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...

 as a city attacked by the Apiru.

In , Zorah is mentioned in the allotment of the Tribe of Judah

Tribe of Judah

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Judah was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes....

, on the border with the Tribe of Dan

Tribe of Dan

The Tribe of Dan, also sometimes spelled as "Dann", was one of the Tribes of Israel. Though known mostly from biblical sources, they were possibly descendants of the Denyen Sea Peoples who joined with Hebrews...

. It was most likely the Danites that occupied Zorah , probably the same as Zoreah . This was Samson

Samson

Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....

's birthplace , and near it he found a grave .

Zorah is also the name of an Egyptian sun god which is in line with other sun-worshiping villages in the area, Eshtaol

Eshtaol

Eshtaol is a moshav in central Israel. Located north of Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2006, Eshtaol had a population of 876.-History:...

 (valley of fire) and Beit Shemesh (house of sun).

A kibbutz of this Hebrew name

Tzora

Tzora is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located about 20 km from Jerusalem, near the city of Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. At the beginning of 2009, the kibbutz had a total population of 800, of whom 350 were members.-History:The kibbutz derives its...

is now located nearby.