Zif () is a Palestinian village located south of Hebron. The village is in the Hebron Governorate in the southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Zif had a population of 1,061 in 2017.

History Tell Ziph near Zif has been identified as the site of ancient Ziph.14539 - ZIPH - Church. A Digital Corpus of Early Christian Churches and Monasteries in the Holy Land. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Retrieved 30 Jan 2025.

Iron Age Hebrew Bible Zif is identified with the biblical town of Ziph. It appears several times in the Hebrew Bible as a town in the vicinity of Hebron that belongs to Tribe of Judah (). The nearby "Wilderness of Ziph" is mentioned as a place where David hides himself from Saul (). Later, the town of Ziph is said to be fortified by Rehoboam (). Its name was found on a number of royal Judahite LMLK seals along with those of Hebron, Socoh and MMST.

Archaeology Iron Age remains were found at Tell Ziph, the nearby tell.

Roman and Byzantine periods Zif existed as a village in the Roman period.Tsafrir et al. (1994), p. 262. Between the Great Jewish Revolt and the Bar Kokhba revolt, it served as the administrative center for the district south of Hebron. Evidence of its Jewish population during this period is found in an inscription on an ossuary from Zif and two documents discovered in the Tze'elim Stream.

In the 4th century, Eusebius described it a place "of the tribe of Judah. It is now a kṓmē in the Daromas in the territory of Eleutheropolis, near Hebron, eight miles to the south. Where David hid". It had a Jewish population until at least the 4th century, but it became Christian during the Byzantine period.Magness, 2003, p. 94

The remains of a Byzantine-era Christian communal church have been discovered at Zif.Bar, Doron "The Christianisation of Rural Palestine during Late Antiquity". Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 54, No. 3 July 2003. pp. 401-421, 413. Potsherds from the Byzantine period have also been found here.Dauphin (1998), p. 962.

Ottoman period In 1838, Edward Robinson was the first to identify the village Zif and its adjacent Tell Zif with the biblical town of Ziph.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, pp. 191, 195, 200

In 1863, Victor Guérin visited and described the ruins.Guérin, 1869, pp. 160-162

In 1874, surveyors from the PEF Survey of Palestine visited, and noted about Tell ez Zif: "A large mound, partly natural; on the north side a quarry; on the south are tombs. One of these has a single chamber, with a broad bench running round; on the back wall are three kokim with arched roofs, the arches pointed on the left side wall; at the back is another similar koka. A second tomb was a chamber, 8 feet to the back, 9 feet wide, with three recesses, one on each side, one at the back; they are merely shelves, 8 feet by 5 feet, raised some 2 feet. This tomb has a porch in front, supported by two square rock-cut piers."Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 379

1967 and aftermath In September 2002, a bomb filled with screws and nails, planted by Jewish settlers, exploded in the village's school, wounding five children. A second bomb was found by the school's principal and was detonated by Israeli bomb experts.

Current status Zif has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. The primary health care facilities in the village itself are designated by the Ministry of Health as level 1 and at nearby Yatta as level 3.

References

Bibliography

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External links Zif Village | قرية زيف on Facebook Zif Village (Fact Sheet), Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem, ARIJ Zif Village Profile, ARIJ Zif aerial photo, ARIJ The priorities and needs for development in Zif village based on the community and local authorities’ assessment, ARIJ Survey of Western Palestine, Map 21: IAA , Wikimedia commons