Sidon
Where is Sidon today? The port city of Saida (Sidon) in southern Lebanon, an ancient Phoenician city linked to Elijah, Jesus and Paul, with key chapters.
- Today
- Sidon (Saida), southern Lebanon
- Country
- Lebanon
- Status
- Living city: Sea Castle, old souk and Temple of Eshmun
- Identification
- Certain
Sidon, north of Tyre, is one of the oldest Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast. The table of nations in Genesis names Sidon as Canaan's firstborn and starts the Canaanite border there. The Sidonians were famed for their skill in cutting timber, and Jezebel, wife of King Ahab, was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. During the years of famine Elijah stayed with a widow in Zarephath, a town belonging to Sidon. In the New Testament Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon, and Paul called on friends there during his voyage to Rome.
Read the chapters
- Genesis 10
- 1 Kings 17
- Matthew 15
- Mark 7
- Luke 4
- Acts 27
A chapter recounting in vivid detail how the ship carrying Paul as a prisoner is caught in a violent storm, highlighting one man who keeps his composure on a voyage that seems hopeless.
Related topics
Related people
- Jesus Christ
- Mary
- Paul
- Peter
- John the Baptist
- Abraham
- Solomon
- Joseph
- Noah
- Elijah
- Adam
- Elisha
- Eve
- Isaac
- Sarah
- Jacob
- Barnabas
- Elizabeth
- Stephen
- Lydia
- Martha
- Matthew
- Mary Magdalene
- Timothy
- Zacchaeus
- Methuselah
- Seth
- Abel
- Cain
- Ishmael
- Hagar
- Lot
- Rachel
- Zechariah
- John the Apostle
- Philip the Apostle
- Andrew
- Judas Iscariot
- Mark
Related verse collections
- Bible Verses About Prayer
- Bible Verses of Comfort
- Bible Verses About Forgiveness
- Bible Verses About Faith
- Bible Verses About Creation
- Bible Verses About Salvation
- Bible Verses About Repentance
- Bible Verses About Family
- Bible Verses About Marriage
- Bible Verses About Money and Contentment
- Bible Verses About Humility
- Bible Verses About Generosity
- Bible Verses About Jesus
- Bible Verses About Witness
- Bible Verses About Loneliness
- Bible Verses About Trials and Testing
- Bible Verses About Healing
- Bible Verses About Peace and Rest
- Bible Verses About God's Promises
- Bible Verses About Work and Labor
- Bible Verses About Mercy
- Bible Verses About Honesty
Reading plans
- The Bible for Beginners — 10 Days
- Holy Week — The Final Days of Jesus
- Two Weeks in the Parables of Jesus
- Advent — 24 Days to Christmas
- The Early Church Through Acts — 28 Days
- The Bible in a Year — 365 Days from Cover to Cover
- 30 Days with the Gospel — An Introduction to the New Testament
Books
Places in the Bible
Which country is Sidon in today?
Sidon today is the port city of Saida in Lebanon, about 40 kilometres south of Beirut. In the Bible it is an ancient Phoenician city bearing the name of Canaan's firstborn (Genesis 10:15); Jesus visited its region and Paul called on friends here on his voyage to Rome. Today visitors see the Crusader Sea Castle on a small offshore islet, the old souk and, just outside the city, the remains of the Phoenician Temple of Eshmun.
Where is Zarephath, and how is it linked to Sidon?
Zarephath was a small Phoenician town on the coast between Sidon and Tyre, belonging to Sidon; it is located near the town of Sarafand in Lebanon today. According to the Bible, Elijah stayed with a widow there, and her jar of flour and jug of oil did not run out (1 Kings 17:9-16). Jesus recalls the episode in his sermon at Nazareth (Luke 4:26).