What is "zoan"

Zoan (Hebrew: Tso`an) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a city of Egypt in the eastern Nile delta. Numbers 13:22 says that it was built seven years after Hebron was built. Psalm 78:12,43 identifies the "field of Zoan" as where Moses performed miracles before Pharaoh to persuade him to release Israel from his service. The city is also mentioned in Isaiah 19:11, 13, Isaiah 30:4 and Ezekiel 30:4.

The Greek Septuagint in all of these verses uses the Greek name Tanis; both Tanis and Tso'an are ultimately derived from the Egyptian name for Tanis, Djanet or Djan (Modern Arabic Tsan). This city was not actually built until ca. 1075 BC, however references to Zoan existing previously as early as the time of Abraham are taken to mean the old Hyksos capital at Avaris and the nearby Ramesside capital of Pi-Ramesses, about 25 km. from the site of Tanis. The mentions in Isaiah and Ezekiel certainly correspond with the later Tanis.

Category:Torah cities Category:Hebrew Bible cities