ZEREDAH zĕr’ ə də (צְרֵדָ֗ה, 1 Kings 11:26; alternately צְרֵדָֽתָה 2 Chron 4:17 or צָֽרְתָ֔ן Josh 3:16 and variously spelled in Eng. VSS Zeredah, Zeredath, Zeredatha, Zererah, Zererath, Zarethan [q.v.]). 1. The home of Jeroboam when he rebelled against Solomon (1 Kings 11:26). It lay in the district of Ephrah, prob. in the general area of Ephraim (Judg 12:5 where ’eprāti means “man of Ephraim”). Elkanah, father of Samuel, is also described as an Ephrathite (1 Sam 1:1) from the western foothills of Ephraim. Possible locations are near ’Ain Seridah in W Samaria, or Deir Ghassaneh SW of Shechem.

2. A city in the Jordan Valley where metal was cast for the Temple (2 Chron 4:17, KJV Zeredathah). The parallel passage in 1 Kings 7:46 reads Zarthan KJV (צָרְתָֽן) which is more likely. One should read Zeredah instead of Zererah in Judges 7:22 with some twenty Heb. MSS, because the ר (r) and ד (d) are easily confused. Both Joshua 3:16 and 1 Kings 4:12 evidently refer to the same site which has been identified with the modern Tell es Sa ’idiyeh.

Bibliography J. B. Pritchard, “The First excavations at Tell es-Sa’idiyeh,” BA (1965), 10-17; W. F. Albright, “The Administrative Divisions of Israel and Judah,” JPOS, V (1925), 33, 37.