a fishery, a town on the Mediterranean coast, about 25 miles north of Tyre. It received its name from the "first-born" of Canaan, the grandson of Noah ( Genesis 10:15 Genesis 10:19 ). It was the first home of the Phoenicians on the coast of Palestine, and from its extensive commercial relations became a "great" city ( Joshua 11:8 ; 19:28 ). It was the mother city of Tyre. It lay within the lot of the tribe of Asher, but was never subdued ( Judges 1:31 ). The Zidonians long oppressed Israel ( Judges 10:12 ). From the time of David its glory began to wane, and Tyre, its "virgin daughter" ( Isaiah 23:12 ), rose to its place of pre-eminence. Solomon entered into a matrimonial alliance with the Zidonians, and thus their form of idolatrous worship found a place in the land of Israel ( 1 Kings 11:1 1 Kings 11:33 ). This city was famous for its manufactures and arts, as well as for its commerce ( 1 Kings 5:6 ; 1 Chronicles 22:4 ; Ezekiel 27:8 ). It is frequently referred to by the prophets ( Isaiah 23:2 Isaiah 23:4 Isaiah 23:12 ; Jeremiah 25:22 ; 27:3 ; 47:4 ; Ezekiel 27:8 ; Ezekiel 28:21 Ezekiel 28:22 ; 32:30 ; Joel 3:4 ). Our Lord visited the "coasts" of Tyre and Zidon = Sidon (q.v.), Matthew 15:21 ; Mark 7:24 ; Luke 4:26 ; and from this region many came forth to hear him preaching ( Mark 3:8 ; Luke 6:17 ). From Sidon, at which the ship put in after leaving Caesarea, Paul finally sailed for Rome ( Acts 27:3 Acts 27:4 ).
This city is now a town of 10,000 inhabitants, with remains of walls built in the twelfth century A.D. In 1855, the sarcophagus of Eshmanezer was discovered. From a Phoenician inscription on its lid, it appears that he was a "king of the Sidonians," probably in the third century B.C., and that his mother was a priestess of Ashtoreth, "the goddess of the Sidonians." In this inscription Baal is mentioned as the chief god of the Sidonians.
hunting; fishing; venison
( Genesis 10:15 Genesis 10:19 ; Joshua 11:8 ; 19:28 ; Judges 1:31 ; 18:28 ; Isaiah 23:2 Isaiah 23:4 Isaiah 23:12 ; Jeremiah 25:22 ; 27:3 ; Ezekiel 28:21 Ezekiel 28:22 ; Joel 3:4 ) ( Joel 4:4 ); Zech 9:2; Matt 11:21,22; 15:21; Mark 3:8; 1:24,31; Luke 6:17; 10:13,14 an ancient and wealthy city of Phoenicia, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, less than twenty English miles to the north of Tyre. Its Hebrew name, Tsidon , signifies fishing or fishery . Its modern name is Saida . It is situated in the narrow plain between the Lebanon and the sea. From a biblical point of view this city is inferior in interest to its neighbor Tyre; though in early times Sidon was the more influential of the two cities. This view is confirmed by Zidonians being used as the generic name of Phoenicians or Canaanites. ( Joshua 13:6 ; Judges 18:7 ) From the time of Solomon to the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar Zidon is not often directly mentioned in the Bible, and it appears to have been subordinate to Tyre. When the people called "Zidonians" are mentioned, it sometimes seems that the Phoenicians of the plain of Zidon are meant. ( 1 Kings 5:6 ; 1 Kings 11:1 1 Kings 11:5 1 Kings 11:33 ; 16:31 ; 2 Kings 23:13 ) All that is known are respecting the city is very scanty, amounting to scarcely more than that one of its sources of gain was trade in slaves, in which the inhabitants did not shrink from selling inhabitants of Palestine and that it was governed by kings. ( Jeremiah 25:22 ; 27:3 ) During the Persian domination Zidon seems to have attained its highest point of prosperity; and it is recorded that, toward the close of that period, it far excelled all other Phoenician cities in wealth and importance. Its prosperity was suddenly cut short by an unsuccessful revolt against Persia, which ended in the destruction of the town, B.C. 351. Its king, Tennes had proved a traitor and betrayed the city to Ochus, king of the Persians; the Persian troops were admitted within the gates, and occupied the city walls. The Zidonians, before the arrival of Ochus, had burnt their vessels to prevent any ones leaving the town; and when they saw themselves surrounded by the Persian troops, they adopted the desperate resolution of shutting themselves up with their families, and setting fire each man to his own house. Forty thousand persons are said to have perished in the flames. Zidon however, gradually recovered from the blow, and became again a flourishing town. It is about fifty miles distant from Nazareth, and is the most northern city which is mentioned in connection with Christs journeys. (The town Saida still shows signs of its former wealth, and its houses are better constructed and more solid than those of Tyre, many of them being built of stone; but it is a poor, miserable place, without trade or manufactures worthy of the name. The city that once divided with Tyre the empire of the seas is now almost without a vessel. Silk and fruit are its staple products. Its population is estimated at 10,000, 7000 of whom are Moslems, and the rest Catholics, Maronites and Protestants. --McClintock and Strongs Cyclopaedia. There is a flourishing Protestant mission here. --ED.)