Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible Online

I. Name Deut. 2.20 presents the Zamzummites, zamzummîm, as the Ammonite designation of the former inhabitants of the Ammonite area. Since the Zamzummites are interpreted as a tribe of the Rephaim related to the Enakites (Giants), it can be assumed that the Zamzummites are enfeebled spirits of the dead (Pope 1981:170; Hübner 1992: 163–164). Their name is etymologically connected to zmm, ‘to contrive evil’ ( HALAT 262; Hübner 1992:212). II. Identity Unlike the Rephaim, the Zamzummites are not mentioned in texts outside the OT. The only information concerning their c…

I. Name In the Northwest-Semitic languages, Zaphon is first attested in Ugaritic texts as a designation for Jebel al-Aqraʿ to the north of Ugarit. In the OT, Zaphon occurs in a general sense meaning ‘north (-wind)’ and in a special sense designating a divine mountain. In this latter sense Zaphon is used as a synonym for mount Zion ( Ps. 48.3). Etymologically, Zaphon can be derived from ṣāpâ ‘to spy’ (Eissfeldt 1932; Bonnet 1987). Less likely are derivations from ṣāpan ‘to hide’ (De Savignac) or from ṣûp ‘to float’ (Lipiński 1987–89). II. Identity 40 km to the north of Ugarit, Je…

I. Name The West Semitic deity Zedek, ‘Righteousness’, is found in the Bible only in the personal names Melchizedek ( Gen. 14.18; cf. Ps. 110.4; Heb. 5.6; Heb. 6.20–7.17) and Adonizedek ( Josh. 10.1, Josh. 3), both Canaanite kings of pre-Israelite Jerusalem. Zedek is probably to be identified with the deity known as Išar among the Amorites and Kittu in Babylonia, and thus a hypostasis or personification of the sun god Shamash’s function (Shemesh) as divine overseer of justice. The cult of Zedek appears to have been well established in pre-Israelite (Jebusite) Jerusalem. …

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I. Name Zeus is the main divinity of the Greek pantheon. His name is of undisputed Indo-European origin, connected with Lat. Iu-piter, Rigveda Dyaus (pitar) etc., derived from the root * diwu-, “day (as opposed to night)” (Lat. dies), “(clear) sky”. He is identified with local weather gods of Asia Minor, with great sky gods (Zeus Beelsêmên, Baalshamem) as well as local Baʿalim of Syria and Palestine, and with the Egyptian Amun/Ammon. In the Bible, he appears in 2 Macc. 6.2 (the temple in Jerusalem and the sanctuary of Garizim are rededicated to Zeus) and in Acts 14.12–13 (the inhabitants o…