Zerah in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
1. Younger twin son with Pharez of Judah and Tamar (Genesis
38:30; 1 Chronicles 2:6; Matthew 1:3).
2. Son of Simeon (1 Chronicles 4:24). (See ZOHAR in
Genesis 46:10.
3. A Gershonite Levite, son of Iddo or Adaiah (1
Chronicles 6:21; 1 Chronicles 6:41).
4. The Ethiopian (Cushite) invader defeated by ASA .
About this very time there reigned a king Azerch Amar in
Ethiopia, whose monuments are found at Napata. The Hebrew
abbreviated the name into Zerah. Also an Ozorchon occupied
the throne from 956 to 933 B.C. Ozorchon II. succeeded to
the throne in right of his wife, sister of the previous
king, and so may have been an Ethiopian; but the former is
more probable. The defeat of the army of such a great world
power as Egypt or Ethiopia is unparalleled in Israel's
history, and could only have been through the divine aid.
"Jehovah smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before
Judah, and the Ethiopians fled, and Asa pursued them unto
Gerar, and the Ethiopians were overthrown that they could
not recover themselves, for they were destroyed before
Jehovah and before His host, and they carried away much
spoil" (2 Chronicles 14:9-13). The greatness of Egypt which
Shishak had caused diminished at his death. His immediate
successors were of no note in the monuments. Hence Asa was
able in the first ten years of his reign to recruit his
forces and guard against such another invasion as that of
Shishak had been. Zerah seems to have taken advantage of
Egypt's weakness to extort permission to march his enormous
force, composed of the same nationalities (Ethiopians and
Lubims: 2 Chronicles 16:8; 2 Chronicles 12:3) as those of
the preceding invader Shishak, through Egypt, into Judah.
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