Zephathah
Zeph'athah (Heb. Tsepha'thah, צפָתָה, watchtower; Sept. κατὰ βοῤᾶν; Josephus, Σαφθά, Ant. 8:12,1; Vulg. Sephata), the name of a valley (גֵּאי) where Asa joined battle with Zerah the Ethiopian (2Ch 14:10). It was "at," or rather "belonging to," Mareshah (למָרֵשָׁה; Josephus, οὐκ ἄπωθεν). This would seem to exclude the possibility of its being, as suggested by Robinson (Bibl. Res.2, 31), at Teles-Safieh, which is not less than eight miles from Marash, the modern representative of Mareshah. There is a deep valley, which runs past the latter place down to, Beit Jibrin, and thence into the plain of Philistia. This, perhaps, may be the valley of Zephathah (Porter, Handbook, p. 258). Some, however, understand the name Zephathah to be only thatof Zepihath (q.v.), with ה directive, and render it "the valley towards Zephath."
