Lexical Definition

‎צֶלַע‎ Tselaʻ (tseh'-lah) Zela ^N:N--L
the same as ‎צֶלַע‎

Zelah.

• § Zelah = "a rib"
• Tsela, a place in Palestine

1) a city in Benjamin containing the family burial place of Saul

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎צֵלַע‎ proper name, of a location in Benjamin Josh 18:28, A ᵐ5^L Σελα [(ε) λαφ]; burial-place of Saul 2Sam 21:14 (‎צֵלָֹע‎), ἐν τῇ πλευρᾷ; possinly = Tel Amarna Zilu, so Zim^{ZA vi. 258} Jastr^{JBL xi (1892), 105} (Wkl, however, thinks of ‎סלע‎).

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Zela • A city in Benjamin where Saul's family was buried

Zela was a city in Benjamin where Saul and his family were buried (Jos.18:28; 2Sa.21:14).

• A location near Haeleph אֶלֶף first mentioned at Jos.18.28;
• only referred to as Zela צֶלַע.
  

Zela was a city located in the territory allotted to the tribe of Benjamin (Jos.18:28). It is mentioned as part of a group of fourteen cities north of Jerusalem, though its exact location is uncertain. Some suggest it may be identified with Khirbet Salah between Jerusalem and Gibeon. Notably, Zela contained the ancestral tomb of Kish, the father of King Saul. After Saul and his sons were killed by the Philistines, David had their bones buried in this tomb at Zela (2Sa.21:14). The name Zela in Hebrew may mean "rib" or "side" as of a hill. Zela is possibly the same as Zilu mentioned in the Tell el-Amarna Letters.

All entries for Zela: צֶלַע