{
  "id": "dict_006194",
  "term": "Zuph",
  "slug": "zuph",
  "letter": "Z",
  "entry_type": "biblical_proper_name",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "A biblical proper name associated with Samuel’s ancestry and with the land of Zuph in 1 Samuel.",
  "simple_one_line": "Zuph is a biblical name used for both an ancestor in Samuel’s line and a region in Ephraim.",
  "tooltip_text": "An Old Testament proper name: a person/ancestor and the related place name “land of Zuph.”",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Samuel",
    "1 Samuel",
    "Ramathaim-zophim",
    "Ephraim"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Samuel",
    "land of Zuph",
    "Ramathaim-zophim"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Zuph is a biblical name associated with Samuel’s family line and with the land of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A biblical proper name used for an ancestor in Samuel’s genealogy and for a place in 1 Samuel.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Appears in Samuel’s family line in 1 Samuel 1:1",
    "Also gives its name to the “land of Zuph” in 1 Samuel 9:5",
    "Best treated as a proper name, not as a doctrinal term"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Zuph is a biblical proper name rather than a doctrinal concept. In the Old Testament it is associated with Samuel’s ancestry and with the land of Zuph mentioned in 1 Samuel. The term is best classified as a person/place name.",
  "description_academic_full": "Zuph is not primarily a theological term but a biblical proper name. In 1 Samuel 1:1, it appears in Samuel’s ancestry, and in 1 Samuel 9:5 it designates the land of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. The two uses are likely related, with the place name reflecting an ancestral or clan association. Scripture gives limited detail, so interpretations about the exact historical background should remain modest and text-bound. The entry is best handled as a biblical proper-name article rather than as a doctrinal topic.",
  "background_biblical_context": "The Old Testament uses Zuph in connection with Samuel’s family background and with a local region in Ephraim. These references help locate Samuel’s story in real family and geographic settings.",
  "background_historical_context": "Zuph likely functioned as either an ancestral name or a clan-linked place name in Israel’s tribal landscape. Beyond the biblical notices, the historical details are sparse and should not be overstated.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Ancient Israel often used ancestral names for clans, districts, or local regions. Zuph fits that pattern, but the biblical text does not provide enough information for a detailed reconstruction.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "1 Samuel 1:1",
    "1 Samuel 9:5"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "1 Chronicles genealogical notices that may relate to Samuel’s line"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The Hebrew form is a proper name used both for a person/ancestor and for a place name; the biblical data determine the sense in context.",
  "theological_significance": "Zuph has indirect theological value by grounding Samuel’s narrative in identifiable family and geographic history, but it is not a major doctrinal term.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "As a proper name, Zuph functions referentially rather than conceptually: it identifies a person, family line, or place. Its meaning is carried by biblical context rather than by theological abstraction.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not press the evidence beyond what the text states. The exact historical relationship between the ancestor and the place name is not fully explained in Scripture, so reconstructions should remain cautious.",
  "major_views_note": "Most interpreters treat Zuph as both an ancestral name in Samuel’s genealogy and the source of the place name “land of Zuph.” The biblical references are brief, so details remain limited.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Zuph should not be turned into a doctrine or symbolic system. Its significance is historical and textual, not dogmatic.",
  "practical_significance": "Zuph reminds readers that biblical narratives are set in real families and real places, reinforcing the historical rootedness of Scripture.",
  "meta_description": "Zuph is a biblical proper name associated with Samuel’s ancestry and the land of Zuph in 1 Samuel.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/zuph/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/zuph.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}