Zereth-shahar

Zereth-shahar ("splendor of the dawn") appears once in Scripture in Joshua's catalog of Reuben's Transjordan tribal allotment: "And Sibmah, and Zareth-shahar in the mount of the valley, And Beth-peor, and Ashdoth-pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth" (Joshua 13:19-20). The town occupied an elevated site overlooking the rift valley east of the Dead Sea — perhaps on the cliffs above the Dead Sea where the early morning sun would dramatically illuminate the heights. The name preserves a poetic memory of dawn light striking the eastern escarpment. The site is identified with Zara on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, where Iron Age remains have been excavated.