Zif, Hebron
Zif (Arabic: زيف) is a Palestinian village located 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) south of Hebron. The village is in the Hebron Governorate in the southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Zif had a population of 848 in 2007.[1] The primary health care facilities in the village itself are designated by the Ministry of Health as level 1 and at nearby Yatta as level 3.[2]
Zif | |
---|---|
Arabic transcription(s) | |
• Arabic | زيف |
Zif Location of Zif within Palestine | |
Coordinates: 31°28′47″N 35°07′19″E | |
Palestine grid | 163/098 |
State | State of Palestine |
Governorate | Hebron |
Government | |
• Type | Village council |
Population (2007) | |
• Total | 848 |
History
Zif existed as a village in the Roman era.[3] It had a Jewish population until at least the 4th century, but it became Christian during the Byzantine period.[4]
The remains of a Byzantine-era Christian communal church have been discovered at Zif.[5] Ceramics from the Byzantine era have also been found here.[6]
Ottoman era
In 1838 Edward Robinson identified the modern town of Zif and its adjacent Tell Zif with the biblical Ziph.[7]
In 1863 Victor Guérin visited and described the ruins.[8]
In 1874 surveyors from the PEF Survey of Palestine visited, and noted about Tell ez Zif: "A large mound, partly natural; on the north side a quarry; on the south are tombs. One of these has a single chamber, with a broad bench running round; on the back wall are three kokim with arched roofs, the arches pointed on the left side wall; at the back is another similar koka. A second tomb was a chamber, 8 feet to the back, 9 feet wide, with three recesses, one on each side, one at the back; they are merely shelves, 8 feet by 5 feet, raised some 2 feet. This tomb has a porch in front, supported by two square rock-cut piers.[9]
Modern era
Zif has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
In September 2002, a bomb filled with screws and nails, planted by Jewish settlers, exploded in the village's school, wounding five children. A second bomb was found by the school's principal and was detonated by Israeli bomb experts.[10]
References
- 2007 PCBS Census Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.119.
- West Bank Health care at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 2006-03-13)
- Tsafrir et al, 1994, p. 262
- Magness, 2003, p. 94
- Doron Bar, 'The Christianisation of Rural Palestine during_Late Antiquity,' Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 54, No. 3 July 2003 pp.401-421 p.413.
- Dauphin, 1998, p. 962
- Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, pp. 191, 195, 200
- Guérin, 1869, pp. 160-162
- Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 379
- Schmemann, Serge (2002-09-18). "Bomb Explodes at Palestinian School, Hurting 5 Children". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
Bibliography
- Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. (p. 315)
- Dauphin, Claudine (1998). La Palestine byzantine, Peuplement et Populations. BAR International Series 726 (in French). III : Catalogue. Oxford: Archeopress. ISBN 0-860549-05-4.
- Guérin, V. (1869). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). 1: Judee, pt. 3. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
- Magness, J. (2003). The Archaeology of the Early Islamic Settlement in Palestine. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-4575-0070-1. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. (p. 408)
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. 2. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
- Tsafrir, Y.; Leah Di Segni; Judith Green (1994). (TIR): Tabula Imperii Romani: Judaea, Palaestina. Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. ISBN 965-208-107-8.
External links
- Zif Village | قرية زيف on Facebook
- Zif Village (Fact Sheet), Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem, ARIJ
- Zif Village Profile, ARIJ
- Zif aerial photo, ARIJ
- The priorities and needs for development in Zif village based on the community and local authorities’ assessment, ARIJ
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 21: IAA, Wikimedia commons