Place Old Testament
Zuph
The land of Zuph was a region in Ephraim where Saul and his servant searched for his father's lost donkeys . Mentioned once in Scripture, at 1 Samuel 9:5.
Why it matters. A land where Saul searched for his father's donkeys
- Primary passages
- Location
- 31.847, 35.185 (approximate, within about 2 km)
Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Zuph
Zuph is mentioned in the Bible as a land or region in the hill country of Ephraim (1Sa.9.5). It was named after Zuph, an Ephraimite, who was an ancestor of Samuel (1Ch.6.35). When Saul and his servant were searching for his father's lost donkeys, they passed through the land of Zuph. As they were about to return home, Saul's servant suggested that they consult the prophet Samuel, who was in a nearby city, for guidance (1Sa.9.6). This led to Saul's anointing as the first king of Israel by Samuel. The exact location and extent of the land of Zuph are not specified, but it was likely in the general vicinity of Samuel's hometown, Ramah, in the hill country of Ephraim.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
1 Samuel (1 verse)