Tell Ziph near Zif has been identified as the site of ancient Ziph.
Iron Age Hebrew Bible Zif is identified with the biblical town of
Ziph. It appears several times in the
Hebrew Bible as a town in the vicinity of Hebron that belongs to
Tribe of Judah (). The nearby "Wilderness of Ziph" is mentioned as a place where
David hides himself from
Saul (). Later, the town of Ziph is said to be fortified by
Rehoboam (). Its name was found on a number of royal
Judahite LMLK seals along with those of
Hebron,
Socoh and
MMST.
Archaeology Iron Age remains were found at Tell Ziph, the nearby
tell.
Roman and Byzantine periods Zif existed as a village in the
Roman period. Between the
Great Jewish Revolt and the
Bar Kokhba revolt, it served as the administrative center for the district south of
Hebron. Evidence of its Jewish population during this period is found in an inscription on an
ossuary from Zif and two documents discovered in the
Tze'elim Stream. It had a
Jewish population until at least the 4th century, but it became
Christian during the
Byzantine period. The remains of a Byzantine-era Christian communal
church have been discovered at Zif.
Potsherds from the Byzantine period have also been found here.
Ottoman period In 1838,
Edward Robinson was the first to identify the village Zif and its adjacent Tell Zif with the biblical town of Ziph. In 1863,
Victor Guérin visited and described the ruins. 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."
1967 and aftermath 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. ==Current status==