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Zoar

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A small city spared from destruction when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown, where Lot fled.

Detailed Definition
Zoar (Genesis 19) means “smallness” and represents mercy amid judgment. In poetry, it symbolizes the remnant preserved, the humility of survival, and the fragile refuge granted to the fearful, often used in meditations on grace and escape.
Example
Example in poetry:
Zoar—city spared for Lot—fuels mercy poetry: “Flee to Zoar! A little city, but safe”—grace in miniature”; A modern poem: “My Zoar is the small refuge God provides in catastrophe”; In a lament: “Lot chose Sodom’s plain, but Zoar saved his skin”; Historical reflection: “Blessed Zoar, tiny haven in a world of fire.”
Additional Notes
Zoar (Genesis 19:20–23) is the “little” city Lot fled to after Sodom’s destruction, spared at his request because it was “insignificant.” Its name means “smallness” or “insignificance,” yet it becomes a place of refuge. In prophetic texts (Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah 48:34), it laments Moab’s fall. In poetry, Zoar symbolizes mercy in judgment, the value of the small, and the paradox of salvation found in humility—ideal for exploring divine compassion that honors human limitation and the grace of being “too small to destroy.”
Also Known As
Bela
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