Tzora 3.04

Tzora is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located about 20 km from Jerusalem, near the city of Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of.EtymologyThe kibbutz is named for the biblical village of Tzora, which may have been a Canaanite town. The name was taken from the Biblical Book of Judges (13:25): "And the spirit of the Lord began to move him (Samson) at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol."HistoryBiblical eraTzora is located about 2km south-west of Tel Tzora, which is where the Palestinian village of Sar'a stood until it was depopulated during the 1948 war. Tel Tzora is the likely location of the biblical village of Zorah.Second Temple eraA ritual bath dating back to the Second Temple Period was discovered near Tzora kibbutz during an archaeological excavation conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in 2011.Modern eraThe kibbutz was founded in December 1948 by former Palmach members. It is located on the land of the depopulated Palestinian village of Dayr Aban.