Zoar

Zoar (meaning: little; small) was one of the five cities of the plain, originally called Bela (Gen. 14:2, 8), located on the east or southeast shore of the Dead Sea. When the Lord rained fire and sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot pleaded for Zoar to be spared because of its smallness, and God granted the request (Gen. 19:20–22). Lot and his daughters fled there, though he soon left for the hills because he feared remaining in the city.

Zoar appears in the death of Moses narrative as a landmark visible from Mount Pisgah (Deut. 34:3). Both Isaiah (15:5) and Jeremiah (48:34) mention it in oracles against Moab, indicating it survived into the prophetic era as a recognizable place. Its ruins have been tentatively identified at Tell esh-Shaghur at the opening of the ravine of Kerak on the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea.