Zuph, Land of

The Land of Zuph was a district in the hill country of Ephraim that takes its name from the Levitical ancestor Zuph, from whom Samuel's father Elkanah descended (1 Chr. 6:26, margin). It is mentioned in 1 Samuel 9:5–6 during the account of Saul's search for his father's lost donkeys: when the servants had passed through several districts without finding them, they entered the land of Zuph, where Saul's servant suggested consulting the man of God (Samuel) whose city was nearby.

Samuel's city, Ramah, lay within or near this district, confirming that the land of Zuph was situated in the central highlands of Benjamin and Ephraim. The district name preserved the memory of the priestly family settled there from the time of the Levitical distribution across Israel.