Ziphion is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Ziphion was one of the sons of Gad, named in the genealogies of the tribe of Gad as the family of Jacob descended into Egypt. He appears in Genesis 46:16, in the list of Gad’s sons: “And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.” This chapter records the names of Jacob’s household who came to Egypt during the great famine, at the invitation of Joseph, who had risen to power in Pharaoh’s court. Ziphion is thus counted among the seventy persons of Jacob’s family who entered Egypt, the small band from which the nation of Israel would grow.
Scripture tells us nothing else about Ziphion beyond his name in this list. He is not recorded as speaking, acting, or holding any particular role. His inclusion in the genealogy is his whole legacy in the biblical text: he was a son of Gad, and through him the tribe of Gad was built. The sons named in Genesis 46 are the heads of the families that would later be counted in the censuses of Numbers and remembered in the tribal allotments of the Promised Land.
What Scripture says of him, then, is simply this: he belonged to Gad, he went down to Egypt with Jacob’s family, and he was part of the people whom God would multiply and deliver. He did nothing recorded for good or ill. He is one of the many quiet names that make up the chain of God’s faithful working through ordinary families.
The Name
The name Ziphion comes from the Hebrew *Tsiphyon* (צִפְיוֹן). Its meaning is not clearly recoverable with certainty. The name appears to be built on a root related to *tsaphah*, which carries the sense of watching, looking out, or spying, and some suggest a meaning along the lines of “watchman” or “lookout.” Others connect it to a root suggesting sweetness or a honeycomb. Because the exact derivation is uncertain and the name occurs only here in Scripture, no single meaning can be stated with confidence. What is clear is that it was a personal name borne by one man of the tribe of Gad, and its precise sense remains obscure.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never be remembered by crowds. Like Ziphion, our names may appear only in the quiet records of family and faith, not in the great stories of our time. Yet God’s promises were carried forward through exactly such ordinary people. Ziphion went down to Egypt as one name among many, and God kept His covenant through that whole household. There is comfort here: faithfulness does not require fame. Simply belonging to God’s people and walking with them is enough, and He remembers every name.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Genesis 46:16 — And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.