Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Small, a town on the east or south-east of the Dead Sea, to which Lot and his daughters fled from Sodom (Gen. 19:22, 23). It was originally called Bela (14:2, 8). It is referred to by the prophets Isaiah (15:5) and Jeremiah (48:34). Its ruins are still seen at the opening of the ravine of Kerak, the Kir-Moab referred to in 2 Kings 3, the modern Tell esh-Shaghur.
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1863)
(smallness), one of the most ancient cities of the land of Canaan. Its original name was Bela. (Genesis 14:2,8) It was in intimate connection with the cities of the “plain of Jordan”—Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, See also (Genesis 13:10) but not Genesis10:19 In the general destruction of the cities of the plain Zoar was spared to afford shelter to Lot. (Genesis 19:22,23,30) It is mentioned in the account of the death of Moses as one (of the landmarks which bounded his view from Pisgah, (34:3) and it appears to have been known in the time both of Isaiah, (Isaiah 15:5) and Jeremiah.
(Jeremiah 48:34) These are all the notices of Zoar contained in the Bible. It was situated in the same district with the four cities already mentioned, viz. in the “plain” or “circle” of the Jordan, and the narrative of (Genesis 19:1)... evidently implies that it was very near to Sodom.
vs. (Genesis 19:15; 23:27) The definite position of Sodom is, and probably will always be, a mystery; but there can be little doubt that the plain of the Jordan was at the north side of the Dead Sea and that the cities of the plain must therefore have been situated there instead of at the southern end of the lake, as it is generally taken for granted they were.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898) & Schaff's Bible Dictionary
" Gen 14:2, 1 Kgs 15:8. This "little city" was spared from the destruction which overtook Sodom and the other cities, and made a refuge for Lot. Gen 19:20-30. Zoar was included in the view Moses had from Pisgah. Deut 34:3. The prophets Isaiah, Isa 15:5, and Jeremiah, Jer 48:34, reckon Zoar among the cities of Moab. Situation. - The situation of Zoar, like that of the other cities of the plain, has been much discussed. The great majority of scholars, from Ptolemy, Josephus, Eusebius, and Jerome to the present time, have located it near the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea.
The shore of the bay, which extends from the Dead Sea into the Lisan Peninsula, has been regarded as a probable site for Zoar. For the general discussion as to the relative merits of the sites at the northern and at the southern ends of the Dead Sea, see Siddim and Sodom. Tristram was confident that he had discovered the site of Zoar at Ziara, some 3 miles north-west of Nebo and 11 miles west of the northern end of the Dead Sea.
Among the points he urges for this special identification are the strong resemblance of the names and the fact that this place would be in plain view of Moses from Nebo. Deut 34:3. He cites also several arguments for putting all the cities at the upper end of the Dead Sea. This seems to be among the mountains, and too far from the other to be a likely position for Zoar. Merrill suggests, as the site for Zoar, Tell Ektauu, in the Shittim plain, north-east of the Dead Sea, near to the mountains of Moab, although it cannot be reckoned as one of the foot-hills.
" The site would be in the direction Lot would naturally take in hastening to the neighboring city, and its distance from other mounds in the Shittim plain (which Dr. Merrill would identify with the plain in which stood Sodom and Gomorrah) corresponds well with the time allowed the fugitive - namely, from dawn to sunrise. Conder, who would place the lost cities at the north "end" of the Dead Sea, suggests Tell esh-Shaghai as the site of Zoar. It is at the foot of the eastern mountains, immediately north of the Dead Sea, and about 6 miles south of Nimrin.
Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869)
little; small