People from the city of Zidon
“Zidonians” simply means people who came from Zidon, often spelled Sidon in modern English. Zidon was a prominent city on the Mediterranean coast, north of Israel. In the table of nations after the flood, Scripture names Sidon as Canaan’s firstborn, linking the city’s people with the wider Canaanite population (Genesis 10:15).
The Bible sometimes speaks of the Zidonians alongside the people of Tyre, another major coastal city nearby. These cities were close neighbours and shared commercial and cultural ties, so references to Tyre and Zidon often point to the peoples of that northern coastline (Joshua 13:4).
And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,
Known for skilled work and trade
The Zidonians had a reputation for practical skill. When Solomon prepared to build the temple in Jerusalem, he asked Hiram of Tyre for cedar trees from Lebanon. Solomon specifically noted that the Zidonians knew how to cut timber well, a task requiring knowledge of the forests, tools, transport, and sea routes (1 Kings 5:6).
That detail gives a more rounded picture. The Zidonians were not only people Israel encountered in conflict. They were also capable craftspeople and trading neighbours whose resources helped supply a major moment in Israel’s worship.
Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
A troubling spiritual influence
Their relationship with Israel was not always healthy. In the days of the judges, Israel remembered the Zidonians among the peoples from whom God had delivered them when they were oppressed (Judges 10:12). More seriously, King Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians. Her influence drew Ahab into serving Baal, rather than remaining faithful to the Lord (1 Kings 16:31).
Scripture does not present every Zidonian as the same. Still, it clearly warns Israel about adopting the worship and loyalties of surrounding nations. The issue was never ethnicity. It was whether people would turn from false gods to the living God.
And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
Zidon in Jesus’ time
Zidon remained a recognised city in the New Testament. People from the region of Tyre and Zidon came to hear Jesus and seek healing, showing that his ministry drew crowds beyond the borders of Jewish towns (Luke 6:17). Jesus also spoke of Tyre and Sidon when confronting towns that had seen his works yet refused to repent (Matthew 11:21-22).
So, the Zidonians were real neighbouring people with a long biblical history. Their story appears in family origins, trade, Israel’s struggles with idolatry, and the wider world reached by Jesus’ ministry. Reading those passages together helps keep the picture honest and human.