 During the Roman period (and in classical literature) the imperial authorities called it "Ecdippa" "Ecdeppa", or "Ecdippon".By the early Middle Ages, the Arab name for the village "Az-Zeeb", or "al-Zib" ( meaning 'trickster') was locally in common usage.Az-Zeeb is a shortened form of the site's original ancient Canaanite/Phoenician name, "Achzib".