סָפַד
çâphad · H5594 · Hebrew · 30 occurrences
Meanings
-
to mourn
Action by which human perform the mourning ritual for someone who has died, or for another tragic event; this may include wailing, tearing one's clothes, putting on sackcloth, covering oneself with dust or ashes, fasting or eating specific food, cutting oneself, shaving one's head, covering part of one's face, etc.; this usually takes place during a specific period of time and ends after the burial has taken place, but it may also be repeated in later days to commemorate a tragic event
ExamplesGenesis 23:2 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
Genesis 50:10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they mourned there with a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and he observed seven days of mourning for his father.
1 Samuel 25:1 Then Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him at his house in Ramah. And David set out and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
How it’s used In 7 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
28 occurrences in 9 groups
- Not stated: they 11
- Not stated: you (more than one) 5
- Not stated (infinitive) 4
- יִשְׂרָאֵלIsrael 3
- Other words · 5 groups that occur once or twice (5) 5
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- הוֹיwoe!, alas! 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
16 occurrences in 12 groups
- לto/for+ וֹhim 6
- Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (12) 12
With adverbsAdverbs
8 occurrences in 2 groups
- לֹאnot 7
- שָׁםthere 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- סָבַבto turn, to go around, to surround 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- עֵתtime, moment, period 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- לto/for 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 4 words
- אָבַל ʼâbal · H56 · to mourn, to wither, to languish
- Both words are verbs of mourning and lamenting with overlapping core senses (both rendered "lament, mourn"), and could substitute in many contexts.
- נוּשׁ nûwsh · H5136 · to be in despair
- The target lexeme and the candidate lexeme both denote genuine grieving or mourning actions, expressing sorrow, and are near-synonyms in that shared sense.
- יָגָה yâgâh · H3013 · to be grieved, to grieve, to torment
- Both words denote expressions of grief and sorrow. יָגָה emphasizes causing or experiencing grief and affliction, while סָפַד focuses on formal mourning and lamentation, and they overlap in contexts of expressing sorrow.
- בָּכָה bâkâh · H1058 · to cry, to weep, to lament
- Both words are distinct Hebrew words for expressing grief or mourning, public or vocal, and could substitute for one another in many contexts. "Mourn" appears in both, and "bewail, lament, wail, weep" all cluster in the same range of sense.
In the other Testament 1 word
- κόπτω kóptō · G2875 · to cut, to mourn, to lament
- Greek κόπτω emphasizes the physical action of beating the breast as an outward expression of grief, while Hebrew סָפַד encompasses the broader ritual mourning practice including vocal lamentation; both denote culturally-encoded mourning behavior where the Greek highlights the somatic gesture and the Hebrew the fuller ceremony.
Semantic domains 1 entry
- Grieve002001002013
- To lament, mourn, or wail, the standard verb for formal mourning over the dead, as repeatedly performed for the patriarchs, Saul and Jonathan, and other notable deaths throughout the historical books.
Word family 2 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H5594. saphad [סָפַד] verb wail, lament (Late Hebrew id.; סְפַד ᵑ7, ChrPalAramaic id.,…
[סָפַד] verb wail, lament (Late Hebrew id.; סְפַד ᵑ7, ChrPalAramaic id., SchwIdioticon 64; Assyrian [sapâdu]], sipdu, sipittu, mourning, DlHWB 507; compare Amharic dirge PräZMG xxxv (1881), 762); —
Qal Perfect3feminine singular וְסָֽפְדָה consecutive Zec 12:12, Zec 12:3plural וְסָֽפְדוּ consecutive 1Ki 14:13; Zec 12:10; Imperfect3feminine singular וַתִּסְמֹּד 2Sa 11:26, 2Sa 11:2masculine singular תִּסְמֹּד Eze 24:16, Eze 24:1singular cohortative אֶסְמְּדָה Mic 1:8, Mic 1:3masculine plural יִסְמְּדוּ Jer 6:16 +, etc.; Imperative masculine plural סִפְדוּ 2Sa 3:31 2Sa 3:2t.; feminine plural סְפֹ֫דְנָה Jer 49:3; Infinitive absolute סָפוֺד Zec 7:5; construct סְפוֺד Ecc 3:4, לִסְמֹּד Gen 23:2; 1Ki 13:29, לִסְמּוֺד Jer 16:5; Participle active plural סֹפְדִים Isa 32:12, ׳סוֺ Ecc 12:5; — wail, lament (with loud cries, etc., see Mic 1:8, and compare DrAmo 5:16), especially for dead, with לְ, 1Sa 25:1; 1Sa 28:3; 1Ki 14:13, 1Ki 14:18; Gen 23:2 (P) Jer 16:6; Jer 22:18 (twice in verse); Jer 34:5, compare לָהֶם וְאַלתָּֿנֹד לִסְמּוֺד וְאַלתֵּֿלֵךְ Jer 16:5; with עַלֿ over 2Sa 1:12; 2Sa 11:26; 1Ki 13:30, compare Zec 12:10 (see Zec 12:12 below); with לִפְנֵי i.e. marching before (bier) 2Sa 3:31 (see Dr); with accusative of congnate meaning with verb Gen 50:10 (J); absolute 1Ki 13:29; Eze 24:16 compare Eze 24:23; Ecc 3:4 (opposed to רקד; compare Psa 30:12), and participle as substantive Ecc 12:5 wailers; also, with idea of guilt on part of those wailing, Zec 12:12 (compare Zec 12:10 above); over calamity, judgment, with עַלֿ Mic 1:8, absolute Jer 4:8 (both + הֵילִיל), Jer 49:3 and (with fasting) Zec 7:5; Joe 1:13. — וגו עַלשְֿׂדֵיחֶֿמֶד סֹפְדִים ׳עַלשָֿׁדַיִם Isa 32:12 is dubious; Thes Ew De Che and others upon the breasts smiting (?) for the fields, etc., but read probably שָׂדִים (יִַ֯ם וֺֿת,) GesComm. (q. v.) BuhlLex 13 Skinner and others: over the fields wailing, over the delightful fields, etc.
Niph`al Imperfect3masculine plural יִסָּֽפְדוּ לֹא Jer 16:4 they shall not be bewailed, so Jer 25:33.
שְׂפֹדְנָה Jer 49:3 Masora, < modern editions ׳ס see ספד.
שׂפה (√ of following; compare Late Hebrew = Biblical Hebrew; Assyrian šaptu, lip, edge; so Syriac ; Arabic lip, edge).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 1 entry
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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