צֵל
tsêl · H6738 · Hebrew · 53 occurrences
Meanings
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shadow or shade
A dark area or shape produced by an object coming between the sun's rays and a surface, which provides shelter and respite from the sun's heat and can measure time, associated with safety and protection but also with things that are fleeting and will vanish in time
ExamplesJudges 9:15 “And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out of the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’
Judges 9:36 When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains.” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadow of the mountains as if they were people.”
2 Kings 20:9 Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will perform the word that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?”
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shadow, shelter, protection
Literally: shadow; hence: state in which humans are safe from danger, in the same way as as shaded place provides safety from the heat of the sun
ExamplesGenesis 19:8 “Now look, I have two daughters who have not had relations with any man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do not do anything to these men, because they have come under the shelter of my roof.”
Ecclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom keeps its possessors alive.
Isaiah 30:2 Who proceed down to Egypt Without consulting Me, To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh, And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
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
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
31 occurrences in 18 groups
- הוּhis 7
- כָּנָףwing 4
- הּher 3
- Other words · 15 groups that occur once or twice (17) 17
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- יָרַדto go down, to come down 1
- נָטָהto stretch out, to incline 1
What it doesIt is the subject
6 occurrences in 5 groups
- נוּסto flee 2
- הָלַךְto go, to walk 1
- נָטָהto stretch out, to incline 1
- סוּרto turn aside, to depart, to remove 1
- שׁוּבto return, to turn back 1
What is done to itIt is the object
6 occurrences in 5 groups
- שׁוּבto return, to turn back 2
- הָיָהto be, to become 1
- רָאָהto see 1
- שָׁאַףto gasp 1
- שִׁיתto set, to put, to make 1
What it is said to bePredicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- טוֹבgood 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
7 occurrences in 5 groups
- יוֹםday, time 3
- חׇכְמָהwisdom 1
- יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 1
- כֶּסֶףsilver 1
- הֶםtheir 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
35 occurrences in 4 groups
- בin/on/with 43
- כlike/as 14
- לto/for 4
- מִןfrom 2
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.
In the other Testament 1 word
- σκιά skiá · G4639 · shade, shadow
- Greek σκιά renders Hebrew צֵל as its standard translation equivalent across both literal shade/shadow contexts and figurative protective-cover senses, representing direct cross-linguistic correspondence in the LXX translation tradition.
Semantic domains 2 entries
- Dark002001001017
- This domain's connection to צֵל is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which show the word's sense of shade or protective cover rather than darkness generally.
- Safe002003003019
- צֵל most often denotes shade or protective shelter, as of the shelter of Lot's roof in Genesis 19:8, the protection Israel is told is gone from her enemies in Numbers 14:9, the shade Abimelech offers as king in Jotham's parable in Judges 9:15, and the sign of the shadow's movement given to Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:9.
Word family 5 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H6738. tsel צֵל noun masculinePsa 144:4 shadow; — ׳צ absolute 2Ki 20:9 +, construct Gen…
צֵל noun masculinePsa 144:4 shadow; — ׳צ absolute 2Ki 20:9 +, construct Gen 19:8 +; suffix צִלְךָ Psa 121:5, צִלּוֺ Eze 31:6 +, also צִלְלוֺ Job 40:22, etc.; plural צְלָלִים Son 2:17; Son 4:6; construct צִלְלֵי Jer 6:4; —
1 shadow on dial 2Ki 20:9-10, (twice in verse); 2Ki 20:11 || Isa 38:8; צִלְלֶיעָֿ֑רֶב Jer 6:4, compare Son 2:17; Son 4:6; of mountain Jdg 9:36.
2 shadow, shade, as protection (from sun): of branches, Jdg 9:15 (in allegory), Hos 4:13; Job 40:22; Jon 4:5-6, and (in figurative) Hos 14:8; Eze 17:23; Eze 31:6, Eze 31:12, Eze 31:17; Psa 80:11; Son 2:3 (of refreshment, delight); of rock Isa 32:2 (simile); ׳צ קֹרָתִי Gen 19:8 shadow of my roof; of cloud Isa 25:4 and (figurative of ׳יs protection) Isa 4:6; Isa 25:4, so probably Isa 16:3; ׳צ כְּנָפֶיךָ shadow of thy wings, figurative of ׳י's protection Psa 17:8; Psa 36:8; Psa 57:2; Psa 63:8; shade, in General, Job 7:2, figurative of ׳י Psa 121:5; hence = protection, defence, of city (wall) Jer 48:45; of ׳י Num 14:9 (JE), Psa 91:1 (see also proper name בְּצַלְאֵל), compare יָדוֺ צֵל Isa 49:2 (covering prophet, under figure of sword), Isa 51:16 (covering people); of human ally Isa 30:2-3, of king Lam 4:20; also of wisdom Ecc 7:12, money Ecc 7:12. — בְּצִלָּהּ Isa 34:15 apparently reference to קִמּוֺז, but improbable; read perhaps בֵּצֶיהָ her eggs Du CheHpt (CheHeb Hpt transpose וְדָֽגְרָה וּבָֽקְעָה).
3 shadow as symbol of transitoriness of life Job 8:9; Job 14:2; Psa 144:4 (עוֺבֵר כְּצֵל), Ecc 6:12; Ecc 8:13; נָטוּי כְּצֵל of an individual Life near its end Psa 102:12, So כִּנְטוֺתוֺ כְּצֵל Psa 109:23; in simile of emaciated members, כַּצֵּל וִיצֻרַי Job 17:7.
צִלְלֵי צְלָלִים, צִלְלוֺ, see צֶל. above
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 entries
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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