צָעִיר
tsâʻîyr · H6810 · Hebrew · 23 occurrences
Meanings
-
small, insignificant
Literally: small; hence: state in which humans are considered unworthy of honor and respect
Examples1 Samuel 9:21 Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
Psalm 119:141 I am small and despised, Yet I do not forget Your precepts.
Isaiah 60:22 “The smallest one will become a thousand, And the least one a mighty nation. I, the LORD, will bring it about quickly in its time.”
-
servant
Literally: small (ones); hence: people that perform duties for others
ExamplesJeremiah 14:3 “Their nobles have sent their servants for water; They have come to the cisterns and found no water. They have returned with their containers empty; They have been put to shame and humiliated, And they cover their heads,
-
little, young
Literally: small; hence: state in which humans or animals are still relatively young
ExamplesGenesis 19:31 Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to have relations with us according to the custom of all the earth.
Genesis 19:34 On the following day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, I slept last night with my father; let’s make him drink wine tonight too, then you go in and sleep with him, so that we may keep our family alive through our father.”
Genesis 19:35 So they had their father drink wine that night too, and the younger got up and slept with him; and he did not know when she lay down or got up.
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
6 occurrences in 4 groups
- צֹאןflock, small cattle, sheep and goats 2
- הוּhis 2
- הּher 1
- הֶםtheir 1
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- מָאַסto reject, to despise 1
Named alongside itApposition
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- הֶםthem 2
- שְׂגוּבSegub 1
What it doesIt is the subject
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- קוּםto arise 1
- שָׂחַקto laugh, to play 1
- שָׁמַעto hear, to listen, to obey 1
What is done to itIt is the object
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- נָתַןto give, to put, to set 1
- עָבַדto serve, to work 1
- שָׁלַחto send, to send away 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
6 occurrences in 5 groups
- אָנֹכִיI 2
- הוּאhe, she, it 1
- מִשְׁפָּחָהclan, family 1
- אֲנִיI 1
- אַתָּהyou 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
4 occurrences in 3 groups
- אֵלto, toward 4
- מִןfrom 2
- בin/on/with 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.
Near synonyms 2 words
- קָטָן qâṭân · H6996 · small, weak, young
- The target lexeme and קָטָן overlap substantially in both age (‘young’) and size or status (‘small, little, least’) senses, denoting smallness or youth and functioning as near-synonyms.
- שָׁפָל shâphâl · H8217 · low, deep
- The target lexeme and שָׁפָל both denote insignificance, smallness, or lowliness in a social or evaluative sense, and function as near-synonyms describing unimportant persons or things.
In the other Testament 2 words
- νέος néos · G3501 · new, recent
- Hebrew צָעִיר emphasizes smallness in age or stature (youngest, little one), while Greek νέος specifically denotes newness or youth in persons, with both terms overlapping in the semantic domain of youthfulness and junior status.
- ἐλάχιστος eláchistos · G1646 · small, little, of least importance
- Greek ἐλάχιστος directly translates Hebrew צָעִיר in the superlative sense 'least/smallest,' representing the same comparative scale (size, dignity, quantity) across both languages in LXX rendering contexts.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- Insignificant002001002015
- This domain's connection to צָעִיר is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which show the word's sense of a younger sibling rather than general insignificance.
- Serve002003002023
- The word's context can involve serving, as of the LORD's word that the older will serve the younger in Genesis 25:23.
- Young002001001073
- צָעִיר most often means younger or youngest, as of Lot's younger daughter in Genesis 19:31, 19:34, and 19:35, her son Ben-ammi in Genesis 19:38, and the younger twin destined to be served by the older in Genesis 25:23.
- Names of Locations003001010
- צָעִיר (tsâʻîyr, H6810) is an adjective meaning "young, small, insignificant," as in occurrences glossed "the young [ones]"/"insignificant." This sense does not independently attest the "Names of Locations" domain; that classification is bundle-shared with צָעִיר (Tsâʻîyr, H6811) in the source data and is not confirmed by this lexeme's own occurrences.
Word family 8 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H6810. tsair I. צָעִיר adjective little, insignificant, young; — absoluteצָעִיר Gen 25:23…
I. צָעִיר adjective little, insignificant, young; — absoluteצָעִיר Gen 25:23 +; feminine צְעִירָה Gen 19:31 +; צְעִרָה 1Sa 9:12; masculine plural צְעִירִים Job 30:1; suffix צְעִירֶיהָ Jer 48:4 Qr (Kt צעוריה but see צֹעַר); צְעִירֵיהֶם Jer 14:3 (Kt צעוריהם), etc.; —
1.a. little, with idea of insignificance Jdg 6:15 (|| הַדַּל), compare 1Sa 9:21 (|| קְטַנֵּי), Mic 5:1; Psa 68:28; Isa 60:22 (opposed to עצום גוי); of horn in vision Dan 8:9, read probablyצעירה אחרת for מִצְּעִירָה אחת, compare Bev Dr; הַצֹּאן צְעִירֵי Jer 49:20; Jer 50:45 (figurative of helpless captives).
b. insignificant, mean, Psa 119:141 (|| נִבְזֶה), Jer 14:3 (as substantive); on Jer 48:4.see צֹעַר.
2 more often of age, young (usually with article the younger, youngest, as substantive), of son (brother), opposed to הַבְּכוֺר Gen 43:33; Gen 48:14 (both J), Jos 6:26; 1Ki 16:34, opposed to רַב Gen 25:23 (J), compare יְשִׁישִׁים ואתם לְיָמִים ׳צ אני Job 32:6; of daughter (sister), opposed to הַבְּכִירָה Gen 19:31, Gen 19:34, Gen 19:35, Gen 19:38(J) Gen 29:26 (E); — here belongs also לימים מִמֶּנִּי צְעַירִים Job 30:1, si vera lectio; GHBWr Siegf Bu strike out לימים ממני; ᵐ5 ἐλἁχιστοι); put then under 1b.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 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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