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# סַפִּיר

Biblical Hebrew · Strong's H5601

**sapphire** — used 11 times in the Hebrew Bible. Below: its meanings with their sources, MACULA's glosses, and 2 verses word for word and in JPS 1917.

## Meaning

### OpenScriptures lexical index

sapphire [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1505/5601/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

סַפִּיר: sapphire lapis lazuli [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1505/5601/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** n.\[m.\] sapphire, perhaps also lapis lazuli (cf. Di Ex 24:10 NowArch. i. 131) (NH id., and סַמְפִּירִינוֹן; 𝔗 סַפִרִינוֹן; 𝔖 ܣܰܦܺܝܠܴܐ; loan-word from Skr. çanipriya according to LagGes. Abh. 72 LewyFremdw. 56 cf. Gk. σάπφειρος);—abs. ס׳ Ex 24:10 + 8 times; pl. סַפִּירִים Is 54:11 Ct 5:14;—with other jewels as ornaments of prince Ez 28:13; in high priest’s breastplate Ex 28:18; 39:11; found in mines Jb 28:6, costly Jb 28:16 cf. Is 54:11; taking high polish La 4:7 (in fig.); שֵׁן מְעֻלֶּפֶת סַפִּירִים Ct 5:14 ivory covered with sapphires (in fig.); lapis lazuli, according to Hi Bu Du al. in Jb 28:6 (עַפְרֹת זָהָב לוֹ being understood of sparkling crystals of iron pyrites in this), but v. Di; lapis lazuli may be intended in לִבְנַת הַסּ׳ Ex 24:10 (J) pavement of sapphire (in theoph., cf. אֶבֶן־ס׳ Ez 1:26; 10:1.

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 11 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (7 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (7 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: of sapphire (3); sapphire (3); a sapphire (2).

## In the verses

[Exodus 28:18](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/EXO.28.18/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/EXO.28.18/#tree)

וְהַטּ֖וּר הַשֵּׁנִ֑י נֹ֥פֶךְ סַפִּ֖יר וְיָהֲלֹֽם׃

*Word for word:* and the row (the) second \[will.be\].a.turquoise a.sapphire and an.emerald

*JPS 1917:* and the second row a carbuncle, a sapphire, and an emerald;

[Exodus 39:11](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/EXO.39.11/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/EXO.39.11/#tree)

וְהַטּ֖וּר הַשֵּׁנִ֑י נֹ֥פֶךְ סַפִּ֖יר וְיָהֲלֹֽם׃

*Word for word:* and the row (the) second \[was\].a.turquoise a.sapphire and an.emerald

*JPS 1917:* And the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and an emerald.

## On Mova

- [This word in the Tanakh dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/5601.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1505/5601/): every English meaning parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.

Sources. The words, their counts, glosses and the word-for-word renderings: MACULA Hebrew (the Westminster Leningrad Codex; Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0). Meanings: the OpenScriptures lexical index (CC BY 4.0), Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906 and Jastrow 1903 (public domain, via Sefaria); Targum Onkelos from Sefaria (public domain). Translation: JPS 1917 (public domain, from eBible.org).