5492. cuwphah
Lexical Summary
cuwphah: Storm, whirlwind, tempest

Original Word: סוּפָה
Part of Speech: noun feminine; proper name, of a location
Transliteration: cuwphah
Pronunciation: soo-fah'
Phonetic Spelling: (soo-faw')
KJV: Red Sea, storm, tempest, whirlwind, Red sea
Word Origin: [from H5486 (סוּף - come to an end)]

1. a hurricane

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Red Sea, storm, tempest, whirlwind, Red sea

From cuwph; a hurricane -- Red Sea, storm, tempest, whirlwind, Red sea.

see HEBREW cuwph

Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. סוּפָה noun feminine storm-wind (that makes an end ?); — absolute ׳ס Isaiah 5:28 +; סוּמָּ֫תָה Hosea 8:7 (Ges§ 90f.); suffix סוּפָֽתְךָ Psalm 83:16; plural סוּפוֺת Isaiah 21:1; — strom-wind, ׳כְּסַעַר בְּיוֺם ס Amos 1:14; Nahum 1:3 ("" שְׂעָרָה), Isaiah 17:13 ("" רוּחַ), Job 37:9; Isaiah 21:1, as driving chaff Job 21:18 (verb גָּנַב; in simile), simile of rushing chariots Isaiah 5:28; Isaiah 66:15; Jeremiah 4:13, of ruin Proverbs 1:27; compare Proverbs 10:25; symbolic of ׳יs judgments, יִקְצֹ֑רוּ ׳רוּחַ יִזְרָ֖עוּ וְס Hosea 8:7; Psalm 83:16 ("" סַעַר), Job 27:20 (verb גָּנַב), Isaiah 29:6 ( + מְעָרָה).

II. סוּפָה proper name, of a location East of Jordan; — only in phrase ׳וָהֵב בְּס in ancient poetry fragment Numbers 21:14; TristrMoab 50 compare S¹fieh (), southeast oasis of Dead Sea, but ס = is most improbable

Topical Lexicon
The Whirlwind as a Manifestation of Divine Power

Sūpāh depicts a sudden, violent storm-wind that God employs to display His supremacy over creation and history. Whether scattering the chaff of the wicked (Job 21:18) or accompanying the majestic arrival of the Lord Himself (Nahum 1:3), the whirlwind stands as an unmistakable emblem of divine initiative: unseen, irresistible, and perfectly controlled by its Maker.

Occurrences across the Canon

Numbers 21:14; Job 21:18; Job 27:20; Job 37:9; Psalm 83:15; Proverbs 1:27; Proverbs 10:25; Isaiah 5:28; Isaiah 17:13; Isaiah 21:1; Isaiah 29:6; Isaiah 66:15; Jeremiah 4:13; Hosea 8:7; Amos 1:14; Nahum 1:3.

Poetic and Wisdom Literature

Job repeatedly uses the whirlwind to illustrate the fleeting security of the ungodly: “Terrors overtake him like a flood; a storm sweeps him away in the night” (Job 27:20). Proverbs 10:25 draws the pastoral contrast between transient wickedness and lasting righteousness: “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are secure forever.” The storm-wind becomes a pedagogical tool—warning the simple, reassuring the faithful, and pressing every reader toward the fear of the Lord, which alone grounds stability.

Covenant Judgment in the Psalms

Psalm 83:15 prays, “Pursue them with Your tempest; terrify them with Your storm,” invoking sūpāh as a covenantal sanction against enemies of God’s people. The appeal springs from trust that the same force able to topple nations also shields the saints who call on His name.

Prophetic Oracles of Warning

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos, and Nahum intensify the imagery. Isaiah 66:15 envisions the eschatological day: “For behold, the Lord will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury.” Hosea 8:7 warns apostate Israel, “They sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind,” exposing the moral logic that sin inevitably invites a magnified return of chaos. Nahum 1:3 anchors Nineveh’s doom in a timeless theological axiom: “His way is in the whirlwind and storm.” The prophets thus apply sūpāh to both immediate historical crises and the climactic visitation of the Lord.

Historical Backdrop

Ancient Near-Eastern cultures feared desert storm-winds that could strip vegetation, collapse tents, and reroute armies. By appropriating that experience, Scripture communicates that real-world power belongs to the covenant God, not to Baal or regional deities thought to control the weather.

Reassurance for the Righteous

While sūpāh usually conveys judgment, it implicitly comforts believers: the same Lord who stirs the tempest also stills it. Proverbs 1:27 warns the unresponsive listener of “destruction like a whirlwind,” yet the surrounding context promises “whoever listens to Me will dwell in safety” (Proverbs 1:33). Divine wrath is never arbitrary; it is measured, purposeful, and always harmonious with His steadfast love.

Ministry Implications

1. Preaching: The whirlwind motif calls for sober proclamation of both sin’s gravity and God’s mercy.
2. Pastoral Care: Remind sufferers that destructive forces remain under God’s governance; no storm surpasses His plan (Romans 8:28).
3. Discipleship: Encourage believers to build on the unshakable foundation of obedience so that, when storms come, their faith stands firm (cf. Matthew 7:24-27).

Christological and Eschatological Outlook

The Gospels record Jesus rebuking literal winds and waves, implicitly answering the Old Testament portrayal of Yahweh’s sovereignty in the whirlwind. At His return, the imagery culminates: “His chariots are like a whirlwind” (Isaiah 66:15) anticipates Revelation 19:11-16, where the Rider on the white horse brings final judgment. Thus sūpāh spans redemptive history from temporal judgments to the consummation, urging every generation to seek refuge in the crucified and risen Lord before the final storm breaks.

Forms and Transliterations
בְּסוּפָ֔ה בְּסוּפָ֤ה בסופה וְכַסּוּפָ֖ה וְכַסּוּפָה֙ וְסוּפָ֣תָה וּבְסוּפָתְךָ֥ ובסופתך וכסופה וסופתה כְּסוּפ֤וֹת כְּסוּפָ֣ה כַּסּוּפָֽה׃ כסופה כסופה׃ כסופות ס֭וּפָה סוּפָ֑ה סוּפָֽה׃ סוּפָה֙ סופה סופה׃ bə·sū·p̄āh besuFah bəsūp̄āh kas·sū·p̄āh kassuFah kassūp̄āh kə·sū·p̄āh kə·sū·p̄ō·wṯ kesuFah kesuFot kəsūp̄āh kəsūp̄ōwṯ sū·p̄āh suFah sūp̄āh ū·ḇə·sū·p̄ā·ṯə·ḵā ūḇəsūp̄āṯəḵā uvesufateCha vechassuFah vesuFatah wə·ḵas·sū·p̄āh wə·sū·p̄ā·ṯāh wəḵassūp̄āh wəsūp̄āṯāh
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Numbers 21:14
HEB: אֶת־ וָהֵ֣ב בְּסוּפָ֔ה וְאֶת־ הַנְּחָלִ֖ים
NAS: Waheb in Suphah, And the wadis
KJV: What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks
INT: of the LORD Waheb Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon

Job 21:18
HEB: וּ֝כְמֹ֗ץ גְּנָבַ֥תּוּ סוּפָֽה׃
NAS: And like chaff which the storm carries away?
KJV: and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.
INT: chaff carries the storm

Job 27:20
HEB: לַ֝֗יְלָה גְּנָבַ֥תּוּ סוּפָֽה׃
NAS: him like a flood; A tempest steals him away
KJV: on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away
INT: the night steals A tempest

Job 37:9
HEB: הַ֭חֶדֶר תָּב֣וֹא סוּפָ֑ה וּֽמִמְּזָרִ֥ים קָרָֽה׃
NAS: comes the storm, And out of the north
KJV: cometh the whirlwind: and cold
INT: of the south comes the storm of the north the cold

Psalm 83:15
HEB: תִּרְדְּפֵ֣ם בְּסַעֲרֶ֑ךָ וּבְסוּפָתְךָ֥ תְבַהֲלֵֽם׃
NAS: And terrify them with Your storm.
KJV: and make them afraid with thy storm.
INT: pursue your tempest your storm and terrify

Proverbs 1:27
HEB: פַּחְדְּכֶ֗ם וְֽ֭אֵידְכֶם כְּסוּפָ֣ה יֶאֱתֶ֑ה בְּבֹ֥א
NAS: comes like a whirlwind, When distress
KJV: cometh as a whirlwind; when distress
INT: your dread and your calamity A whirlwind comes come

Proverbs 10:25
HEB: כַּעֲב֣וֹר ס֭וּפָה וְאֵ֣ין רָשָׁ֑ע
NAS: When the whirlwind passes, the wicked
KJV: As the whirlwind passeth,
INT: passes the whirlwind is no the wicked

Isaiah 5:28
HEB: נֶחְשָׁ֔בוּ וְגַלְגִּלָּ֖יו כַּסּוּפָֽה׃
NAS: and its [chariot] wheels like a whirlwind.
KJV: and their wheels like a whirlwind:
INT: seem and its wheels A whirlwind

Isaiah 17:13
HEB: וּכְגַלְגַּ֖ל לִפְנֵ֥י סוּפָֽה׃
NAS: Or like whirling dust before a gale.
KJV: before the whirlwind.
INT: whirling before A gale

Isaiah 21:1
HEB: מִדְבַּר־ יָ֑ם כְּסוּפ֤וֹת בַּנֶּ֙גֶב֙ לַֽחֲלֹ֔ף
NAS: of the sea. As windstorms in the Negev
KJV: of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south
INT: the wilderness of the sea windstorms the Negev sweep

Isaiah 29:6
HEB: וְק֣וֹל גָּד֑וֹל סוּפָה֙ וּסְעָרָ֔ה וְלַ֖הַב
NAS: noise, [With] whirlwind and tempest
KJV: noise, with storm and tempest,
INT: noise and loud whirlwind and tempest and the flame

Isaiah 66:15
HEB: בָּאֵ֣שׁ יָב֔וֹא וְכַסּוּפָ֖ה מַרְכְּבֹתָ֑יו לְהָשִׁ֤יב
NAS: And His chariots like the whirlwind, To render
KJV: and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render
INT: fire will come the whirlwind and his chariots to render

Jeremiah 4:13
HEB: כַּעֲנָנִ֣ים יַעֲלֶ֗ה וְכַסּוּפָה֙ מַרְכְּבוֹתָ֔יו קַלּ֥וּ
NAS: And his chariots like the whirlwind; His horses
KJV: and his chariots [shall be] as a whirlwind: his horses
INT: clouds goes the whirlwind and his chariots are swifter

Hosea 8:7
HEB: ר֥וּחַ יִזְרָ֖עוּ וְסוּפָ֣תָה יִקְצֹ֑רוּ קָמָ֣ה
NAS: And they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain
KJV: and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk:
INT: the wind sow the whirlwind reap the standing

Amos 1:14
HEB: בְּסַ֖עַר בְּי֥וֹם סוּפָֽה׃
NAS: And a storm on the day of tempest.
KJV: in the day of the whirlwind:
INT: storm the day of tempest

Nahum 1:3
HEB: יְנַקֶּ֑ה יְהוָ֗ה בְּסוּפָ֤ה וּבִשְׂעָרָה֙ דַּרְכּ֔וֹ
NAS: leave [the guilty] unpunished. In whirlwind and storm
KJV: hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm,
INT: leave and the LORD whirlwind and storm is his way

16 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 5492
16 Occurrences


bə·sū·p̄āh — 2 Occ.
kas·sū·p̄āh — 1 Occ.
kə·sū·p̄āh — 1 Occ.
kə·sū·p̄ō·wṯ — 1 Occ.
sū·p̄āh — 7 Occ.
ū·ḇə·sū·p̄ā·ṯə·ḵā — 1 Occ.
wə·ḵas·sū·p̄āh — 2 Occ.
wə·sū·p̄ā·ṯāh — 1 Occ.

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