5500. sachah
Lexical Summary
sachah: To swim

Original Word: סָחָה
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: cachah
Pronunciation: sah-KHAH
Phonetic Spelling: (saw-khaw')
KJV: scrape
NASB: scrape
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to sweep away

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
scrape

A primitive root; to sweep away -- scrape.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to scrape
NASB Translation
scrape (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
סוח (√ of following; = סחה q. v.).

[סָחָה] verb scrape (Arabic (, and Lane1322) scrape off, clear away; compare Talmud סְחוּתָא, סְחִיתָא refuse, ᵑ7 סְחִיתָא dirt, dung); — only

Pi`el scrape clean, scour, Perfect1singular consecutive וְסִחֵתִ֫י עֲפָרָהּ מֶּנָּהָ Ezekiel 26:4 and I will scrape clean her dust from her.

Topical Lexicon
Biblical Occurrence

The verb סָחָה appears once, in Ezekiel 26:4. The prophet relays the divine declaration against the proud maritime city of Tyre: “They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers; and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock”.

Semantic Range and Imagery

The verb pictures a vigorous action—scraping, scouring, or raking off material until nothing remains but the underlying bedrock. Rather than the more common ideas of “sweeping” or “wiping,” the imagery here stresses abrasive removal. What is targeted is reduced to its most basic form, stripped of every adornment and protective layer. The picture is simultaneously violent and purifying; what endures is what cannot be removed.

Context within Ezekiel

Ezekiel 26 opens a trilogy of chapters pronouncing judgment on Tyre (Ezekiel 26–28). Tyre’s commercial might and self-exalting pride had made her a symbol of human achievement divorced from reverence for the Lord. The verb סָחָה anchors the first oracle. Its force accents three themes:

1. Totality of judgment—walls, towers, and even the soil are taken.
2. Exposure—once scraped, Tyre becomes “a bare rock,” unfortified and unattractive.
3. Utility reversed—what had served prosperity now serves fishermen as a drying place for nets (Ezekiel 26:5), a subtle humiliation of former glory.

Historical Background: Siege and Aftermath

Nebuchadnezzar II’s prolonged siege (circa 586–573 BC) reduced mainland Tyre. Centuries later, Alexander the Great famously built a causeway from this debris to storm the island stronghold (332 BC). The literal scraping of soil, stone, and timber into the sea to create that mole supplies an extraordinary historical echo of Ezekiel’s wording. The verb’s single use, therefore, bears outsized evidential weight for the accuracy of prophecy.

Theological Significance

1. Divine sovereignty—The Lord not only predicts but orchestrates international events to accomplish His purposes (Isaiah 46:10).
2. Pride’s downfall—Tyre’s boasting, “I am perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 27:3), meets a response that leaves her “bare rock.” The contrast underscores Proverbs 16:18.
3. Purging judgment—Scraping parallels other cleansing images (Malachi 3:3; John 15:2). Where holiness is spurned, purgation is severe.

Related Scriptural Concepts

• “Wiping a dish” in 2 Kings 21:13 conveys a comparable total removal, though using a different Hebrew root.
Isaiah 25:12 and Obadiah 3–4 echo the humbling of lofty fortresses.
Revelation 18 draws on Tyre-like language for Babylon’s fall, maintaining the motif of commercial arrogance meeting decisive judgment.

Ministry Application

1. Warning against complacent prosperity—nations, churches, and individuals who trust economic prowess rather than the Lord invite the same stripping.
2. Call to thorough repentance—partial measures will not suffice; sin must be scraped away to the bedrock of a renewed heart (Psalm 51:10).
3. Hope in divine refining—what survives the Lord’s scraping is what is meant to endure (1 Corinthians 3:13–15). Even judgment contains mercy, revealing the foundation on which genuine restoration can be built.

Summary

Though it occurs only once, סָחָה powerfully portrays the exhaustive reach of God’s judgment, validated in history and meant to provoke sober reflection and wholehearted devotion in every generation.

Forms and Transliterations
וְסִֽחֵיתִ֥י וסחיתי vesicheiTi wə·si·ḥê·ṯî wəsiḥêṯî
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Englishman's Concordance
Ezekiel 26:4
HEB: וְהָֽרְסוּ֙ מִגְדָּלֶ֔יהָ וְסִֽחֵיתִ֥י עֲפָרָ֖הּ מִמֶּ֑נָּה
NAS: her towers; and I will scrape her debris
KJV: her towers: I will also scrape her dust
INT: and break her towers will scrape her debris from

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 5500
1 Occurrence


wə·si·ḥê·ṯî — 1 Occ.

5499
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