5539. salad

Lexical Summary

salad: To shudder, to tremble

Original Word: סָלַד
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: calad
Pronunciation: sah-lad'
Phonetic Spelling: (saw-lad')
KJV: harden self
NASB: rejoice
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. probably to leap (with joy), i.e. exult

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

harden self

A primitive root; probably to leap (with joy), i.e. Exult -- harden self.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to spring
NASB Translation
rejoice (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[סָלַד] verb very dubious, perhaps spring (Late Hebrew start or spring back, as hand from fire; see Levy); —

Pi`el Imperfect1singular וַאֲסַלְּדָה Job 6:10 and I would spring (for joy) in (my) anguish.

Topical Lexicon

Meaning within the Narrative of Job

The solitary appearance of סָלַד occurs in Job 6:10, where the suffering patriarch declares, “I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One” (Berean Standard Bible). The verb captures a visceral, bodily response—an involuntary shudder or spring—expressing Job’s envisioned surge of exultation should death arrive while his conscience remains clean. Within the flow of Job’s lament, the term underscores the depth of his integrity: even extreme distress cannot silence his joy over steadfast loyalty to God’s word.

Biblical Theology of Rejoicing amid Suffering

Job’s imagined “leap” anticipates later biblical teaching that revels in paradoxical joy.
• Matthew 5:12—“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.”
• James 1:2—“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds.”
• 1 Peter 1:6—“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief.”

Job 6:10 provides an early canonical witness that covenant faith can celebrate even while aching. The joy is not rooted in circumstances but in fidelity to “the words of the Holy One.”

Historical and Literary Significance

In ancient Near Eastern laments, physical expressions such as beating the breast or tearing garments commonly symbolized grief. Job subverts that cultural expectation: the same body wracked by sores imagines leaping. The verb סָלַד thus enriches the literary artistry of the book, pairing poetic intensity with doctrinal depth—an Old Testament hint that righteous suffering may coexist with triumphant hope.

Ministry Implications

1. Assurance of Integrity—Believers facing injustice or chronic pain can echo Job’s conviction that faithfulness itself is cause for celebration.
2. Counselling and Lament—Pastoral care can invite sufferers to articulate both anguish and anticipated joy, modeling the emotional honesty of Job.
3. Worship Planning—Songs and testimonies that emphasize rejoicing in trials resonate with Job 6:10, fostering a congregation’s ability to praise through tears.

Practical Application

• Personal Devotion—Memorize Job 6:10 as a declaration of unwavering allegiance to Scripture.
• Small Groups—Discuss times when obedience produced inward joy despite outward loss.
• Outreach—Present the Christian hope not as escape from pain but as endurance that erupts in holy exultation.

Summary

סָלַד paints the picture of a heart so anchored in God’s revelation that even impending death would trigger a leap of joy. Job’s single use of the word testifies that the deepest comfort lies in uncompromised allegiance to the “Holy One,” a truth consistently affirmed from Genesis to Revelation.

Forms and Transliterations

וַאֲסַלְּדָ֣ה ואסלדה vaasalleDah wa’ăsalləḏāh wa·’ă·sal·lə·ḏāh

Englishman's Concordance

Job 6:10
HEB: ע֨וֹד ׀ נֶ֘חָ֤מָתִ֗י וַאֲסַלְּדָ֣ה בְ֭חִילָה לֹ֣א
NAS: my consolation, And I rejoice in unsparing
KJV: Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow:
INT: is still my consolation rejoice sorrow not

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 5539
1 Occurrence

wa·’ă·sal·lə·ḏāh — 1 Occ.