Lexical Summary saiph: Sword Original Word: סָעִיף Strong's Exhaustive Concordance outmost branch, clift, top From ca'aph; a fissure (of rocks); also a bough (as subdivided) -- (outmost) branch, clift, top. see HEBREW ca'aph NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom an unused word Definition a cleft, branch NASB Translation branches (2), cleft (2), clefts (2). Brown-Driver-Briggs [סָעִיף] noun [masculine] 1 cleft. 2 branch; — 1 cleft of a crag, construct סְעִיף סֶלַע Judges 15:8,11; plural construct וּבִסְעִפֵֿי הַסְּלָעִים Isaiah 2:21; ׳סְעִיפֵי הַסּ Isaiah 57:5. 2 branches, boughs, plural construct סְעִפֵֿי הַמֹּרִיָּה Isaiah 17:6 (so divide, Hi Kn Di DrSm xxx Du and others) the boughs of the fruit-tree; suffix סְעִיפֶיהָ Isaiah 27:10 (of ruined city; compare קְצִירָהּ Isaiah 27:11). Topical Lexicon Scope of Meaning and Imagery The noun סָעִיף carries two complementary pictures: (1) a split or cleft in rock, and (2) a branch or off-shoot of a tree. Both ideas arise from an underlying notion of division or bifurcation. Scripture employs the term to portray either a place of refuge carved out of solid stone or a slender limb extending from a trunk—two very different scenes that together communicate safety, separation, fruitfulness, and, when abused, judgment. Occurrences in the Historical Narrative (Judges 15:8, 11) Samson’s flight to “the cave in the rock of Etam” (Judges 15:8) after striking the Philistines shows the cleft as a God-provided shelter for the Lord’s servant during a season of conflict. Three thousand men of Judah later visit Samson “in the cave in the rock of Etam” (Judges 15:11) to negotiate his surrender. The episode highlights how a סָעִיף can become a temporary stronghold protecting God’s chosen instrument until His purposes advance. The cave is neither self-originated nor permanent; it is a providential hiding place that preserves life and mission. Prophetic Use: Clefts of Dread and Judgment (Isaiah 2:21; 57:5) Isaiah twice employs the rocky sense to describe humanity’s futile attempts to escape divine judgment. In the day the LORD shakes the earth, people will “flee into the crevices of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs” (Isaiah 2:21). Later, idolaters “slaughter [their] children in the ravines, under the clefts of the rocks” (Isaiah 57:5). What once served Samson as a refuge becomes, for the rebellious, a theatre of terror or sin. The same topography that shelters the faithful exposes the futility of hiding from God’s holiness when hearts remain unrepentant. Prophetic Use: Branches of Remnant and Desolation (Isaiah 17:6; 27:10) In the agricultural sense, Isaiah 17:6 depicts a judgment leaving only “four or five on the most fruitful branches” after harvest. The picture is of sparse gleanings on the סָעִיף—an emblem of a small, yet preserved, remnant. By contrast, Isaiah 27:10 foresees a desolate city where calves “strip its branches bare,” a graphic image of total abandonment. Together the texts teach that the Lord both spares and strips; He can leave a few olives on a lofty branch for His covenant people, or He can lay waste unfruitful boughs when iniquity persists. Theological Threads 1. Refuge and Revelation: A cleft in the rock simultaneously hides and reveals. Moses met God in a “cleft of the rock” (Exodus 33:22, same concept though not the same term), paralleling Samson’s shelter. The motif anticipates believers being hidden “with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Pastoral and Ministry Applications • Sanctuary in Conflict: Leaders facing hostility may take comfort that God provides strategic “clefts” of rest—moments, places, or relationships—so that service can continue in His timing. Christological Foreshadowing The rock-cleft motif reaches fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the smitten Rock who becomes the ultimate refuge. Simultaneously, He is the true Branch (Isaiah 11:1) who bears enduring fruit. Thus סָעִיף, whether as cleft or branch, finds its deepest meaning in Him: the place where the sinner hides and the vine into which the believer is grafted. Key References Judges 15:8; Judges 15:11; Isaiah 2:21; Isaiah 17:6; Isaiah 27:10; Isaiah 57:5 Forms and Transliterations בִּסְעִ֖יף בִּסְעִפֶ֙יהָ֙ בסעיף בסעפיה וּבִסְעִפֵ֖י ובסעפי סְעִיף֮ סְעִפֵ֥י סְעִפֶֽיהָ׃ סעיף סעפי סעפיה׃ bis‘îp̄ bis‘ip̄ehā bis·‘i·p̄e·hā bis·‘îp̄ bisIf bisiFeiha sə‘îp̄ sə‘ip̄ê sə‘ip̄ehā sə·‘i·p̄ê sə·‘i·p̄e·hā sə·‘îp̄ seIf seiFei seiFeiha ū·ḇis·‘i·p̄ê ūḇis‘ip̄ê uvisiFeiLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Judges 15:8 HEB: וַיֵּ֣רֶד וַיֵּ֔שֶׁב בִּסְעִ֖יף סֶ֥לַע עֵיטָֽם׃ NAS: and lived in the cleft of the rock KJV: and dwelt in the top of the rock INT: went and lived the cleft of the rock of Etam Judges 15:11 Isaiah 2:21 Isaiah 17:6 Isaiah 27:10 Isaiah 57:5 6 Occurrences |
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