Lexical Summary saphah: To sweep away, to destroy, to consume Original Word: סָפָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance add, augment, consume, destroy, heap, join, perish, putA primitive root; properly, to scrape (literally, to shave; but usually figuratively) together (i.e. To accumulate or increase) or away (i.e. To scatter, remove, or ruin; intransitively, to perish) -- add, augment, consume, destroy, heap, join, perish, put. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to sweep or snatch away, catch up NASB Translation add (2), captured (1), destroy (2), heap (1), perish (2), remove (1), snatched away (1), sweep away (2), swept away (6). Brown-Driver-Briggs [סָפָה] verb sweep away or snatch away, catch up (Late Hebrew ׳ספ, סָפָא collect (rare), ᵑ7 ׳סְפִ (rare), Syriac  collect, pick up; Arabic  of wind, raise dust and carry it away Lane1377); — Qal 1. intransitive: Perfect3feminine singular סָֽפְתָה Jeremiah 12:4 be snatched away (read possibly סָ֫פָה [סוף]). 2 transitive: Imperfect3feminine singular תִּסְמֶּה Isaiah 7:20 sweep away beard; 2 masculine singular תִּסְמֶּה Genesis 18:23,24 sweep away indiscriminately (good and bad); Infinitive construct סְפוֺת Deuteronomy 29:18 to snatch away the moist with the dry (proverb. expression, compare Dr), suffix לִסְמּוֺתָהּ Psalm 40:15 to snatch it away (i.e. my life). — וְסָפ֫וּ Amos 3:15 see סוף. Niph`al Pf .3masculine singular וְנִסְמָּה consecutive 1 Samuel 26:10; Imperfect2masculine singularתִּסָּפֶה Genesis 19:15,17; 1singular אֶסָּפֶה 1 Samuel 27:1; 2masculine plural תִּסָּפוּ Numbers 16:26, תִּסָּפ֑וּ 1 Samuel 12:25; Participle נִסְמֶּה Isaiah 13:15; Proverbs 13:23 (1 Chronicles 21:12 see below); — 1 be swept away, destroyed, Genesis 19:15 (בַּעֲוֺן הָעִיר by reason of the iniquity of the city), Genesis 19:17 (both J), Numbers 16:26 (JE) 1 Samuel 12:25; 1 Samuel 26:10 (in battle), + בְּיַד of agent 1 Samuel 27:1; compare וְיֵשׁ נִסְמֶּה בְּלאֹ מִשְׁמָּט Proverbs 13:23 and there is that is swept away for lack of justice. — 1 Chronicles 21:12 read נוּסְךָ (as "" 2 Samuel 24:13, see נוּס). 2 be caught up, captured, Isaiah 13:15 ("" נִמְצָא). Hiph`il Imperfect1singular אֵסְמֶּה עָלֵימוֺ רָעוֺת Deuteronomy 32:23 I will catch up against them calamities, but read אֹסְפָה I will gather (√ אסף), or < אֹסִפָה (Di Dr BuhlLex 13) I will add, i.e.multiply (√ יסף; see Ges§ 69h, note). Topical Lexicon Semantic Range and Thematic Overview The verb סָפָה shifts between two primary nuances: the removal of something by sweeping destruction and the addition or accumulation of something already present. In every occurrence, Scripture uses the term to underline intensification—either intensifying judgment by wiping away, or intensifying quantity by adding to what exists. The word is therefore always directional, pressing matters to a decisive conclusion. Occurrences and Literary Distribution Twenty appearances span Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Samuel, Chronicles, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Nearly half arise in legal or prophetic contexts, emphasizing covenant accountability; the remainder occur in narrative and poetic settings that give the reader a personal window into the same divine principles. Divine Judgment in Genesis Genesis establishes the word’s gravitas. Abraham pleads, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” (Genesis 18:23). Four verses later he says, “Will You really sweep it away and not spare the place?” (Genesis 18:24). The angels echo the urgency to Lot: “Run to the mountains, or you will be swept away!” (Genesis 19:17). The root is tied to God’s moral integrity—He will act decisively, yet the intercession of the righteous can stay His hand. Covenantal Warnings in Torah Numbers 32:14 treats rebellion as cumulative: “You… are adding still more to the wrath of the LORD against Israel.” Deuteronomy 29:19 warns that presuming upon grace will “bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry,” a vivid picture of sweeping devastation that spares nothing. Deuteronomy 32:23 (“I will heap calamities upon them”) shows how the notion of adding becomes a piling up of retribution when sin persists. National Accountability in Historical Books Samuel and Chronicles employ the term to caution leaders and people alike. Samuel tells Israel, “If you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away” (1 Samuel 12:25). David fears the same fate: “One of these days I will be swept away by the hand of Saul” (1 Samuel 27:1). In 1 Chronicles 21:12 the prophet Gad lists three options of judgment, one being “three months of being swept away before your foes,” linking סָפָה to military catastrophe. Songs of Deliverance and Wisdom Psalm 40:14 petitions that enemies who seek “to destroy” the psalmist be put to shame, showing the individual believer’s reliance on God to restrain destructive forces. Proverbs 13:23 laments social injustice: “Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but without justice it is swept away.” The verb exposes societal sin as no less liable to divine reckoning than personal evil. Prophetic Intensification and Eschatological Overtones Isaiah layers both nuances. “Woe… to heap sin upon sin” (Isaiah 30:1) illustrates cumulative guilt, while Isaiah 13:15 pictures those “joined” to Babylon’s rebellion falling by the sword. Isaiah 29:1’s ironic “Add year to year” forecasts the city’s festivals piling up only to invite eventual judgment. Jeremiah extends the warning: “Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!” (Jeremiah 7:21). Ritual multiplied without obedience only hastens removal: “The animals and birds have been swept away” (Jeremiah 12:4). Pastoral and Ministry Implications 1. Preaching must hold together the twin ideas of accumulation and eradication. Sin untreated accumulates until God must remove it. Christological and Eschatological Fulfillment At the cross, judgment is both added and swept away: sin is heaped upon the sinless Christ, and in His death the wrath due to believers is removed. Revelation echoes Genesis when final judgment will “sweep away” all wickedness, while the redeemed “add” their voices to an ever-increasing chorus of praise. Summary סָפָה confronts the reader with a choice of trajectories—either multiplying rebellion that culminates in removal, or accumulating obedience that results in blessing. Across narrative, law, poetry, and prophecy, the verb reminds the covenant people that God’s patience, though real, is not limitless, and that decisive action—whether mercy or judgment—awaits every accumulation. Forms and Transliterations אֶסָּפֶ֥ה אַסְפֶּ֥ה אספה הַנִּסְפֶּ֖ה הנספה וְנִסְפָּֽה׃ ונספה׃ לִסְפּ֣וֹת לִסְפּ֫וֹתָ֥הּ לספות לספותה נִ֝סְפֶּ֗ה נִסְפֶּ֥ה נספה סְפ֥וֹת סְפ֥וּ סָפְתָ֤ה ספו ספות ספתה תִּסְפֶּ֔ה תִּסְפֶּֽה׃ תִּסְפֶּה֙ תִּסָּפ֖וּ תִּסָּפֶ֖ה תִּסָּפֶֽה׃ תִּסָּפֽוּ׃ תספה תספה׃ תספו תספו׃ ’as·peh ’aspeh ’es·sā·p̄eh ’essāp̄eh asPeh essaPeh han·nis·peh hannispeh lis·pō·w·ṯāh lis·pō·wṯ lisPot lisPoTah lispōwṯ lispōwṯāh nis·peh nispeh sā·p̄ə·ṯāh safeTah sāp̄əṯāh sə·p̄ō·wṯ sə·p̄ū seFot seFu səp̄ōwṯ səp̄ū tis·peh tis·sā·p̄eh tis·sā·p̄ū tispeh tissaFu tissaPeh tissāp̄eh tissāp̄ū venisPah wə·nis·pāh wənispāhLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 18:23 HEB: וַיֹּאמַ֑ר הַאַ֣ף תִּסְפֶּ֔ה צַדִּ֖יק עִם־ NAS: Will You indeed sweep away the righteous KJV: and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous INT: and said indeed sweep the righteous with Genesis 18:24 Genesis 19:15 Genesis 19:17 Numbers 16:26 Numbers 32:14 Deuteronomy 29:19 Deuteronomy 32:23 1 Samuel 12:25 1 Samuel 26:10 1 Samuel 27:1 1 Chronicles 21:12 Psalm 40:14 Proverbs 13:23 Isaiah 7:20 Isaiah 13:15 Isaiah 29:1 Isaiah 30:1 Jeremiah 7:21 Jeremiah 12:4 20 Occurrences |
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