5614. Sephared

Lexical Summary

Sephared: Sepharad

Original Word: סְפָרָד
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Cpharad
Pronunciation: seh-fah-RED
Phonetic Spelling: (sef-aw-rawd')
KJV: Sepharad
NASB: Sepharad
Word Origin: [of foreign derivation]

1. Sepharad, a region of Assyria

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Sepharad

Of foreign derivation; Sepharad, a region of Assyria -- Sepharad.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of foreign origin
Definition
the location of some exiles
NASB Translation
Sepharad (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[סְפָרֵד?], סְפָרַ֑ד proper name, of a location Obadiah 20 ᵐ5 Εφραθα, Qa Σαφαραδ; location dubious; Spieg^{APK 242} Nö^{ZMG xxxiii (1879), 323} Che^{Founders 312} Say^{Monuments 483} and others compare Sparda in Asia Minor (= Sardis ? Behistun^{i, 15 Persep. I:12} NR^{a 28}); Schr^{COT on the passage} (compare KGF 116 ff.) Dl^{Par 249}, compare GASm^{12Proph. ii. 176}, compare Šaparda in southwest Media (time of Sargon); a Saparda also northeast from Nineveh (Esarhaddon's time), compare Knudtzon^{Ass. Gebete, Nos. 8, 11, 30}.

Topical Lexicon

Biblical Occurrence

Sepharad is named once in Scripture, in Obadiah 1:20, where the prophet lists locations to which the exiles of Israel had been scattered: “the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the cities of the Negev”. By including Sepharad among areas of dispersion, Obadiah anticipates the complete reclamation of Israel’s inheritance when the Lord judges Edom and vindicates Zion.

Historical Identification

1. Asia Minor (Lydia/Sardis). Ancient Jewish interpreters, along with Josephus and later rabbinic sources, commonly equated Sepharad with the Lydian capital Sardis. The phonetic similarity between “Sepharad” and the Persian-era name “Sparda” for Sardis strengthens this view.
2. Western Mediterranean (Spain). From the Middle Ages onward, Sepharad became firmly associated with Spain in Jewish usage, giving rise to the term “Sephardi” Jews. While this later identification lies outside the biblical horizon, it reflects continuity in seeing Sepharad as a western, Gentile land of exile.
3. Mesopotamia. A minority of linguistic studies links the word to an Assyrian toponym, but this lacks early Jewish corroboration.

Sepharad in Jewish Diaspora Tradition

Sepharad grew into a symbol of far-flung exile. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel do not mention it explicitly, yet their promises of restoration (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 30:10; Ezekiel 39:27) embrace any distant territory to which Israelites were sent. Rabbinic literature later paired Sepharad with “Samaria” to represent the two extremities of exile. After the 1492 Alhambra Decree, expelled Iberian Jews consciously linked their plight to Obadiah’s prophecy, seeing hope of ultimate return.

Theological Themes

• Covenant Faithfulness. Obadiah 1:20 assures that God’s pledge to Abraham to grant the land “from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18) will not be thwarted by dispersion.
• Day of the Lord Justice. The verse sits within Obadiah’s oracle of retribution against Edom (Obadiah 1:15). The mention of distant Sepharad underscores that Edom’s downfall and Israel’s restoration resonate to the ends of the earth.
• Missionary Foreshadowing. The scattering to Sepharad prefigures the later dispersion that positioned synagogues across the Mediterranean, providing entry points for the Gospel (Acts 13:14-49). Thus, even judgment served redemptive purposes.

Ministry Implications

1. Hope for the Scattered. Believers ministering among dispersed Jewish communities can ground assurance of regathering in prophetic promises that explicitly include faraway lands like Sepharad (Deuteronomy 30:3-4).
2. Confidence in Scripture. The single, precise reference—subsequently fulfilled in partial returns under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, and awaiting consummation in the Messiah’s kingdom—demonstrates the integrity of biblical prophecy.
3. Global Vision. The shift of Sepharad’s meaning from Sardis to Spain reminds the Church that God’s redemptive reach adapts to every historical setting. The Great Commission moves outward along the very trade routes opened by earlier exiles (Matthew 28:19; Acts 1:8).

Summary

Though mentioned only once, Sepharad embodies the dispersion and destined restoration of God’s covenant people. Whether located in ancient Lydia or later Spain, it testifies that no distance prevents the Lord from gathering His own, judging the proud, and extending salvation’s blessing to the nations.

Forms and Transliterations

בִּסְפָרַ֑ד בספרד bis·p̄ā·raḏ bisfaRad bisp̄āraḏ

Englishman's Concordance

Obadiah 1:20
HEB: יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר בִּסְפָרַ֑ד יִֽרְשׁ֕וּ אֵ֖ת
NAS: who are in Sepharad Will possess
KJV: of Jerusalem, which [is] in Sepharad, shall possess
INT: of Jerusalem who Sepharad will possess the cities

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 5614
1 Occurrence

bis·p̄ā·raḏ — 1 Occ.