Lexical Summary satham: To stop up, shut, close, conceal Original Word: סָתַם Strong's Exhaustive Concordance closed up, hidden, secret, shut out up, stop Or satham (Numbers 24:15) {saw-tham'}; a primitive root; to stop up; by implication, to repair; figuratively, to keep secret -- closed up, hidden, secret, shut out (up), stop. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to stop up, shut up, keep close NASB Translation closed (1), conceal (1), concealed (1), cut off (1), hidden part (1), keep the secret (1), secret (1), stop (1), stopped (5). Brown-Driver-Briggs סָתַם verb stop up, shut up, keep close (Late Hebrew id.; ᵑ7 סְתַם id.; Syriac  ( very rare); Arabic  close door Lane1334, and  Kam Frey, are perhaps loan-words); **compare Assyrian bit sutummu, storehouse, treasury, ZehnpfBAS i. 531. — Qal Perfect3masculine singular ׳ס2Chronicles 32:30; Imperfect2masculine plural תִּסְתֹּ֑מוּ 2 Kings 3:19; 3masculine plural יִסְתֹּ֑מוּ 2 Kings 3:25, וַיִּסְתְּמוּ2Chronicles 32:4; Imperative masculine singular סְתֹם Daniel 8:26; Daniel 12:4; Infinitive construct לִסְתּוֺם2Chronicles 32:3; Passive participle סָתוּם Ezekiel 28:3, סָתֻם Psalm 51:8, plural סְתֻמִים Daniel 12:9; — 1 stop up springs of water 2 Kings 3:19,25; 2Chronicles 32:3,4, compare 2 Chronicles 32:30. 2 shut up, keep close, prophetic words Daniel 8:26; Daniel 12:4,9; בְּסָתֻם Psalm 51:8 in (the) closed (chamber of the breast; "" טֻחוֺת). — כָּלסָֿתוּם Ezekiel 28:3 usually no secret is too dark for thee, but doubtful (see II. עמם); ᵐ5 σοφοί, Co חַרְטֻמִּים < Toy חֲכָמִים, or Berthol. קֹסְמִים. Niph`al Infinitive construct לְהִסָּתֵם Nehemiah 4:1 the breaches [in the walls] had begun to be stopped up. Pi`el Perfect3plural suffix סִתְּמוּם Genesis 26:16; Imperfect3masculine plural suffix וַיְסַתְּמוּם Genesis 26:18, both of stopping wells quite up (RJE). שָׂתַם verb usually stop up, in sense of shut out, shut ears against (late "" form of סָתַם; yet awkward; BaES 9 compare Arabic Qal Perfect3masculine singular תְּפִלָּתִי ׳שׂ Lamentations 3:8 (> van d. H. שָׂתָם) he (׳י) hath shut out my prayer (Bu ׳מתּ ׳שׂ shut up [himself] from). Topical Lexicon Overview סָתַם portrays deliberate closure—blocking, plugging, shutting in or shutting out. Whether the object is a well, a city wall, a stream of prayer, or a prophetic scroll, the verb depicts intentional restraint that can be either hostile or protective, temporal or eschatological. Literal Obstruction of Wells in the Patriarchal Narratives • Genesis 26:15 records the Philistines’ hostility toward Isaac: “So the Philistines stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, filling them with dirt.” Water was life in the Negev, so to “stop up” a well was an act of economic warfare designed to force Isaac’s household to move. Military Engineering and Water Strategy in Israel’s Kingdom Era • Jehoshaphat and Jehoram applied the tactic against Moab (2 Kings 3:19, 25), destroying irrigational infrastructure to weaken resistance. The dual use—denying an enemy while preserving the covenant community—illustrates how the same action becomes either judgment or deliverance depending on allegiance to the LORD. Closing the Breaches of Jerusalem’s Wall Nehemiah 4:7 notes Sanballat’s anger when the gaps “were beginning to be closed.” Here סָתַם describes the removal of vulnerability. The restored wall signified renewed covenant identity and protection amid external opposition, mirroring Hezekiah’s earlier waterworks: both efforts secured the physical boundaries of God’s people so that worship could flourish inside. Divine Hiddenness in Response to Sin Deuteronomy 31:18 warns that persistent idolatry will move the LORD to “surely hide [His] face.” The verb pictures blocked communion; the problem is not divine absence but judicial concealment. Lamentations 3:8 laments the experiential result: “Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.” Psalm 51:6 appeals for the inverse—truth and wisdom in the “hidden place”—suggesting that God alone can re-open what sin has stopped. Wisdom and Concealed Counsel Ezekiel 28:3 rhetorically asks Tyre’s prince, “Are you wiser than Daniel? Can any secret be hidden from you?” The verse recognizes that human sagacity still faces realities God keeps sealed, exposing pride that dares to boast in autonomous insight. Sealed Prophecy and Eschatological Disclosure Daniel 8:26, 12:4, and 12:9 employ סָתַם to describe prophetic visions kept under divine lock until “the time of the end.” The sealing does not negate comprehension for all time; it preserves the message intact until the era God appoints for full clarity. Thus Scripture affirms its own sufficiency while acknowledging progressive illumination: “many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase” (Daniel 12:4). Thematic Synthesis 1. Physical obstruction (wells, walls, watercourses) and spiritual concealment (face, prayer, prophecy) operate under the same verb, underscoring the unity of material and spiritual realities in biblical thought. Ministry Implications • Guard God-given resources: believers must not allow the world’s hostility to “stop up” the wells of worship, prayer, and Word. Forms and Transliterations הַסְתֵּ֨ר הסתר וַֽיִּסְתְּמוּ֙ וַיְסַתְּמ֣וּם וּ֝בְסָתֻ֗ם ובסתם ויסתמו ויסתמום יִסְתֹּ֙מוּ֙ יסתמו לְהִסָּתֵ֑ם לִסְתּוֹם֙ להסתם לסתום סְתֹ֣ם סְתֹ֧ם סְתֻמִ֧ים סִתְּמ֣וּם סָת֖וּם סָתַם֙ סתום סתם סתמום סתמים שָׂתַ֖ם שתם תִּסְתֹּ֑מוּ תסתמו has·têr hasTer hastêr lə·his·sā·ṯêm lehissaTem ləhissāṯêm lis·tō·wm listOm listōwm sā·ṯam śā·ṯam sā·ṯūm saTam sāṯam śāṯam saTum sāṯūm sə·ṯōm sə·ṯu·mîm seTom səṯōm setuMim səṯumîm sit·tə·mūm sitteMum sittəmūm tis·tō·mū tisTomu tistōmū ū·ḇə·sā·ṯum ūḇəsāṯum uvesaTum vaiyisteMu vaysatteMum way·sat·tə·mūm way·yis·tə·mū waysattəmūm wayyistəmū yis·tō·mū yisTomu yistōmūLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 26:15 HEB: אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֑יו סִתְּמ֣וּם פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים וַיְמַלְא֖וּם NAS: the Philistines stopped up by filling KJV: the Philistines had stopped them, and filled INT: of Abraham his father stopped the Philistines filling Genesis 26:18 Deuteronomy 31:18 2 Kings 3:19 2 Kings 3:25 2 Chronicles 32:3 2 Chronicles 32:4 2 Chronicles 32:30 Nehemiah 4:7 Psalm 51:6 Lamentations 3:8 Ezekiel 28:3 Daniel 8:26 Daniel 12:4 Daniel 12:9 15 Occurrences |
    |
frustrate, disappoint); —