6749. tsalal
Lexical Summary
tsalal: sank

Original Word: צָלַל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: tsalal
Pronunciation: tsaw-lal'
Phonetic Spelling: (tsaw-lal')
KJV: sink
NASB: sank
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. (properly) to tumble down, i.e. settle by a waving motion

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
sink

A primitive root; properly, to tumble down, i.e. Settle by a waving motion -- sink. Compare tsalal, tsalal.

see HEBREW tsalal

see HEBREW tsalal

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to sink, be submerged
NASB Translation
sank (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
II. [צָלַל] verb sink, be submerged (Late Hebrew id.; Assyrian ƒalâlu, sink down, sink to rest, II. launch (HptProl. Assyr. Gr. 1iii; BAS i. Ball, Gen. 53); Ethiopic float, compare NesMar. x: Aramaic צְלַל, , are filter, clarify); —

Qal Perfect3plural צָֽלְלוּ כַּעוֺפֶרֶת בְּמַיִם Exodus 15:10.

Topical Lexicon
Root Imagery and Poetic Color

צָלַל evokes the vivid picture of an object driven downward until it disappears from sight. In Scripture the verb functions less as a mere description of gravity and more as a poetic testimony to the irresistibility of divine power: when God acts, enemies do not simply fall—they are forced beneath the surface, lost from view, and rendered powerless.

Canonical Occurrence

Exodus 15:10 is the sole attestation: “But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters”. The Lord’s “breath” (רוּחַ) reverses the earlier east wind that had parted the waters (Exodus 14:21), completing the narrative arc from deliverance to judgment. צָלַל supplies the climactic verb of ruin; the same sea that had stood at attention for Israel becomes the grave of Pharaoh’s forces.

Historical Setting: Triumph at the Sea

The Song of Moses (Exodus 15) was likely sung antiphonally on the eastern shore of the Red Sea immediately after Israel’s deliverance. Archaeological debate about the exact route does not diminish the central truth affirmed here: Yahweh publicly shattered the world’s dominant military power without Israel lifting a weapon. In ancient Near Eastern warfare, chariotry symbolized invincibility; Israel’s God made it sink like scrap metal. The verb therefore served Israel’s collective memory, reminding subsequent generations that covenant faithfulness, not human strength, secures victory (Deuteronomy 11:2–4).

Theological Themes

1. Divine Sovereignty in Judgment. The downward plunge of Egypt’s army proclaims that the Lord alone determines destinies. What He elevates cannot be lowered, and what He sinks cannot be retrieved (Job 12:23).
2. Redemption through Waters of Death. The same waters that buried the oppressor formed walls of salvation for the oppressed, foreshadowing the paradox of the Cross, where death becomes life for those in Christ (Romans 6:3–4).
3. Final Eschatological Pattern. Revelation 18 depicts Babylon’s fall with maritime imagery—“thrown down with violence, and will never be found again” (Revelation 18:21). The Exodus event, sealed by צָלַל, anticipates that climactic sinking of all ungodly power.

Literary and Prophetic Echoes

Hebrew poetry frequently intensifies meaning through concrete verbs. By choosing צָלַל instead of a more generic “fall,” Moses underscores the irreversible nature of Egypt’s defeat. Prophets later adopt similar imagery: the wicked become “like chaff that the wind blows away” (Psalm 1:4) or “like stone cast into the sea” (Jeremiah 51:63–64). Though different roots, the conceptual thread remains—opposition to God inevitably ends in utter submersion.

Christian Ministry Applications

• Worship: Incorporating Exodus 15 into corporate praise anchors modern congregations in the historical acts of God, fostering confidence amid present threats.
• Baptismal Instruction: The verb’s imagery helps illustrate identification with Christ’s death and resurrection—believers go under, not to remain, but to rise (Colossians 2:12).
• Pastoral Counseling: When besetting sins feel overwhelming, the counselor may point to God’s ability to sink every enslaving power, encouraging penitent faith in the One who “throws all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).
• Missions and Justice: The Exodus pattern motivates advocacy for the oppressed while warning oppressors of inevitable divine reckoning.

Christological Reflection

Just as Egypt’s strength vanished beneath the waves, so the principalities and powers were “disarmed” at the Cross (Colossians 2:15). The burial of the tyrant in Exodus prefigures the burial of the greater tyrant—sin itself. Yet unlike Pharaoh’s army, Jesus descended into death voluntarily and rose in triumph, guaranteeing that all who trust Him will never be “sunk” by judgment but will stand on the shore of victory singing the song of Moses and the Lamb (Revelation 15:3).

Forms and Transliterations
צָֽלֲלוּ֙ צללו ṣā·lă·lū ṣālălū tzalaLu
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Englishman's Concordance
Exodus 15:10
HEB: כִּסָּ֣מוֹ יָ֑ם צָֽלֲלוּ֙ כַּֽעוֹפֶ֔רֶת בְּמַ֖יִם
NAS: covered them; They sank like lead
KJV: covered them: they sank as lead
INT: covered the sea sank lead waters

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 6749
1 Occurrence


ṣā·lă·lū — 1 Occ.

6748
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