6877. tseriach
Lexical Summary
tseriach: Shout, cry, outcry

Original Word: צְרִיחַ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: tsriyach
Pronunciation: tse-ree'-akh
Phonetic Spelling: (tser-ee'-akh)
KJV: high place, hold
NASB: inner chamber, cellars
Word Origin: [from H6873 (צָּרַח - cries) in the sense of clearness of vision]

1. a citadel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
high place, hold

From tsarach in the sense of clearness of vision; a citadel -- high place, hold.

see HEBREW tsarach

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
perhaps excavation, underground chamber
NASB Translation
cellars (1), inner chamber (3).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
צְרִיחַ noun [masculine] perhaps excavation, underground chamber; — ׳צ absolute Judges 9:49, construct Judges 9:46; plural צְרִחִים 1 Samuel 13:6; — used as hiding-places 1 Samuel 13:6 (+ מְעָרוֺת, חֲוָחִים, סְלָעִים, בֹּרוֺת); as refuge Judges 9:46 (where connected with shrine), Judges 9:49 (Vrss stronghold; on uncertainty of meaning see GFM).

צֹרִי see I. צֹר. צֳרִי, צְרִי, צְרֻיָה see צרה. above,

צרך (√ of following; Late Hebrew צָרַךְ have need of; Arabic be needy, so Aramaic צְרַךְ, (צ, = !); Christian-Palestinian Aramaic χρεία).

Topical Lexicon
Overview

צְרִיחַ denotes a defensible refuge cut into natural rock or embedded within a larger structure such as a sanctuary or tower. Rather than a freestanding fortification, it pictures an inward retreat—an impregnable inner room, cellar, or rocky chamber reserved for last-resort protection.

Biblical Occurrences

Judges 9:46–49 records the most vivid use. The leaders of Shechem, realizing Abimelech’s vengeance, “entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith” (Judges 9:46). Abimelech responded by heaping brushwood “against the inner chamber and set it on fire with the people inside” (Judges 9:49). The צְרִיחַ that promised safety became the scene of judgment.
1 Samuel 13:6 lists the word among several hiding places sought by Israel when Philistine pressure mounted: “they hid in caves, thickets, rocks, cellars, and cisterns”. The term there underscores the panic of a people who had abandoned trust in the Lord for improvised shelters.

Historical and Cultural Background

Iron Age cities often carved out subterranean rooms beneath temples or towers. These cavities served multiple purposes—granaries, water storage, and wartime refuges. In a siege the population could retreat into these chambers, lower stone traps, and survive until relief arrived. Archaeological parallels include the cistern complexes beneath Hazor and the rock-cut chambers at Megiddo. צְרִיחַ fits this milieu: an inner retreat ordinarily invisible from the outside yet critical in crisis.

Theological Themes

1. False security. The Shechemites trusted the god Berith and their stone stronghold; both failed when confronted by divine retribution through Abimelech. The narrative echoes Psalm 20:7—“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
2. Divine discipline. Israel in 1 Samuel 13 cowered in cellars because unbelief had left them weaponless (1 Samuel 13:19–22). The word therefore stands as a silent witness to covenant chastening.
3. True refuge. Scripture elsewhere proclaims the Lord Himself as “my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer” (2 Samuel 22:2). The frailty of man-made צְרִיחַ throws into relief the unassailable refuge found in God.

Practical Ministry Insights

• Preaching: the contrast between the crumbling inner chamber of Shechem and the everlasting refuge in Christ provides a potent gospel illustration—self-made defenses burn, but “the name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10).
• Pastoral care: believers often retreat into emotional or intellectual “strongholds.” Shepherding involves gently exposing such false refuges and guiding souls to anchor faith in the Lord.
• Leadership: Abimelech’s cruelty and the Shechemites’ misplaced allegiance warn against both abusive rule and idolatrous dependency within communities of faith.

Foreshadowing in the Canon

The smoldering צְרִיחַ anticipates the eschatological shaking when every refuge of lies is swept away (Isaiah 28:17). It also prefigures the salvation motif of Revelation 6:15–17, where kings and commanders similarly seek caves and rocks to hide from the Lamb’s wrath. Only those sealed by Christ possess an inviolable sanctuary—“their lives are hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

Related Imagery in Scripture

• Rock as protection: Exodus 33:22; Psalm 27:5.
• False fortresses: Isaiah 22:8–11; Jeremiah 48:41.
• Fiery judgment against human strongholds: Ezekiel 24:9–11; 2 Peter 3:10.

In every instance צְרִיחַ presses the reader to discern the location of ultimate trust—either in perishable structures or in the steadfast God who alone is “a refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

Forms and Transliterations
הַצְּרִ֔יחַ הַצְּרִ֖יחַ הצריח וּבַצְּרִחִ֖ים ובצרחים צְרִ֔יחַ צריח haṣ·ṣə·rî·aḥ haṣṣərîaḥ hatztzeRiach ṣə·rî·aḥ ṣərîaḥ tzeRiach ū·ḇaṣ·ṣə·ri·ḥîm ūḇaṣṣəriḥîm uvatztzeriChim
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Englishman's Concordance
Judges 9:46
HEB: וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ אֶל־ צְרִ֔יחַ בֵּ֖ית אֵ֥ל
NAS: of [it], they entered the inner chamber of the temple
KJV: [that], they entered into an hold of the house
INT: entered about the inner of the temple of the god

Judges 9:49
HEB: וַיָּשִׂ֣ימוּ עַֽל־ הַצְּרִ֔יחַ וַיַּצִּ֧יתוּ עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם
NAS: and put [them] on the inner chamber
KJV: and put [them] to the hold, and set
INT: and put over the inner and set over

Judges 9:49
HEB: עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם אֶֽת־ הַצְּרִ֖יחַ בָּאֵ֑שׁ וַיָּמֻ֜תוּ
NAS: [them] on the inner chamber and set
KJV: and set the hold on fire
INT: and set over chamber fire died

1 Samuel 13:6
HEB: וּבַֽחֲוָחִים֙ וּבַסְּלָעִ֔ים וּבַצְּרִחִ֖ים וּבַבֹּרֽוֹת׃
NAS: in cliffs, in cellars, and in pits.
KJV: and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
INT: thickets cliffs cellars pits

4 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 6877
4 Occurrences


haṣ·ṣə·rî·aḥ — 2 Occ.
ṣə·rî·aḥ — 1 Occ.
ū·ḇaṣ·ṣə·ri·ḥîm — 1 Occ.

6876
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