Lexical Summary rapha: Spirit, ghost, shade Original Word: רָפָא Strong's Exhaustive Concordance dead, deceased From rapha' in the sense of raphah; properly, lax, i.e. (figuratively) a ghost (as dead; in plural only) -- dead, deceased. see HEBREW rapha' see HEBREW raphah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom raphah Definition shades, ghosts NASB Translation dead (3), departed spirits (4), spirits of the dead (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs I, II. רְפָאִים see below רפה. I. רְפָאִים noun masculineJob 26:5 plural shades, ghosts (by most connected with above √, as sunken, powerless, ones, StaG. i.420; Phoenician רפאם); — Wisdom Literature and late, name of dead in She'ôl, with article ׳הָר Job 26:5, elsewhere nearly = proper name: ׳ר Isaiah 14:9 (in Sh®°ôl), Isaiah 26:4 ("" מֵתִים), Psalm 88:11 ("" id.), Proverbs 2:18 ("" מָוֶת), Proverbs 9:18 (in עִמְקֵי שְׁאוֺל), קְהַל רְפָאִים Proverbs 21:16; of righteous Israel Isaiah 26:19 earth shall cast forth ׳ר ("" מֵתֶיךָ). Topical Lexicon Meaning and Conceptual Background רָפָא (raphaʾ) in the eight passages listed speaks of those who have died and now dwell in the shadow-world that the Old Testament calls Sheol. The word evokes the frailty, powerlessness, and silence that characterize humanity once life has fled. Unlike the living who can praise, act, and decide, the רְפָאִים are depicted as inert shades, unable to intervene in earthly affairs and wholly dependent on divine action should they ever rise again. Occurrences in Scripture • Job 26:5 pictures creation from the vantage point of the netherworld: “The dead tremble—those beneath the waters and their inhabitants.” Relation to Sheol and the Afterlife These texts link רפאים with Sheol, emphasizing its finality from a human standpoint. Sheol swallows all social distinctions; kings (Isaiah 14), fools (Proverbs 9), and the pious (Psalm 88) alike become powerless. Yet the passages also maintain divine sovereignty over that realm. Job 26 and Isaiah 26 set Yahweh’s rule beneath the earth as firmly as in the heavens. Contrast with the Living God Where the רפאים are voiceless, the LORD speaks; where they are motionless, He acts. Psalm 88:10 underscores that only God can cross the gulf between life and death: any “wonders for the dead” must come from Him. Proverbs turns the same truth into moral warning: choices leading away from wisdom end in the company of those forever inert. Prophetic Hope of Resurrection Isaiah 26:19 offers the clearest forward look: the very ones reduced to רפאים will “awake and shout for joy.” The contrast with verse 14 (idolaters who “will not rise”) reveals a two-fold destiny—judgment for the rebellious, resurrection for the faithful. The seed of New Testament resurrection hope is thus sown in a chapter that had just invoked the realm of רפאים. Implications for Wisdom Literature Proverbs uses the imagery homiletically: to follow adultery, folly, or wantonness is to live as if already among the shades. Wisdom, by contrast, keeps a person on paths of life. The thought pattern strengthens moral accountability: choices have consequences that extend beyond the grave. Ministry Application and Contemporary Relevance 1. Mortality Realism: The sober portrait of the רפאים keeps believers realistic about death’s intrusion into the created order. Christological Fulfillment Hebrews 2:14-15 declares that through death Christ rendered powerless “him who had the power of death.” In so doing He triumphed where no רפא could act, transforming the netherworld from an inescapable prison into a conquered domain awaiting final judgment. Thus the Old Testament depiction of the shades sets the stage for the New Testament proclamation that “death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). Forms and Transliterations הָרְפָאִ֥ים הרפאים רְ֝פָאִ֗ים רְפָאִ֖ים רְפָאִ֣ים רְפָאִ֥ים רְפָאִים֙ רפאים hā·rə·p̄ā·’îm harefaIm hārəp̄ā’îm rə·p̄ā·’îm refaIm rəp̄ā’îmLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 26:5 HEB: הָרְפָאִ֥ים יְחוֹלָ֑לוּ מִתַּ֥חַת NAS: The departed spirits tremble Under KJV: Dead [things] are formed INT: the departed tremble Under Psalm 88:10 Proverbs 2:18 Proverbs 9:18 Proverbs 21:16 Isaiah 14:9 Isaiah 26:14 Isaiah 26:19 8 Occurrences |
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