8183. searah

Lexical Summary

searah: Hair, Hairy

Original Word: שְׂעָרָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: s`arah
Pronunciation: seh-ar-AH
Phonetic Spelling: (seh-aw-raw')
KJV: storm, tempest
NASB: storm, tempest
Word Origin: [feminine of H8178 (שַׂעַר - To storm)]

1. a hurricane

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

storm, tempest

Feminine of sa'ar; a hurricane -- storm, tempest.

see HEBREW sa'ar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
fem. of saar
Definition
a storm
NASB Translation
storm (1), tempest (1).

Topical Lexicon

Semantic Range and Imagery

The noun שְׂעָרָה (seʿarah) evokes the sudden, spiraling violence of a tempest or whirlwind. Throughout the Hebrew canon, storm language conveys divine potency that is both destructive and awe-inspiring. Seʿarah presents more than meteorology; it is a literary and theological metaphor for the irresistible sovereignty of God, who can dismantle human pretensions as effortlessly as wind scatters chaff.

Biblical Occurrences

1. Job 9:17 – Job laments, “For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause”. The word places Job’s suffering within the imagery of overwhelming, seemingly indiscriminate force, highlighting the creature’s vulnerability before the Creator.
2. Nahum 1:3 – “His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet”. Here seʿarah forms part of a doxology that balances the LORD’s patience (“slow to anger”) with His unstoppable justice. The storm becomes His chariot, underscoring that judgment is both delayed and inescapable.

Theological Significance

1. Manifest Presence: In Job, the whirlwind is not merely God’s instrument; it later becomes His voice (Job 38:1). Seʿarah prepares the reader for the climactic theophany, implying that the same power that troubles Job will ultimately answer him.
2. Righteous Judgment: Nahum employs storm imagery against Nineveh, assuring Judah that oppressive empires are no match for the LORD of hosts. The tempest is judicial, targeting wickedness while sparing the faithful remnant.
3. Covenant Faithfulness: Storm motifs recall Sinai (Exodus 19:16) and Elijah’s mountaintop encounter (1 Kings 19:11-13). Though seʿarah itself is not used in those texts, its thematic resonance reinforces that God’s covenant fidelity is expressed in both mercy and might.

Historical and Cultural Background

Ancient Near Eastern myths often depicted gods struggling against chaotic seas and winds. Scripture reorients that worldview: the LORD is not one deity among many contending with chaos; He commands chaos. When the Hebrew prophets appropriated storm language, they subverted pagan cosmology and declared the unrivaled kingship of Yahweh.

Ministry and Devotional Application

• Suffering Saints: Job’s experience assures believers that opaque storms can be purposeful, driving them toward a deeper encounter with God. Pastors may encourage congregants to see personal tempests as invitations to trust rather than indicators of divine absence.
• Prophetic Courage: Nahum emboldens the church to confront systemic evil, resting in the certainty that God’s moral order will prevail.
• Worship and Awe: Public reading of storm passages cultivates reverence. The same Jesus who “rebuked the winds and the sea” (Matthew 8:26) is the incarnate LORD of the seʿarah.

Christological and Eschatological Connections

The Gospels record Christ’s dominion over literal storms, fulfilling Job’s longing for a mediator who can stay God’s hand and echoing Nahum’s vision of sovereign power. Revelation 6:12-17 portrays cosmic disturbances heralding the Day of the LORD, a final seʿarah that consummates redemption and judgment. Believers await that day not with terror but with hope, confident that the One who commands the tempest has anchored their souls “sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:19).

Key Takeaways

• Seʿarah symbolizes the irresistible, purposeful sovereignty of God.
• Storm imagery unites themes of suffering, judgment, and revelation.
• The whirlwind points forward to Christ’s authority over creation and His ultimate return.

Forms and Transliterations

בִּשְׂעָרָ֥ה בשערה וּבִשְׂעָרָה֙ ובשערה biś‘ārāh biś·‘ā·rāh bisaRah ū·ḇiś·‘ā·rāh ūḇiś‘ārāh uvisaRah

Englishman's Concordance

Job 9:17
HEB: אֲשֶׁר־ בִּשְׂעָרָ֥ה יְשׁוּפֵ֑נִי וְהִרְבָּ֖ה
NAS: For He bruises me with a tempest And multiplies
KJV: For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth
INT: me A tempest bruises and multiplies

Nahum 1:3
HEB: יְהוָ֗ה בְּסוּפָ֤ה וּבִשְׂעָרָה֙ דַּרְכּ֔וֹ וְעָנָ֖ן
NAS: In whirlwind and storm is His way,
KJV: in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds
INT: and the LORD whirlwind and storm is his way and clouds

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8183
2 Occurrences

biś·‘ā·rāh — 1 Occ.
ū·ḇiś·‘ā·rāh — 1 Occ.