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שָׂפָה

𐤔𐤐𐤄

sâphâh

H8193 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

The anatomical lip; by extension, the edge or boundary of an object, especially a vessel or body of water; in abstract or collective sense, language or speech. In concrete contexts, refers to the physical lips as organs for speaking or as an indicator of speech; in spatial contexts, describes the border, margin, or rim of diverse entities.

Semantic Range

lip (anatomical), edge or rim (of a vessel, garment, or spatial feature), border (of water or terrain), seashore, bank (of a river), speech, language, utterance, words, margin

Root / Etymology

From the Hebrew root שׂפה, traditionally understood as relating to the notion of a boundary or termination. The root conveys the sense of marking out or forming a limit, which developed into references to the literal lips (as limits of the mouth), and metaphorically, to any edge or boundary (such as the bank of a river or brim of a vessel). The extension to 'language' or 'speech' arises via metonymy, as speech expresses itself through the lips.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In early Israelite texts, שָׂפָה most often refers literally to the lips, both as body parts and as the instruments of speech (e.g., prayers, vows, deceit, praise). The transition to 'language' (as in Genesis 11's description of a single שָׂפָה for all humanity) reflects a conceptual progression whereby lips represent the act or system of speaking. Later, the word applies to the edge or border of vessels, garments, rivers, and especially the seashore (e.g., Genesis 22:17). The use for 'language' remains significant in exilic and post-exilic texts, especially in discussions of unity, confusion, or diversity of peoples. While English translations frequently use 'lip', 'speech', 'language', and 'shore', no single term in English captures the range of concrete anatomical, spatial, and abstract linguistic reference carried by שָׂפָה. The related root סָפָה ('to end, consume') and noun סוֹף ('end') are semantically adjacent but distinct; שָׁפָה ('to sweep away') is not directly related etymologically despite some overlap in semantic field. Unlike related terms such as פֶּה ('mouth'), שָׂפָה primarily describes the boundary or margin, rather than the cavity or orifice at the center.

Translation Consistency

primary "lip" 17 occurrences

The primary and most frequent sense in the SILEX and corpus is the anatomical organ (lips), which also naturally covers metonymic uses (speech, words) and spatial extensions (rim/edge, e.g. lip of a cup or shore). 'Lip' is the clearest, natural English lemma form to use consistently for all occurrences.

Alternatives (33 occurrences):
"lip-of" (27x) "edge" (3x) "language" (2x) "brim" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or (in dual and plural) שֶׂפֶת; probably from סָפָה or שָׁפָה through the idea of termination (compare סוֹף); the lip (as a natural boundary); by implication, language; by analogy, a margin (of a vessel, water, cloth, etc.); band, bank, binding, border, brim, brink, edge, language, lip, prating, (sea-)shore, side, speech, talk, (vain) words.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

שׂפה (sâphâh) — edge, boundary, lip

Root שׂפה edge, boundary, lip
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H8222 שָׂפָם mustache

Word Forms

39 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H8193-13 שְׂפַ֥ת sefat HNcfsc lip edge-of lip-of 39
H8193-16 שְׂפָתָ֑/י sefatay HNcfdc/Sp1cs my lips my two lips my two lips 19
H8193-25 שִׂפְתֵ֤י sifetey HNcfdc lips edges of lips of 17
H8193-17 שְׂפָתַ֔יִם sefatayim HNcfda of lips lips lips 16
H8193-18 שְׂפָתָ֖י/ו sefatayv HNcfdc/Sp3ms his lips his lips his lips 14
H8193-12 שָׂפָ֡ה safah HNcfsa of lip lip lip 9
H8193-20 שְׂפָתֶ֖י/ךָ sefateykha HNcfdc/Sp2ms your lips your lips your lips 7
H8193-19 שְׂפָתֶ֣י/הָ sefateyha HNcfdc/Sp3fs of her lips her lips her lips 5
H8193-23 שְׂפָת֜/וֹ sefato HNcfsc/Sp3ms its edge his lip his lip 5
H8193-06 בִּ/שְׂפָתָֽי/ו bisefatayv HR/Ncfdc/Sp3ms with his lips in his lips in his two lips 3

Occurrences in Scripture

177 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H8193-12 Genesis 11:1 שָׂפָ֣ה safah HNcfsa language lip lip
H8193-34 Genesis 11:6 וְ/שָׂפָ֤ה vesafah HC/Ncfsa and language lip-boundary and language
H8193-15 Genesis 11:7 שְׂפָתָ֑/ם sefatam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their language their lip their language
H8193-13 Genesis 11:7 שְׂפַ֥ת sefat HNcfsc language edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Genesis 11:9 שְׂפַ֣ת sefat HNcfsc language edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Genesis 22:17 שְׂפַ֣ת sefat HNcfsc the shore edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Genesis 41:3 שְׂפַ֥ת sefat HNcfsc the bank edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Genesis 41:17 שְׂפַ֥ת sefat HNcfsc the bank edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Exodus 2:3 שְׂפַ֥ת sefat HNcfsc the bank of edge-of lip-of
H8193-17 Exodus 6:12 שְׂפָתָֽיִם sefatayim HNcfda lips lips lips
H8193-17 Exodus 6:30 שְׂפָתַ֔יִם sefatayim HNcfda lips lips lips
H8193-13 Exodus 7:15 שְׂפַ֣ת sefat HNcfsc the bank of edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Exodus 14:30 שְׂפַ֥ת sefat HNcfsc the shore of edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Exodus 26:4 שְׂפַ֤ת sefat HNcfsc the edge edge-of lip-of
H8193-04 Exodus 26:4 בִּ/שְׂפַ֣ת bisefat HR/Ncfsc on the edge in the boundary of in the lip of
H8193-13 Exodus 26:10 שְׂפַ֤ת sefat HNcfsc the edge of edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Exodus 26:10 שְׂפַ֣ת sefat-2 HNcfsc the edge of edge-of lip-of
H8193-23 Exodus 28:26 שְׂפָת֕/וֹ sefato HNcfsc/Sp3ms its edge his lip its edge
H8193-12 Exodus 28:32 שָׂפָ֡ה safah HNcfsa a binding lip lip
H8193-13 Exodus 36:11 שְׂפַ֤ת sefat HNcfsc the edge edge-of lip-of
H8193-04 Exodus 36:11 בִּ/שְׂפַ֣ת bisefat HR/Ncfsc on the edge in the boundary of in the lip of
H8193-13 Exodus 36:17 שְׂפַ֣ת sefat HNcfsc the edge edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Exodus 36:17 שְׂפַ֣ת sefat-2 HNcfsc the edge edge-of lip-of
H8193-23 Exodus 39:19 שְׂפָת֕/וֹ sefato HNcfsc/Sp3ms its edge his lip its edge
H8193-12 Exodus 39:23 שָׂפָ֥ה safah HNcfsa a-band lip lip
H8193-37 Leviticus 5:4 בִ/שְׂפָתַ֜יִם visefatayim HR/Ncfda with lips with two lips with lips
H8193-19 Numbers 30:7 שְׂפָתֶ֔י/הָ sefateyha HNcfdc/Sp3fs of her lips her lips her lips
H8193-19 Numbers 30:9 שְׂפָתֶ֔י/הָ sefateyha HNcfdc/Sp3fs of her lips her lips her lips
H8193-19 Numbers 30:13 שְׂפָתֶ֧י/הָ sefateyha HNcfdc/Sp3fs of-her-lips her lips her lips
H8193-13 Deuteronomy 2:36 שְׂפַת sefat HNcfsc the edge of edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Deuteronomy 4:48 שְׂפַת sefat HNcfsc the rim of edge-of lip-of
H8193-20 Deuteronomy 23:24 שְׂפָתֶ֖י/ךָ sefateykha HNcfdc/Sp2ms of your lips your lips your lips
H8193-13 Joshua 11:4 שְׂפַת sefat HNcfsc lip of edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Joshua 12:2 שְׂפַת sefat HNcfsc the bank edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Joshua 13:9 שְׂפַת sefat HNcfsc the edge of edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Joshua 13:16 שְׂפַת sefat HNcfsc the edge edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Judges 7:12 שְׂפַ֥ת sefat HNcfsc lip of edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 Judges 7:22 שְׂפַת sefat HNcfsc border-of edge-of lip-of
H8193-19 1 Samuel 1:13 שְׂפָתֶ֣י/הָ sefateyha HNcfdc/Sp3fs her lips her lips her lips
H8193-13 1 Samuel 13:5 שְׂפַֽת sefat HNcfsc lip edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 1 Kings 5:9 שְׂפַ֥ת sefat HNcfsc lip edge-of lip-of
H8193-11 1 Kings 7:23 מִ/שְּׂפָת֨/וֹ misefato HR/Ncfsc/Sp3ms from its brim from his lip from its lip
H8193-09 1 Kings 7:24 לִ/שְׂפָת֤/וֹ lisefato HR/Ncfsc/Sp3ms to-its-brim to his edge to its edge
H8193-32 1 Kings 7:26 וּ/שְׂפָת֛/וֹ usefato HC/Ncfsc/Sp3ms and its brim and his lip and its brim
H8193-13 1 Kings 7:26 שְׂפַת sefat HNcfsc the brim of edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 1 Kings 9:26 שְׂפַ֥ת sefat HNcfsc lip/shore edge-of lip-of
H8193-13 2 Kings 2:13 שְׂפַ֥ת sefat HNcfsc bank edge-of lip-of
H8193-17 2 Kings 18:20 שְׂפָתַ֔יִם sefatayim HNcfda of lips lips lips
H8193-07 2 Kings 19:28 בִּ/שְׂפָתֶ֔י/ךָ bisefateykha HR/Ncfdc/Sp2ms in your lips in your lips in your lips
H8193-17 Isaiah 6:5 שְׂפָתַ֨יִם֙ sefatayim HNcfda lips lips lips
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