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סְבָךְ

𐤎𐤁𐤊

çᵉbâk

H5442 noun

SILEX Entry

Root סבך to entwine, become tangled, interweave

Definition

A dense growth of shrubs, small trees, or underbrush; thicket or copse. Refers specifically to tangled or interwoven vegetation forming a natural barrier or enclosure. The term often bears a spatial or landscape nuance, indicating a section of land covered by thick brush or woodland.

Semantic Range

thicket, copse, dense growth of shrubs or small trees, tangled underbrush, natural enclosure of vegetation

Root / Etymology

From the root ס-ב-ך (סָבַךְ), meaning 'to be entwined, tangled, interwoven.' The noun סְבָךְ directly derives from this verbal root and denotes a place characterized by tangled, dense vegetation.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Used only once in the Hebrew Bible (Daniel 4:12 [English 4:15]), occurring within an Aramaic context. The sense is not that of a cultivated grove or orchard, but of wild, densely tangled growth. The word is in line with other Semitic cognates signifying dense thickets (cf. Arabic sabaka: to be entangled). The term conveys a physical barrier or enclosure formed by vegetation, in contrast to more orderly terms for groves or cultivated areas (e.g., גַּן 'garden,' פַּרְדֵּס 'park/orchard'). English translations may render the term as 'thicket' or 'copse,' but these sometimes lack the nuance of entangled or intricate growth. The rarity of the word makes it difficult to trace semantic development in later Hebrew, but in the biblical period, its single use reflects a natural, wild landscape, not a managed one. The later Aramaic and rabbinic use broadens to any entangled or interwoven material, whether vegetation or not.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from סָבַךְ,; a copse; thick(-et).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

סבך (s-b-k) — to entwine, become tangled, interweave

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H5440 סָבַךְ entwined ones
H5441 סֹבֶךְ his tangled thicket
H5443 סַבְּכָא interwoven lyre
H5444 סִבְּכַי Sibbekai
H7730 שׂוֹבֶךְ interwoven thicket of

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H5442-02 בְּ/סִֽבְכֵ֣י besivekhey HR/Ncmpc the thickets in tangled thickets of 1
H5442-04 סִֽבְכֵ֥י sivekhey HNcmpc thickets-of tangled thickets of 1
H5442-01 בַּ/סְּבַ֖ךְ basevakhe HRd/Ncmsa in the thicket in the tangled thicket 1
H5442-03 בִּֽ/סֲבָךְ bisavakhe HR/Ncmsc in the thicket entangled thicket of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

4 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H5442-01 Genesis 22:13 בַּ/סְּבַ֖ךְ basevakhe HRd/Ncmsa in the thicket in the tangled thicket
H5442-02 Isaiah 9:17 בְּ/סִֽבְכֵ֣י besivekhey HR/Ncmpc the thickets in tangled thickets of
H5442-04 Isaiah 10:34 סִֽבְכֵ֥י sivekhey HNcmpc thickets-of tangled thickets of
H5442-03 Psalms 74:5 בִּֽ/סֲבָךְ bisavakhe HR/Ncmsc in the thicket entangled thicket of
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