← H5450 H5452 →

סִבֹּלֶת

𐤎𐤁𐤋𐤕

çibbôleth

H5451 noun

SILEX Entry

Root סבל to bear, carry, transport

Definition

A head or stalk of grain; by extension, a flow or stream (of water); occasionally used as a test word identifying group membership based on pronunciation (as in Judges 12:6). The term's semantic range includes both agricultural and hydrological references, as well as a metonym for group identity.

Semantic Range

ear or head of grain, stalk, sheaf; stream, flood, current; test word for distinguishing group identity

Root / Etymology

From the root סבל, which fundamentally means 'to bear, carry, transport.' The form סִבֹּלֶת likely originated as a denominative noun referring to something that is carried, such as a sheaf or head of grain, but the semantic extension to 'stream' or 'flow' may derive from the notion of a mass or body being borne along (e.g., grain on the stalk or water in a current).

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, סִבֹּלֶת most frequently refers to an ear or head of grain (e.g., Genesis 41:5-7). However, in Judges 12:6, it is famously used as a shibboleth—a word whose regional pronunciation distinguishes groups (Ephraimites from Gileadites). In a few instances (e.g., Isaiah 27:12), the term is used of a stream or flood, likely by analogy to the bearing/carrying sense of the root. The shibboleth usage has become influential in English as a term for any linguistic or cultural marker distinguishing in-group from out-group, but this is secondary to the primary agricultural meaning in biblical usage. The KJV translates סִבֹּלֶת inconsistently, sometimes as 'ear of corn,' 'flood,' or leaves it transliterated in Judges 12. The related term שִׁבֹּלֶת ('shibboleth') has the same meanings and is virtually interchangeable in agricultural contexts, but appears with dialectal or orthographic variation in different passages. Later English usage of 'shibboleth' as a test of group identity arises from this biblical narrative, not from the tovah of primary lexical meaning.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

for שִׁבֹּל; an ear of grain; Sibboleth.

Bantu Hebrew

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

+ Add Bantu Hebrew Word

Root Family

סבל (s-b-l) — to bear, carry, transport

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H5445 סָבַל I will bear
H5446 סְבַל being set-up ones
H5447 סֵבֶל in the burden
H5448 סֹבֶל his burden-load
H5449 סַבָּל the load-bearer

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H5451-01 סִבֹּ֗לֶת sibolet HNcfsa Sibboleth bearing-stalk 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H5451-01 Judges 12:6 סִבֹּ֗לֶת sibolet HNcfsa Sibboleth bearing-stalk
← H5450 Hebrew Lexicon H5452 →