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צִיעֹר

𐤑𐤉𐤏𐤓

Tsior

H6730 noun

SILEX Entry

Root צער to be small, to become insignificant

Definition

A proper noun designating a specific settlement in the hill country of Judah, rendered in English as 'Zior.' The lexical base of the name suggests the sense of 'small' or 'insignificant,' but as a toponym it functions as the established name of a place. The term appears in the territorial listings of Judahite towns and does not carry further descriptive or generic meaning in the biblical text.

Semantic Range

(proper noun) name of a Judahite town; (as derived from the root) small, insignificant (only in derivation, not usage)

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root צָעַר (tsaʻar), meaning 'to be small, to be insignificant.' The form צִיעֹר (Tsîyʻôr) is a proper noun, likely meaning 'small one,' applied as a place name. The construction parallels other Hebrew toponyms formed from adjectives or descriptive terms.

Historical & Contextual Notes

צִיעֹר appears only in Joshua 15:54 among a list of towns allocated to the tribe of Judah. The context indicates its use is strictly as a place name, not an adjective or personal name. The association with 'smallness' reflects a broader pattern of toponyms in the Hebrew Bible derived from physical characteristics or perceived attributes of a location. In later English translations, the rendering 'Zior' is conventional, though it does not preserve the sense of the term's root. No direct evidence links this location to the later period designations 'Judean' or 'Jew'; it is strictly a Judahite city in the early monarchic period. The site's precise identification remains uncertain in archaeology.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from צָעַר; small; Tsior, a place in Palestine; Zior.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

צער (ṣ-ʿ-r) — to be small, to be insignificant

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4705 מִצְעָר for a little while
H4706 מִצְעָר Small Peak
H6686 צוּעָר Tsuar
H6810 צָעִיר the lesser one
H6811 צָעִיר toward Tsair

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H6730-01 וְ/צִיעֹ֑ר vetsior HC/Np and Zior and Zior 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H6730-01 Joshua 15:54 וְ/צִיעֹ֑ר vetsior HC/Np and Zior and Zior
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