תִּפְתַּי
𐤕𐤐𐤕𐤉
tiphtay
H8614 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A judicial official, officer involved in legal administration or law enforcement. In Aramaic contexts, designates a legal functionary, possibly a magistrate or court official, responsible for carrying out judgments or overseeing judicial processes within a civic or governmental structure.
Semantic Range
judicial officer, legal administrator, magistrate, court official, law enforcer, member of bureaucratic legal staff
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root שָׁפַט (to judge, govern, decide) in Hebrew, with the Aramaic form reflecting the adaptation of the root into administrative and legal vocabulary. The shift from a verbal root meaning 'to judge' to a noun denoting an official or functionary is common in Northwest Semitic languages.
Historical & Contextual Notes
This term appears in Aramaic portions of the Hebrew Bible, specifically in administrative or legal lists within the context of Persian-period Judean governance. The word describes a class of legal officers functioning within a bureaucracy influenced by Mesopotamian and Persian models, where judicial responsibility was divided among several classes of officials. English renderings such as 'lawyer,' 'judge,' or 'sheriff' are imprecise, as ancient Near Eastern judicial titles rarely correspond exactly with later Western judicial offices. The title may indicate either a local legal official under imperial authority or a bureaucratic enforcer of judicial decrees. In biblical Aramaic (e.g., Ezra 7:25), 'tiphtay' does not denote a member of the Israelite judiciary as established by the Torah, but rather an officer within an imperial legal hierarchy during the Persian administration of Judea. The meaning is closely related to the Hebrew שׁוֹפֵט (shofet, 'judge') but situated in a later administrative framework. In older translations, the term 'sheriff' reflects an attempt to find a familiar English parallel, but is not etymologically or functionally accurate.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
(Aramaic) perhaps from שָׁפַט; judicial, i.e. a lawyer; sheriff.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
שפט (š-p-ṭ) — to judge, to govern, to decide, to administer law
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H3092 | יְהוֹשָׁפָט | to YHWH-has-judged |
| H478 | אֱלִישָׁפָט | El has judged |
| H4941 | מִשְׁפָּט | according to your ruling |
| H8196 | שְׁפוֹט | Pronounce judgment! |
| H8199 | שָׁפַט | in his being judged |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8614-01 |
תִּפְתָּיֵ֔/א | tifetaye | ANcmpd/Td |
judges | the judicial officials | 2 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8614-01 |
Daniel 3:2 | תִּפְתָּיֵ֔/א | tifetaye | ANcmpd/Td |
the magistrates | the judicial officials |
H8614-01 |
Daniel 3:3 | תִּפְתָּיֵ֗/א | tifetaye | ANcmpd/Td |
judges | the judicial officials |