Bible Word Study
סֶלֶד
Çeled · Seled, an Israelite
סֶלֶד
Seled, an Israelite
Definition
Seled is a proper noun referring to an Israelite man from the tribe of Judah. He is mentioned only once in the Bible as a son of Nadab, who himself was a descendant of Jerahmeel (1 Chronicles 2:30). The text states that Seled died without having any sons, meaning his lineage ended with him. As a result, his name appears solely in a genealogical list, serving to document the family structure of Judah without any accompanying narrative about his life or actions.
Biblical Usage
The word is used exactly once in the Old Testament, in 1 Chronicles 2:30. Its usage is purely genealogical, appearing within the extensive chronicles of Judah's descendants. There are no patterns of usage, as it is a single-instance personal name recorded for historical and lineage-tracking purposes in the context of 1 Chronicles' detailed family records.
Etymology
The name Seled (סֶלֶד) is derived from the Hebrew root סָלַד (salad, H5539), which carries the meaning 'to leap or spring up,' and by extension, 'to exult' or 'rejoice.' Thus, the name likely means 'exultation' or 'joyous leaping.' It is a nominal form from this verb, functioning as a personal name that expresses a positive sentiment, as was common in Hebrew naming conventions.
Semantic Range
In ancient Israelite culture, names were often significant and conveyed meaning or hope. A name like Seled ('exultation') likely reflected the parents' joy or a prayer for a blessed life. His mention, despite having no sons, highlights the cultural and religious importance of genealogy and lineage in maintaining tribal identity and inheritance rights within Israel. Recording him, even in a terminated line, preserved the complete historical record as valued by the Chronicler. No direct synonyms exist for this unique proper noun. Other Hebrew names derived from verbs of joy include: גִּיל (Gil, H1524) — 'joy'; שִׂמְחָה (Simchah, H8057) — 'gladness, joy' (often used as a common noun, but also a personal name).
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]