Bible Word Study
סְפָר
Çᵉphâr · Sephar, a place in Arabia
סְפָר
Sephar, a place in Arabia
Definition
Sephar is a proper noun referring to a geographical location mentioned in the Old Testament. It is identified as a place in Arabia, specifically noted as the eastern boundary of the territory inhabited by the descendants of Joktan, a descendant of Shem. The single biblical reference to Sephar is found in Genesis 10:30, where it is described as a marker for the region where the Joktanite clans settled. As a place name, it signifies a specific, though now uncertain, location in the ancient Arabian peninsula, likely in the southern region.
Biblical Usage
The word סְפָר (Sephar) is used only once in the entire Old Testament, in Genesis 10:30. Its usage is strictly geographical, serving as a boundary point in the Table of Nations narrative that traces the spread of peoples after the flood. It appears in the context of listing the settlements of the sons of Joktan, from Mesha 'as you go toward Sephar, the hill country of the east.' There are no other patterns or contextual variations in its usage.
Etymology
The word סְפָר (Çᵉphâr) is directly derived from the identical common noun סְפָר (sᵉphar, H5610), which means 'a book' or 'a writing.' As a place name, 'Sephar' likely carries a sense of a 'boundary' or 'limit,' possibly related to the idea of a recorded or marked frontier. It shares this root with words for counting and numbering, suggesting a place that was considered an endpoint or a measured distance.
Semantic Range
In its original cultural setting, Sephar represented a known geographical limit in the ancient world's understanding, specifically within Arabian tribal territories. Its mention in Genesis 10 places it within a foundational biblical text that maps the origins of nations, reflecting an ancient Near Eastern perspective on genealogy and geography. The exact location is debated by scholars, but it signifies the eastern extent of the known world for the Joktanite clans, differing from modern, precise cartography. None applicable for a proper place 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]