Bible Word Study
צֶלַע
Tselaʻ · Tsela, a place in Palestine
צֶלַע
Tsela, a place in Palestine
Definition
Tsela (צֶלַע) is a proper noun referring to a town or location in the territory of Benjamin, as listed among the cities of the tribe in Joshua 18:28. It is also the site where King Saul and his sons were buried, as recorded in 2 Samuel 21:14, after their bones were recovered from the Gibeonites. The name itself is identical to the common Hebrew noun meaning 'rib,' 'side,' or 'limb,' but in this context, it functions solely as a geographical place name. There are no distinct biblical senses for the word beyond its identification as this specific location.
Biblical Usage
The word צֶלַע is used exclusively as a proper noun for a place name in the Old Testament. It appears only twice: first in the administrative list of Benjaminite cities in Joshua 18:28, and second in the historical narrative of 2 Samuel 21:14, which describes it as the burial site for Saul and Jonathan in the family tomb of Saul's father, Kish. Its usage is confined to these geographical and historical contexts within the books of Joshua and Samuel.
Etymology
The word is etymologically identical to the common noun צֶלַע (tselaʻ, H6761), which means 'rib,' 'side,' or 'limb' (as in Genesis 2:21-22, describing the creation of Eve from Adam's rib). As a place name, Tsela likely derived from the geographical feature of the location, perhaps a hillside or slope, reflecting the root's core meaning related to the side of something. This is a common pattern in Hebrew where place names originate from descriptive physical characteristics.
Semantic Range
As a town within the tribal allotment of Benjamin, Tsela was part of the promised land distribution detailed in the book of Joshua. Its mention as Saul's burial site connects it to the history of Israel's first monarchy. Burial in a family tomb within one's ancestral land was a significant cultural practice, emphasizing lineage, inheritance, and connection to the promised land. The location's association with Saul, a tragic and complex figure, adds a layer of historical memory to the place. No direct synonyms as a proper noun. For the common noun meaning 'side,' see: צַד (tsad, H6654) — generally denotes a side or region; כָּתֵף (kateph, H3802) — often refers to shoulder or slope.
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]