Lexical Summary caph: Threshold, doorframe, sill, basin, goblet Original Word: סַף Strong's Exhaustive Concordance bason, bowl, cup, door post, gate, post, threshold From caphaph, in its original sense of containing; a vestibule (as a limit); also a dish (for holding blood or wine) -- bason, bowl, cup, door (post), gate, post, threshold. see HEBREW caphaph Brown-Driver-Briggs I. סַף noun masculine basin, goblet (Late Hebrew סַף; Phoenician סף (Inscription of Tyre(1), 5, 6) SchrödZMG xxxix (1886), 317 f. ClGannAnnales du Musée Guimet x. 511 = Recuell d'arch. orient.(1886), 89 HalRŠJ xii.107 Bloch; but Lzb330 door-sill); — ׳ס absolutebasin Exodus 12:22 (twice in verse) (J; containing blood of passover lamb); construct סַףרַֿעַל Zechariah 12:2 goblet of reeling (intoxicating, figurative), probably also Habakkuk 2:15, where read מִסַּף חֲמָֽתְךָ from the goblet of thy fury (for ᵑ0 ׳מְסַמֵּחַ ח, see I. ספח); plural absolute סַמּוֺת 2 Samuel 17:28 basins for ordinary use; הַסִּמִּים Jeremiah 52:19, הַסִמּוֺת 1 Kings 7:50 and construct סִמּוֺת כֶּסֶף 2 Kings 12:14, of temple utensils. II. סַף noun masculineAmos 9:1 threshold, sill (Late Hebrew id.; Phoenician see Lzb1. סַף; Aramaic סִמָּא, Topical Lexicon Range of Meaning and Occurrences סַף (sap) appears roughly thirty-two times across the Hebrew Scriptures and denotes the rim, lip, or container that holds or marks out something else. Hence it can describe a bowl, cup, basin, the metal pan of Temple service, or the threshold and door-sill that frames entry. The contexts move from household life to royal ritual, from priestly ministry to prophetic vision, giving the term rich theological coloring. The Passover Threshold – Salvation at the Door (Exodus 12:22-23) The first canonical appearance is the foundational Passover. Israel was told to collect the lamb’s blood “in the basin” and to apply it to lintel and doorposts. “None of you shall go out the door of his house until morning” (Exodus 12:22). The sap here is both vessel and threshold, the appointed meeting point between judgment and protection. It is a type of the blood of Christ set at the entrance of the heart (John 10:9). Later threshold texts (1 Kings 14:17; Ezekiel 9:3) echo the same liminal tension— life inside, death outside. Temple Service – Vessels of Ministry Numerous references cluster around the Solomonic Temple and later restorations (1 Kings 7:40, 1 Kings 7:45; 2 Kings 25:15; 1 Chronicles 28:17; 2 Chronicles 4:16; Ezra 1:10; Jeremiah 52:19). These sapim are handcrafted articles of bronze, gold, or silver, dedicated to handle sacrificial blood, incense, or grain offerings. Their presence underlines the biblical pattern: holy worship demands consecrated utensils. When Josiah repaired the Temple, “they made vessels of service for the house of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 24:14). The chronicler’s joy that sanctified bowls had been restored mirrors the believer’s call to be “vessels for honor, sanctified and useful to the Master” (2 Timothy 2:21). Domestic and Royal Hospitality Beyond cultic settings, sap names the everyday bowl of oil or wine (Judges 5:25) and the cup set before a king (Proverbs 23:31). In the Song of Songs the beloved’s navel is poetically likened to “a rounded bowl that never lacks mixed wine” (Song of Songs 7:2), pointing to abundance and intimacy. Thus sap moves easily from sanctuary to supper-table, reminding readers that covenant life sanctifies both. Prophetic Cup Imagery – Judgment and Deliverance The prophets employ sap as a powerful metaphor. Zechariah 12:2 warns, “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples”. Nations that attempt to devour Zion will drink staggering judgment from the same vessel that preserves the faithful. Similar imagery surfaces in Isaiah 51:17, where Jerusalem has “drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His wrath.” The dual edge of sap— blessing for the obedient, ruin for the rebel— accents divine justice. Thresholds and False Worship Zephaniah decries those “who leap over the threshold” while filling “their master’s house with violence and deceit” (Zephaniah 1:9). The threshold becomes a symbol of casual irreverence, contrasting sharply with Passover obedience. The inviolability of God’s doorway anticipates New Testament teaching that entrance to His presence is through one consecrated way (Hebrews 10:19-22). Theological Reflections 1. Mediation. Whether bowl or door-frame, sap mediates between two realms— heaven and earth, holy and common, life and death. Representative References Exodus 12:22-23; Judges 5:25; 1 Kings 7:40, 45; 2 Kings 25:15; 1 Chronicles 28:17; 2 Chronicles 4:16; Ezra 1:10; Proverbs 23:31; Song of Songs 7:2; Isaiah 51:17; Zephaniah 1:9; Zechariah 12:2. Summary סַף gathers household, royal, and priestly scenes into one term that highlights boundaries and containers chosen by God to convey either mercy or wrath. In Scripture’s unfolding drama, the sap ultimately points to the poured-out blood of the covenant and the doorway of salvation offered in the Messiah. Forms and Transliterations בְסַף־ בַּסִּפִּ֔ים בַּסַּ֔ף בַּסַּף֒ בַּסָּ֑ף בסף בסף־ בספים הַ֠סִּפִּים הַסִּפִּ֔ים הַסִּפִּ֖ים הַסִּפִּ֗ים הַסִּפִּ֛ים הַסִּפִּ֡ים הַסִּפִּֽים׃ הַסַּ֑ף הַסַּ֔ף הַסַּ֖ף הַסַּ֛ף הַסַּ֜ף הַסַּֽף׃ הַסַּף֒ הסף הסף׃ הספים הספים׃ וְ֠הַסִּפּוֹת וְסַ֣ף וְסַפּוֹת֙ והספות וסף וספות סִפִּ֗י סִפָּ֜ם סִפּ֥וֹת סַ֣ף סַף־ סף סף־ ספות ספי ספם bas·sap̄ bas·sāp̄ bas·sip·pîm basSaf bassap̄ bassāp̄ bassipPim bassippîm ḇə·sap̄- ḇəsap̄- has·sap̄ has·sip·pîm hasSaf hassap̄ hassipPim hassippîm saf sap̄ sap̄- sip·pām sip·pî sip·pō·wṯ sipPam sippām sipPi sippî sipPot sippōwṯ Vehassippot vesaf vesappOt wə·has·sip·pō·wṯ wə·sap̄ wə·sap·pō·wṯ wəhassippōwṯ wəsap̄ wəsappōwṯLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Exodus 12:22 HEB: בַּדָּ֣ם אֲשֶׁר־ בַּסַּף֒ וְהִגַּעְתֶּ֤ם אֶל־ NAS: which is in the basin, and apply KJV: [it] in the blood that [is] in the bason, and strike INT: the blood which the basin and apply to Exodus 12:22 Judges 19:27 2 Samuel 17:28 1 Kings 7:50 1 Kings 14:17 2 Kings 12:9 2 Kings 12:13 2 Kings 22:4 2 Kings 23:4 2 Kings 25:18 1 Chronicles 9:19 1 Chronicles 9:22 2 Chronicles 3:7 2 Chronicles 23:4 2 Chronicles 34:9 Esther 2:21 Esther 6:2 Isaiah 6:4 Jeremiah 35:4 Jeremiah 52:19 Jeremiah 52:24 Ezekiel 40:6 Ezekiel 40:6 Ezekiel 40:7 32 Occurrences |
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Arabic sippu Dl509, all id.); — absolute ׳ס