Hebrew word · H1614

גׇּפְרִית

gaferit

brimstone

Sulfur, the mineral. It is used seven times in the Hebrew Bible, always tied to divine devastation: Gen 19:24; Deut 29:23 (Heb 29:22); Job 18:15; Ps 11:6; Isa 30:33; 34:9; Ezek 38:22. It is usually connected with Akkadian kibrītu, 'sulfur'.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) brimstone

1a) of judgment (fig.)

1b) of Jehovah's breath (fig.)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Genesis 19:24

Range of meaning

Sulfur, the mineral. It is used seven times in the Hebrew Bible, always tied to divine devastation: Gen 19:24; Deut 29:23 (Heb 29:22); Job 18:15; Ps 11:6; Isa 30:33; 34:9; Ezek 38:22. It is usually connected with Akkadian kibrītu, 'sulfur'. A link to gōp̄er (the resinous 'gopher' wood of Noah's ark) has been proposed but is uncertain (HALOT).

Against the English

KJV and NASB have 'brimstone', an old English word meaning 'burning stone' that once simply meant sulfur. BSB, ESV and WEB have 'sulfur'. NIV joins the pair as 'burning sulfur'. All of these are accurate as words. The difference is in what modern readers hear (see Drift).

How it drifted

'Brimstone' dropped out of everyday use and survived mostly in religious language ('fire and brimstone'), where it came to mean hell and threatening preaching rather than a real mineral.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 29:23 describes the aftermath: 'the whole land burned out with sulfur and salt, unsown, sprouting nothing… like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah'. Isa 34:9 turns Edom's streams to pitch and its dust to sulfur. The Greek translation (LXX) uses theion, the normal Greek word for sulfur. Greeks used sulfur to fumigate and purify (Homer, Odyssey 22.481). The New Testament carries the pairing into Luke 17:29 and the 'lake of fire and sulfur' in Revelation (14:10; 19:20; 20:10; 21:8).

From the study of Deuteronomy 29:23

Range of meaning

Sulfur, the mineral. It burns with a blue flame and gives off suffocating fumes. In the Bible it always appears in scenes of devastating judgment: Gen 19:24 ('sulfur and fire' rained on Sodom), Isa 30:33, Isa 34:9 (Edom's streams turned to pitch and its soil to sulfur), Ezek 38:22, Ps 11:6, Job 18:15 (sulfur scattered over the wicked man's home).

Against the English

KJV and ESV say 'brimstone'; BSB, WEB and NIV say 'sulfur'. 'Brimstone' was once simply the ordinary English word for sulfur ('burning stone'). Because of the stock phrase 'fire and brimstone' it now suggests hell and the preaching of hell.

How it drifted

From the KJV onward, 'fire and brimstone' became fixed in English for hellfire, helped by Revelation's 'lake of fire and brimstone' (Rev 19:20; 21:8) and by revival preaching. Readers of Deuteronomy then hear the afterlife in a verse about the ruin of real farmland.

Used elsewhere in the period

Sulfur deposits and sulfurous springs exist around the Dead Sea, and lumps of sulfur are found in the region's marl. So the pairing of sulfur and salt with the Sodom area reflects a real landscape. The Septuagint translates with θεῖον (theion), the normal Greek word for sulfur.

From the study of Psalm 11:6

Range of meaning

This is sulfur, a yellow mineral that burns with a blue flame and gives off suffocating fumes. In the Hebrew Bible it almost always appears with fire as a sign of total, land-destroying judgment: Genesis 19:24 (Sodom), Deuteronomy 29:23 (a land 'burned out with brimstone and salt'), Isaiah 30:33; 34:9, Ezekiel 38:22, and Job 18:15. Where the word comes from is uncertain.

Against the English

'Brimstone' (KJV) is simply the old English word for sulfur, literally 'burning stone'. Modern versions say 'sulfur'. The older word has picked up associations from preaching that the Hebrew does not carry by itself.

How it drifted

From the Middle Ages onward, and especially in revival preaching, 'fire and brimstone' became shorthand for hell and for sermons about it. The New Testament book of Revelation (14:10; 19:20; 20:10; 21:8) does use fire and sulfur for final judgment, and that made the link stronger. In the Psalter itself the picture comes from Sodom: a historical, earthly catastrophe.

Used elsewhere in the period

Sulfur deposits and asphalt around the Dead Sea basin made the Sodom story's details concrete to ancient readers. Josephus (Jewish War 4.483–485) describes the scorched landscape near the Dead Sea as still showing traces of the heavenly fire. Ezekiel 38:22 joins 'rain', 'fire and sulfur' in a single judgment just as Psalm 11:6 does.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 19:24 גָּפְרִ֣ית sulfur

    Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.

    Here: Sulfur, the yellow mineral that burns with a choking smell and leaves ground barren. It is placed first, before 'fire', for emphasis.

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 29:23 גָּפְרִ֣ית [is] sulfur

    All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.

    Here: The yellow mineral sulfur, which burns with a choking smell. Placed first, it names the first thing the onlooker sees: the land has become sulfur.

Job · 1

  1. Job 18:15 גָפְרִֽית׃ sulfur

    Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 11:6 וְ֭גָפְרִית and sulfur

    On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.

    Here: This is sulfur, the burning, choking mineral found around the Dead Sea. Paired with fire, it calls up one scene above all others: the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24).

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 30:33 גָּפְרִ֔ית sulfur

    For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.

    Here: Sulfur, the substance of the Sodom-and-Gomorrah judgment (Gen 19:24; Deut 29:23; Ps 11:6). Using it marks this as a judgment of total, God-sent destruction.

  2. Isaiah 34:9 לְגָפְרִ֑ית into sulfur

    Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 38:22 וְגָפְרִ֗ית and sulfur

    I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.

    Here: Sulfur, the burning, choking mineral linked in Israel's memory with Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction (Gen 19:24) and with land made permanently barren (Deut 29:23).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.