Hebrew word · H1687

דְּבִיר

devir

oracle

The innermost room of Solomon's temple, holding the ark and the cherubim (1 Kgs 6:16, 19–23; 8:6, 8; Ps 28:2). Two derivations are proposed: (1) from dabar, 'to speak', meaning 'place of speaking, oracle'; (2) from a root meaning 'back, rear' (compare Arabic dubr), meaning 'back room'.

Appears 16 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) the holy of holies, the innermost room of the temple or tabernacle

1a) hindmost chamber, innermost room of the temple of Solomon, most holy place, holy of holies

2) (TWOT) oracle

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 1 Kings 6:5

Range of meaning

The innermost room of Solomon's temple, holding the ark and the cherubim (1 Kgs 6:16, 19–23; 8:6, 8; Ps 28:2). Two derivations are proposed: (1) from dabar, 'to speak', meaning 'place of speaking, oracle'; (2) from a root meaning 'back, rear' (compare Arabic dubr), meaning 'back room'. Most modern lexicons (HALOT) prefer 'back room, innermost room'.

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'oracle', BSB/WEB/ESV/NIV/NASB 'inner sanctuary'. 'Oracle' follows the Latin Vulgate (oraculum) and the 'speaking' derivation. 'Inner sanctuary' describes the room's position and function.

How it drifted

To a modern reader 'oracle' means a person or shrine that gives predictions (Delphi), not a room. The KJV word came from Jerome's Latin, which followed later Greek translators (Aquila, Symmachus: chrēmatistērion, 'place of divine answers').

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint mostly just transliterates it (dabir), suggesting the translators were unsure of its meaning. Chronicles prefers 'holy of holies' (2 Chr 3:8). The term is not found outside the Bible in this sense.

From the study of 1 Kings 8:6

Range of meaning

Used only of the innermost room of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6–8; 2 Chronicles 3–5) and once in Psalm 28:2 ('your holy devir'). There are two proposed origins: (1) a root meaning 'back, behind', as in Arabic dubr, 'rear', which gives 'the back room, the rear chamber'; (2) the Hebrew verb dabar, 'to speak', which gives 'the place of speaking'. Most modern lexicons (HALOT, and in practice BDB's note) favour 'back room'.

Against the English

KJV (and Douay) 'oracle' follows the 'speaking' derivation. Modern versions say 'inner sanctuary' (BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV, NASB), which describes the room's function and avoids the etymology question.

How it drifted

'Oracle' entered English through the Latin Vulgate's oraculum, which in turn followed some later Greek translators. They read the room as the place where God gave answers (compare Exodus 25:22, 'there I will meet with you and speak'). To a modern reader 'oracle' means a person or a prophetic message, not a room.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint here simply transliterates the word (δαβιρ, dabir), which suggests its translator had no confident equivalent. Later Greek versions associated with Aquila and Symmachus used a word for 'place of divine response'. Temples elsewhere in the Levant show the same plan: porch, main hall, and an inner shrine at the back. The Iron Age temple at Tell Tayinat and the Ain Dara temple in Syria are the standard comparisons.

From the study of Psalm 28:2

Range of meaning

The innermost room of the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place ("holy of holies"). It was a windowless cube at the back of Solomon's temple holding the ark of the covenant under the gold cherubim (1 Kings 6:5, 16, 19–23; 8:6–8; 2 Chronicles 3:16; 4:20; 5:7–9). Outside the temple descriptions in Kings and Chronicles, this is the only place the word appears.

Against the English

KJV/YLT "oracle" will confuse a modern reader. BSB/ESV/NASB "sanctuary" is accurate but loses the precision of innermost room. WEB and NIV "Most Holy Place" are the most exact.

How it drifted

"Oracle" comes from Jerome's Latin oraculum. Behind that lie the ancient Greek translators Aquila and Symmachus, who used chrēmatistērion, "place of divine response." These renderings link dəbîr to the verb dābar, "to speak," because God spoke from above the ark (Exodus 25:22; Numbers 7:89). The KJV kept "oracle." Today the word suggests Delphi, fortune-telling, or a prophetic message, none of which the Hebrew means. Many modern lexicons instead connect dəbîr to a root meaning "back, rear" (compare Arabic dubr), so "the back room." Either way, the referent is a room.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Kings 6–8 and 2 Chronicles 3–5 (Solomon's temple). Also see the debate below on the derivation. The Septuagint of Psalm 27:2 (its numbering) has naon hagion sou, "your holy temple"; in Kings it often just transliterates the word (dabir).

Where it appears

1 Kings · 11

  1. 1 Kings 6:5 וְלַדְּבִ֑יר and <to> the innermost room

    Against the walls of the temple and the inner sanctuary, Solomon built a chambered structure around the temple, in which he constructed the side rooms.

    Here: The innermost room at the back, a 20-cubit cube that held the ark and the cherubim: the Most Holy Place. The annex ran behind it too.

  2. 1 Kings 6:16 לִדְבִ֔יר to an innermost room

    He partitioned off the twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.

  3. 1 Kings 6:19 וּדְבִ֧יר and an innermost room

    Solomon also prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there.

  4. 1 Kings 6:20 הַדְּבִ֡יר the innermost room

    The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.

  5. 1 Kings 6:21 הַדְּבִ֔יר the innermost room

    So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold.

  6. 1 Kings 6:22 לַדְּבִ֖יר [belonged] to the innermost room

    So he overlaid with gold the whole interior of the temple, until everything was completely finished. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.

  7. 1 Kings 6:23 בַּדְּבִ֔יר in the innermost room

    In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim, each ten cubits high, out of olive wood.

  8. 1 Kings 6:31 הַדְּבִ֔יר the innermost room

    For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, Solomon constructed doors of olive wood with five-sided doorposts.

  9. 1 Kings 7:49 הַדְּבִ֖יר the innermost room

    the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;

  10. 1 Kings 8:6 דְּבִ֥יר [the] innermost room of

    Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.

    Here: The windowless back room of the temple, a cube of 20 cubits (about 9 m) on each side, overlaid with gold (6:16, 20). Most scholars now take the word to mean 'back room'. The older rendering 'oracle' comes from linking it with dabar, 'speak'.

  11. 1 Kings 8:8 הַדְּבִ֔יר the innermost room

    The poles extended far enough that their ends were visible from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are there to this day.

2 Chronicles · 4

  1. 2 Chronicles 3:16 בַּדְּבִ֔יר in the innermost room

    He made interwoven chains and put them on top of the pillars. He made a hundred pomegranates and fastened them into the chainwork.

  2. 2 Chronicles 4:20 הַדְּבִ֖יר the innermost room

    the lampstands of pure gold and their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;

  3. 2 Chronicles 5:7 דְּבִ֥יר [the] innermost room of

    Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.

  4. 2 Chronicles 5:9 הַדְּבִ֔יר the innermost room

    The poles of the ark extended far enough that their ends were visible from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are there to this day.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 28:2 דְּבִ֥יר [the] innermost room of

    Hear my cry for mercy when I call to You for help, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

    Here: "The inner room of": the innermost chamber of the sanctuary, where the ark stood under the cherubim. It is the Most Holy Place, God's throne room on earth. It does not mean an "oracle" in the modern sense.

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