Hebrew word · H3314

יִפְעָה

yif'atekha

splendor

Radiance, splendour, shining brightness. It occurs only twice in the Bible, both in this chapter (28:7, 17).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

splendour, brightness, shining

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 Ezekiel 28:7

Range of meaning

Radiance, splendour, shining brightness. It occurs only twice in the Bible, both in this chapter (28:7, 17). It comes from the verb yāfaʿ, 'to shine forth,' which is used mostly for God appearing in glory: 'he shone forth from Mount Paran' (Deut 33:2); 'out of Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth' (Ps 50:2); 'you who are enthroned on the cherubim, shine forth' (Ps 80:1).

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'brightness' and BSB 'splendor' are both fair. Neither fully catches that the root belongs to the language of God appearing, which gives the word a quasi-divine glow.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel 28:17: 'Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendour (yifʿātekhā).' The root yp' is also found in Ugaritic and other Northwest Semitic languages with the sense 'to appear, shine.'

Where it appears

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 28:7 יִפְעָתֶֽךָ׃ splendor your

    behold, I will bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and will defile your splendor.

    Here: 'Your radiance.' A rare word, found only here and in 28:17. It comes from a root meaning 'to shine out,' which is used when God 'shines forth' (Deut 33:2; Ps 50:2). It is the glow of majesty, close to divine glory, and it fits a man who styled himself a god.

  2. Ezekiel 28:17 יִפְעָתֶ֑ךָ splendor your

    Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.

    Here: 'Your radiance'. This rare word is found only here and in 28:7. It comes from a root meaning 'to shine forth'. It echoes yopi ('beauty') in sound: beauty and shine, the glitter that dazzled the king himself.

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