Hebrew word · H5266
סָלֵק
'esak
to ascend
'To go up, climb.' This is the only occurrence in the Hebrew Bible. The usual Hebrew verb for 'go up' is ʿālāh. In Aramaic the same root is the standard verb for 'go up' (Daniel 6:23, Aramaic סְלֵק / הַנְסָקָה; Targums). Lexicons file the form under different roots.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
(Qal) to ascend
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
- Range of meaning
'To go up, climb.' This is the only occurrence in the Hebrew Bible. The usual Hebrew verb for 'go up' is ʿālāh. In Aramaic the same root is the standard verb for 'go up' (Daniel 6:23, Aramaic סְלֵק / הַנְסָקָה; Targums). Lexicons file the form under different roots. BDB treats it as an Aramaizing form of sālaq. HALOT and Strong's put it under nāsaq. The difference changes nothing about the meaning.
- Against the English
All versions have 'ascend' or 'go up,' which is accurate.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Aramaic usage, Daniel 6:23 and the Targums. Psalm 139 has several other words that look Aramaic, for example רֵעַ, 'thought,' in verses 2 and 17. Many scholars take these as a sign that the psalm was composed after the exile, when Aramaic was widespread.
Where it appears
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 139:8 אֶסַּ֣ק I will ascend
If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
Here: 'Should I go up.' The verb is rare, found only here in the Hebrew Bible, and borrowed from Aramaic, where it is the ordinary word for 'go up.' It pictures climbing to a height no human can reach.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.