Hebrew word · H5554

סֶ֫לַע

sela'

Sela

A rock, crag or cliff face. It can be a refuge high up in the rocks (Isa 33:16), the rock Moses struck (Num 20:8–11), or a poetic image of God as a 'rock' and fortress (Ps 18:2; 31:3).

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Sela = "the rock"

a place in Edom

perhaps an early name for 'Petra'

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 2 Kings 14:7

Range of meaning

A rock, crag or cliff face. It can be a refuge high up in the rocks (Isa 33:16), the rock Moses struck (Num 20:8–11), or a poetic image of God as a 'rock' and fortress (Ps 18:2; 31:3). With the article ('the Sela') it serves as the name of a place in Edom, perhaps also in Isaiah 16:1 and 42:11, though those references are debated.

Against the English

Most English versions just write 'Sela' and leave readers unaware that the word means 'the Rock'. The KJV spells it 'Selah', the same spelling as the unrelated musical or liturgical note in the Psalms.

How it drifted

The KJV's spelling 'Selah' merged two different Hebrew words in English: selaʿ (rock) and selâ (the Psalm marker). In addition, the Greek translation's rendering 'the Petra' encouraged an identification with the later Nabataean city of Petra, and that identification became popular.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint renders it tēn Petran and the Vulgate Petram ('the Rock'). Eusebius' Onomasticon (4th century AD) identifies the Rock with Petra. Modern surveys propose es-Sela, a fortified rock outcrop near Bozrah (Buseirah) in northern Edom, which bears a carved relief of the Babylonian king Nabonidus. Umm el-Biyara, the plateau overlooking Petra, has produced mainly 7th-century BC remains, later than Amaziah's time.

From the study of Isaiah 42:11

Range of meaning

Common noun: cliff, crag, rock (e.g., Numbers 20:8, the rock Moses struck). Proper noun: Sela, a fortified place in Edom, captured by Amaziah of Judah (2 Kings 14:7). Edom as a whole is pictured as living 'in the clefts of the rock (selaʿ)' (Obadiah 3; Jeremiah 49:16).

Against the English

KJV has 'the inhabitants of the rock', taking it as a common noun. BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB and WEB have 'Sela', a place name. The Greek and Latin translations give 'Petra', which also simply means 'rock'.

How it drifted

The later identification with the Nabataean city of Petra, centuries after Isaiah, can make readers picture the famous carved façades. Those buildings belong to a much later period.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Kings 14:7 and Isaiah 16:1 ('from Sela toward the wilderness'). The Septuagint uses Petra for Sela. Archaeologists debate the site. Proposals include Umm el-Biyara above Petra and es-Sela near Bozrah (Buseirah), where there is a rock relief of the Babylonian king Nabonidus.

Where it appears

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 1:36 מֵהַסֶּ֖לַע from <the> Sela

    And the border of the Amorites extended from the Ascent of Akrabbim to Sela and beyond.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 14:7 הַסֶּ֖לַע <the> Sela

    Amaziah struck down 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this very day.

    Here: 'The Rock.' The word means a high crag or cliff, and the definite article ('the') shows a hearer would still feel that meaning: this was Edom's rock-fortress. Its exact location is debated.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 16:1 מִסֶּ֣לַע from Sela

    Send the tribute lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the mount of Daughter Zion.

  2. Isaiah 42:11 סֶ֔לַע Sela

    Let the desert and its cities raise their voices; let the villages of Kedar cry aloud. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops.

    Here: Most likely the Edomite rock-stronghold called Sela, in the mountains south-east of the Dead Sea. It may also be the ordinary word 'rock', meaning people who live among the cliffs. In either case it points to the rugged highlands of Edom.

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