Hebrew word · H5557

סָלַף

visalef

to pervert

To twist, crook, subvert, overturn. Wisdom literature uses it for ruining or upending: folly 'ruins' a man's way (Proverbs 19:3), God 'overthrows' the words of the treacherous (Proverbs 22:12) and 'overthrows the mighty' (Job 12:19).

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

What it means

1) to twist, pervert, distort, overturn, ruin

1a) (Piel)

1a1) to pervert (of bribery)

1a2) to subvert, turn upside down, ruin

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 Exodus 23:8

Range of meaning

To twist, crook, subvert, overturn. Wisdom literature uses it for ruining or upending: folly 'ruins' a man's way (Proverbs 19:3), God 'overthrows' the words of the treacherous (Proverbs 22:12) and 'overthrows the mighty' (Job 12:19). The related noun selef means crookedness or deceit (Proverbs 11:3; 15:4).

Against the English

'Perverts' (KJV, WEB), 'twists' (BSB, NIV) and 'subverts' (ESV, NASB) are all accurate. 'Subverts' best keeps the sense of overturning a case.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same verb is used in the parallel at Deuteronomy 16:19. The Septuagint renders it lymainetai, 'damages, corrupts'.

From the study of Proverbs 19:3

Range of meaning

To twist or distort, and from there to overturn, subvert or ruin. It is used of words being twisted and of a person or path being thrown down.

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'perverteth' and BSB/WEB 'subverts' keep the 'twist' sense. Modern versions such as NASB, ESV and NIV go for the outcome, 'ruin'. Both senses are in the word: the road is bent out of shape and so comes to nothing.

How it drifted

Modern English 'pervert' carries sexual connotations that 'perverteth' did not have in 1611, when it simply meant 'turn aside, distort'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 23:8 and Deut 16:19: a bribe 'twists the words of the righteous'. Prov 13:6: 'wickedness overthrows the sinner'. Prov 21:12: the Righteous One 'throws the wicked down to ruin'. Prov 22:12: YHWH 'overthrows the words of the treacherous'. Job 12:19: God 'overthrows the mighty'. The LXX here uses lymainetai, 'damages, ruins'.

From the study of Proverbs 22:12

Range of meaning

To twist, distort, pervert; to overturn, overthrow, bring to ruin. The related noun selep means "crookedness, perversity" (Prov 11:3; 15:4).

Against the English

KJV, YLT and NASB use "overthrow". BSB, NIV and WEB use "frustrate", meaning thwart. Both are right but each catches only half. The Hebrew picture is of something bent until it gives way: God twists lying words so they collapse or turn back on the speaker. In today's English, "frustrate" can also sound like "annoy". Here it means thwart.

Used elsewhere in the period

The key parallel is the law on bribes: "a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and twists (yǝsallēp) the words of the righteous" (Exod 23:8; Deut 16:19). In Proverbs: "wickedness overthrows the sinner" (13:6); "a man's folly twists his way" (19:3); "the Righteous One… overturns the wicked to ruin" (21:12). Job 12:19: God "overthrows the mighty".

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 23:8 וִֽיסַלֵּ֖ף so it may pervert

    Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

    Here: 'And it twists / turns upside down.' The word is used of overturning or crooking something that should run straight (Job 12:19; Proverbs 19:3). The bribe bends the outcome of the case.

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 16:19 וִֽיסַלֵּ֖ף so it may pervert

    Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

    Here: 'And it twists, overturns'. Something straight is wrenched until it is crooked or ruined.

Job · 1

  1. Job 12:19 יְסַלֵּֽף׃ he overturns

    He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows the established.

Proverbs · 4

  1. Proverbs 13:6 תְּסַלֵּ֥ף it subverts

    Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness undermines the sinner.

  2. Proverbs 19:3 תְּסַלֵּ֣ף it subverts

    A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the LORD.

    Here: Piel imperfect, feminine to agree with 'folly'. It twists his road out of shape and upends it, bringing his course to ruin. The imperfect describes what typically happens.

  3. Proverbs 21:12 מְסַלֵּ֖ף [he is] subverting

    The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin.

    Here: Another form for ongoing action, joined to the first line without 'and'. It pictures twisting something until it falls or gives way: a bribe 'twists' a judge's words (Exod 23:8), and in Prov 22:12 God 'overturns' the words of the treacherous. Here it means to wreck or upend.

  4. Proverbs 22:12 וַ֝יְסַלֵּ֗ף and he has subverted

    The LORD’s eyes keep watch over knowledge, but He frustrates the words of the faithless.

    Here: "And he twists / overturns." The verb is used for bending something out of true or tipping it over. God makes the betrayer's words fail: they turn back on him and come to nothing. Like the first verb, it describes what always happens.

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