Hebrew word · H5591

סְעָרָה

se'arah

tempest

A storm, tempest or gale: violent wind, often with rain or dark cloud. It is closely related to sa'ar, 'storm' (Jonah 1:4, 12). In poetry and prophecy it is a standard feature of God's appearing (theophany): 'His way is in whirlwind and storm (se'arah)' (Nahum 1:3).

Appears 24 times in 22 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

tempest, storm, whirlwind

Also means: sa.ar (סַ֫עַר "tempest" H5591A)

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 2:1

Range of meaning

A storm, tempest or gale: violent wind, often with rain or dark cloud. It is closely related to sa'ar, 'storm' (Jonah 1:4, 12). In poetry and prophecy it is a standard feature of God's appearing (theophany): 'His way is in whirlwind and storm (se'arah)' (Nahum 1:3). God speaks to Job 'out of the storm' (min hasse'arah, Job 38:1; 40:6). Ezekiel's vision opens with 'a storm wind (ruach se'arah) from the north' (Ezekiel 1:4).

Against the English

KJV, WEB, BSB and most modern versions say 'whirlwind'. Modern readers picture a rotating funnel, a tornado. The Hebrew word stresses violence and power, not rotation. 'Storm' or 'tempest' (as in Jonah or Psalm 107:25, 29) is closer.

How it drifted

'Whirlwind' appears in English Bibles from at least the 16th century (Coverdale, Geneva, KJV), possibly influenced by the Latin Vulgate's turbo, a word that suggests whirling. Since then the English word has narrowed toward the meteorological image of a tornado or dust devil.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Septuagint uses synseismos, 'shaking, upheaval'. That is the same word it uses for the earthquake in 1 Kings 19:11, where God was not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire. Ben Sira 48:9 (about 180 BC) recalls Elijah 'taken up in a whirlwind of fire'. Storm-theophany language is shared across the ancient Near East: Baal, the Canaanite storm god, is the 'rider of the clouds' in the Ugaritic texts.

From the study of Psalm 83:15

Range of meaning

A violent storm or gale, a tempest. A related feminine form, sĕʿārāh, is used of the storm out of which God speaks to Job (Job 38:1) and of the whirlwind that took Elijah (2 Kgs 2:1, 11).

Against the English

'Tempest' (BSB, KJV, WEB, ESV) is accurate. YLT's 'whirlwind' adds the idea of spinning, which the word does not require.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jonah 1:4, 12 ('a great tempest' on the sea); Ps 55:8 ('from the raging wind and tempest'); Jer 23:19 and 30:23 ('the storm of the LORD' going out in wrath); Amos 1:14 ('a tempest in the day of the whirlwind', in a battle setting).

From the study of Ezekiel 13:11

Range of meaning

Rûaḥ covers wind, breath and spirit, and context decides. Səʿārāh is a violent storm or whirling tempest. Together, with the plural, they mean a wind of full storm force.

Against the English

"Stormy wind" (KJV, WEB) is a little mild. "Windstorm" (BSB) and "tempestuous wind" (YLT) are closer. Nothing here should be heard as "Spirit".

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel 1:4 opens the book with a rûaḥ səʿārāh from the north bearing God's presence. Ezekiel 13:13 repeats this phrase with God as the one who unleashes it "in my wrath". Jeremiah 23:19 is the closest parallel: to prophets promising "It shall be well with you" (23:17), Jeremiah announces "the storm of the LORD" using the same root.

Where it appears

2 Kings · 2

  1. 2 Kings 2:1 בַּֽסְעָרָ֖ה by the whirlwind

    Shortly before the LORD took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal,

    Here: 'In (or by means of) the storm.' A se'arah is a violent windstorm, and in poetry it often comes with God's appearing. The Hebrew has 'the', meaning the particular storm this story is about to describe. The word does not specify a spinning wind.

  2. 2 Kings 2:11 בַּֽסְעָרָ֖ה in the whirlwind

    As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.

    Here: 'In the storm-wind.' The word 'the' points back to the storm already named in v. 1. It is the vehicle the text actually names for Elijah's going up: a violent wind-storm of the kind in which God appears (Job 38:1; Ezek 1:4).

Job · 2

  1. Job 38:1 הַסְּעָרָ֗ה the tempest

    Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

    Here: A violent windstorm. It is the kind of storm in which God appears in Israel's poetry and prophets (Ezekiel 1:4, Nahum 1:3, Zechariah 9:14). The word 'the' may point back to the storm Elihu has just been describing (37:1–22).

  2. Job 40:6 סְעָרָ֗ה a tempest

    Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

Psalms · 5

  1. Psalm 55:8 מִסָּֽעַר׃ from a storm

    I would hurry to my shelter, far from this raging tempest.”

  2. Psalm 83:15 בְּסַעֲרֶ֑ךָ with storm your

    so pursue them with Your tempest, and terrify them with Your storm.

    Here: 'With your tempest.' A violent gale, like the storm that nearly broke Jonah's ship. 'Your' makes the storm God's own weapon, sent out to chase the enemy.

  3. Psalm 107:25 סְעָרָ֑ה a storm

    For He spoke and raised a tempest that lifted the waves of the sea.

    Here: "Wind of storm" means a storm-wind, a gale. The word is often linked with God's own coming and his judgment (Job 38:1; Ezekiel 1:4; Jeremiah 23:19). Here it is the violent sea-storm the sailors meet.

  4. Psalm 107:29 סְ֭עָרָה [the] storm

    He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

    Here: The violent gale of v. 25 (rûaḥ sə‘ārāh, 'storm-wind'). It is the word used for the whirlwind that took Elijah and the storm out of which God answered Job. It is the object here: the storm itself is what God takes in hand.

  5. Psalm 148:8 סְ֝עָרָ֗ה storm

    lightning and hail, snow and clouds, powerful wind fulfilling His word,

    Here: A violent, whirling gale. It is the same storm that lifts the sea's waves in Psalm 107:25, carries Elijah up (2 Kings 2:11), and out of which God speaks to Job (Job 38:1). Together with rûaḥ it means 'storm-wind'.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 29:6 וּסְעָרָ֔ה and a tempest

    you will be visited by the LORD of Hosts with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with windstorm and tempest and consuming flame of fire.

    Here: 'And a tempest.' This is the kind of storm Yahweh speaks out of (Job 38:1) and that takes Elijah up (2 Kgs 2:11). Paired with supah, it piles up wind upon wind.

  2. Isaiah 40:24 וּסְעָרָ֖ה and a tempest

    No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.

    Here: 'And a storm-wind.' The puff of breath is followed by a gale that cleans up what is left.

  3. Isaiah 41:16 וּסְעָרָ֖ה and a tempest

    You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

    Here: A violent storm wind. The picture gets bigger: what began as an evening breeze on the threshing floor turns into a gale that leaves nothing behind.

Jeremiah · 5

  1. Jeremiah 23:19 סַעֲרַ֣ת וְסַ֖עַר [the] storm of, and a storm

    Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.

    Here: A violent windstorm, here tied grammatically to Yahweh: 'the storm of Yahweh'. The phrase means a storm that is his and that he sends. It is the classic picture of God arriving as a warrior (Nah 1:3; Job 38:1).

  2. Jeremiah 25:32 וְסַ֣עַר and a storm

    This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.”

  3. Jeremiah 30:23 סַעֲרַ֣ת סַ֖עַר [the] storm of, a storm

    Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 1:4 סְעָרָ֜ה storm

    I looked and saw a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire was a gleam like amber,

    Here: A violent storm. With ruach it means 'storm-wind', 'gale'. It is the word used for the storm Elijah was taken up in (2 Kgs 2:11) and the storm YHWH speaks out of to Job (Job 38:1).

  2. Ezekiel 13:11 סְעָר֖וֹת tempests

    tell those whitewashing the wall that it will fall. Rain will come in torrents, I will send hailstones plunging down, and a windstorm will burst forth.

    Here: "A wind of tempests": the plural heightens it, so that it means a wind that is all storm. Ezekiel's first vision of God arrived on a storm wind of this same family (1:4).

  3. Ezekiel 13:13 סְעָר֖וֹת tempests

    Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: In My wrath I will release a windstorm, and in My anger torrents of rain and hail will fall with destructive fury.

Amos · 1

  1. Amos 1:14 בְּסַ֖עַר with a storm

    So I will kindle a fire in the walls of Rabbah to consume its citadels amid war cries on the day of battle and a violent wind on the day of tempest.

    Here: A violent storm, the word used for the sea-storm in Jonah 1:4. It adds wind and fury to the fire, and it calls up God's own storm as the warrior who attacks.

Jonah · 2

  1. Jonah 1:4 סַֽעַר־ a storm

    Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart.

    Here: A violent, churning storm. The related verb comes back in 1:11 and 1:13, where the sea 'grew more and more stormy', so the storm keeps building until Jonah goes overboard.

  2. Jonah 1:12 הַסַּ֧עַר the storm

    “Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you.”

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 9:14 בְּסַעֲר֥וֹת in [the] storm winds of

    Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn and advance in the whirlwinds of the south.

    Here: A plural of 'tempest, gale': violent storm winds. God advances surrounded by or riding on these storms. The word does not have to mean a rotating funnel.

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