Hebrew word · H5607

שֵׂ֫פֶק

vesafek

mockery

Abundance, sufficiency, plenty: having all one needs and more. It comes from the verb śāpaq, 'to suffice, be enough,' which is used of dust being 'enough' for handfuls (1 Kgs 20:10). The same root appears in Aramaic (sᵉpaq, 'to suffice').

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

What it means

handclapping, mocking, mockery, scorn

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 Job 20:22

Range of meaning

Abundance, sufficiency, plenty: having all one needs and more. It comes from the verb śāpaq, 'to suffice, be enough,' which is used of dust being 'enough' for handfuls (1 Kgs 20:10). The same root appears in Aramaic (sᵉpaq, 'to suffice'). In Hebrew the noun is extremely rare, perhaps found only here (Job 36:18 may have it, but that reading is disputed).

Against the English

KJV and WEB have 'sufficiency.' BSB and NIV have 'plenty.' To modern ears 'sufficiency' sounds like 'just enough,' but the context is gluttonous excess: he 'swallows riches' (20:15) and 'fills his belly' (20:23).

How it drifted

English 'sufficiency' once meant 'ample means, abundance' (cf. 2 Cor 9:8 KJV). Today it usually means bare adequacy.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb is in 1 Kgs 20:10. The noun has Aramaic cognates (the same root in a sister language) meaning 'enough, satisfaction.' Ancient translations paraphrase: the Greek translation (LXX) has 'when he thinks he has already been filled,' and the Latin Vulgate has cum satiatus fuerit, 'when he has been glutted.'

Where it appears

Job · 2

  1. Job 20:22 שִׂ֭פְקוֹ sufficiency his

    In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.

    Here: 'His plenty, his surplus.' This is a very rare noun from a verb meaning 'to suffice, to have more than enough.' It means overflowing supply, not a modest 'enough.'

  2. Job 36:18 בְסָ֑פֶק in mockery

    Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large bribe lead you astray.

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