Aramaic word · H5609

סְפַר

sefar

book

Any written document: letter, scroll, record, register, archive. In Aramaic Ezra the Persian 'book of records' (separ dokhranayya, Ezra 4:15) is searched to settle a legal question. Ezra 6:18 speaks of 'the book of Moses'.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 5 times in 4 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

scroll, book

Aramaic of se.pher (סֵ֫פֶר ": document" H5612A)

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 Daniel 7:10

Range of meaning

Any written document: letter, scroll, record, register, archive. In Aramaic Ezra the Persian 'book of records' (separ dokhranayya, Ezra 4:15) is searched to settle a legal question. Ezra 6:18 speaks of 'the book of Moses'.

Against the English

Every major English version has 'books'. That is acceptable, but readers picture bound volumes. These would have been scrolls or record documents.

How it drifted

'Book' now means a bound codex. In the 2nd–6th centuries BC the image was scrolls or tablets kept in a royal or temple archive.

Used elsewhere in the period

Heavenly record-books are widespread. Exod 32:32–33, Ps 69:28 and Ps 56:8 speak of God's book. Mal 3:16 has a 'book of remembrance'. Dan 10:21 has the 'book of truth' and Dan 12:1 the book in which the delivered are written. 1 Enoch 89–90 has a recorder writing down the shepherds' deeds, and in 90:20 sealed books are opened before the Lord. 1 Enoch 47:3 has 'the books of the living'. The Book of Giants from Qumran (4Q530) has thrones set up, myriads serving, and books opened. Rev 20:12 draws directly on this verse. Behind all of them stands the practice of Persian and Babylonian royal archives (Esther 6:1; Ezra 4:15; 6:1–2).

Where it appears

Ezra · 4

  1. Ezra 4:15 בִּֽסְפַר־ בִּסְפַ֣ר in [the] book of

    that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.

  2. Ezra 6:1 סִפְרַיָּ֗א books the

    Thus King Darius ordered a search of the archives stored in the treasury of Babylon.

  3. Ezra 6:18 סְפַ֥ר [the] book of

    They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 7:10 וְסִפְרִ֥ין and books

    A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands attended Him, and myriads upon myriads stood before Him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.

    Here: 'And books', meaning written records or scrolls such as a royal archive keeps. These are the documents the case is heard on.

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