Hebrew word · H5627

סָרָה

sarah

revolt

From the root sur, "turn aside." It means turning away, defection, revolt against a rightful lord. In a lawsuit it can mean disloyal or false testimony. In Isa 14:6 a related use means "ceasing, letting up."

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) apostasy, defection, turning aside, withdrawal

1a) defection (of moral or legal offenses)

1b) apostasy

1c) withdrawal (negated)

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 Isaiah 1:5

Range of meaning

From the root sur, "turn aside." It means turning away, defection, revolt against a rightful lord. In a lawsuit it can mean disloyal or false testimony. In Isa 14:6 a related use means "ceasing, letting up."

Against the English

KJV/WEB "revolt," ESV/BSB "rebel," NIV "rebellion," YLT "apostasy." All are fair. "Revolt" and "apostasy" best keep the sense of breaking faith with a sovereign, rather than general bad behavior.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 13:5 [Heb 13:6] uses it of the prophet who "spoke sarah against the LORD" (incitement to apostasy, a capital offense). Deut 19:16 uses it of a malicious witness. Jer 28:16 and 29:32 use it of false prophets who "spoke sarah against the LORD." Isa 31:6: "Return to him from whom you have deeply turned away (sarah)."

From the study of Isaiah 59:13

Range of meaning

Turning aside, defection, revolt, apostasy. In legal settings it also means malicious, baseless accusation. It comes from sûr, "to turn aside".

Against the English

BSB, WEB, ESV and NASB say "revolt" and YLT "apostasy". These are accurate but miss the word's strong links to speech in Deuteronomy, where it describes what a false prophet and a false witness say.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deuteronomy 13:5 [13:6 Heb.]: the prophet "has spoken sārâ against the LORD your God". Deuteronomy 19:16: a malicious witness rises "to testify sārâ against him". Jeremiah 28:16 and 29:32 condemn Hananiah and Shemaiah for having "spoken sārâ". Isaiah 1:5 and 31:6 use it for Judah's persistent defection.

From the study of Deuteronomy 13:5

Range of meaning

A noun usually linked to the verb sur, 'to turn aside, swerve, leave the road'. Its range runs from 'turning aside' and 'defection' to 'apostasy' and 'revolt'. It is used for disloyalty toward a superior: Israel toward YHWH (Isa 1:5; 31:6; Jer 5:23). In Deut 19:16 it describes a malicious witness who 'testifies sarah' against someone, which some read as 'falsehood' or 'wrongdoing'.

Against the English

KJV 'spoken to turn you away' reads it as speech that makes others turn aside. BSB, WEB, ESV and NIV use 'rebellion'. YLT has 'apostasy'. 'Rebellion' can suggest a political uprising or a defiant attitude. The Hebrew is about leaving your sworn loyalty: going off the covenant road.

How it drifted

In modern English 'rebellion' often means non-conformity, youthful defiance or armed revolt. Here it is a vassal's treason against the overlord he has sworn to serve.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah applies this law directly: he tells the prophet Hananiah 'you have spoken sarah against YHWH', so 'you will die this year' (Jer 28:16; compare 29:32 on Shemaiah). This is a clear echo of Deut 13. Some scholars link the word to Akkadian sarru/sarrātu ('false, lies') and point out that Assyrian loyalty oaths condemn 'words of falsehood/rebellion' against the king. On that view the Hebrew word may carry both 'lying' and 'disloyalty'.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 2

  1. Deuteronomy 13:5 סָ֠רָה rebellion

    Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.

    Here: From the root 'to turn aside'. He has spoken words that turn people off the road, which here means breaking faith with Israel's covenant Lord. It is treason against an overlord, not ordinary disagreement.

  2. Deuteronomy 19:16 סָרָֽה׃ rebellion

    If a false witness testifies against someone, accusing him of a crime,

Isaiah · 4

  1. Isaiah 1:5 סָרָ֑ה rebellion

    Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.

    Here: The object of "add": turning away, disloyalty. It is a covenant-law word for turning against one's rightful Lord (Deut 13:5 [Heb 13:6]). The major pause in the verse falls here and closes the accusation.

  2. Isaiah 14:6 סָרָ֑ה ceasing

    It struck the peoples in anger with unceasing blows; it subdued the nations in rage with relentless persecution.

  3. Isaiah 31:6 סָרָ֖ה rebellion

    Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled, O children of Israel.

    Here: A noun from the verb 'to turn aside.' It means turning off the path of loyalty: defection, sedition, disloyalty to one's lord. Deuteronomy 13 uses it for inciting people to desert YHWH. It sits right after 'turn back,' so the verse sets two movements against each other: they turned aside, now they must turn back.

  4. Isaiah 59:13 וְסָרָ֔ה and rebellion

    rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.

    Here: "And defection." This is the word Deuteronomy uses for a false prophet who "speaks sārâ" against Yahweh (13:5 [13:6 Heb.]) and for a malicious witness (19:16). Here it is speech that turns people away from loyalty or turns a court against the innocent.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 28:16 סָרָ֥ה rebellion

    Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”

    Here: From 'to turn aside.' It means defection or disloyal apostasy, a message that leads people away from their God. It is the exact word of the false-prophet law in Deut 13:5 (13:6 Heb).

  2. Jeremiah 29:32 סָרָ֥ה rebellion

    this is what the LORD says: ‘I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good that I will bring to My people, declares the LORD, for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”

    Here: Literally 'a turning-aside'. In this exact phrase it is the charge Deuteronomy 13:5 (13:6 in Hebrew) lays against a false prophet: speech that pulls people away from YHWH.

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