Hebrew word · H6872

צְרוֹר

tzeror-

bundle

Something tied up: a bundle, pouch or purse (Gen 42:35, "bundle of silver"; Prov 7:20; Job 14:17, transgressions "sealed up in a bag"; 1 Sam 25:29, "the bundle of the living"). A homonym means "pebble".

Appears 10 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

bundle, parcel, pouch, bag (as packed)

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 Haggai 1:6

Range of meaning

Something tied up: a bundle, pouch or purse (Gen 42:35, "bundle of silver"; Prov 7:20; Job 14:17, transgressions "sealed up in a bag"; 1 Sam 25:29, "the bundle of the living"). A homonym means "pebble".

Against the English

"Bag" (KJV, ESV, WEB, BSB) and "purse" (NIV, NASB) are both fine. The original pictures silver tied into a cloth or leather pouch, not a modern wallet.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 42:35; Prov 7:20; Song 1:13 (a "bundle" of myrrh). LXX δεσμός, "something bound"; Vulgate sacculus, "little bag".

From the study of 2 Samuel 17:13

Range of meaning

A pebble or small stone, a grain of gravel. There is a separate, identically spelled word meaning 'bundle, pouch' (as in 'the bundle of the living', 1 Sam 25:29), which Strong's groups under the same number.

Against the English

'Pebble' (BSB, ESV) and 'one small stone' (KJV, WEB) are both accurate. YLT's plain 'a stone' loses the smallness that gives the line its point.

Used elsewhere in the period

Amos 9:9: Israel shaken as in a sieve, 'yet not a pebble (tseror) shall fall to the ground'. In both texts the word stands for the smallest particle.

From the study of Amos 9:9

Range of meaning

There are two words with the same spelling. (1) A bundle, pouch or bag (Gen 42:35, money pouches; 1 Sam 25:29, 'the bundle of the living'; Prov 7:20). (2) A small stone or pebble (2 Sam 17:13, 'until not even a pebble is found there'). Strong's tags this verse as the second.

Against the English

BSB, ESV, NIV and NRSV say 'pebble'. KJV 'the least grain', WEB 'the least kernel', YLT 'a grain', NASB 'a kernel' and NLT 'one true kernel' turn the object into grain. Nowhere else does ṣərôr mean grain.

How it drifted

The 'grain' rendering probably goes back to a preservation reading of the verse (God keeps every good kernel). It fitted the comforting turn in v. 8b and passed into the King James tradition. 'Pebble' is the meaning attested elsewhere in Hebrew, and Jerome's Vulgate already has lapillus, 'little stone'.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Sam 17:13 for 'pebble'. Vulgate lapillus. The Septuagint has syntrimma, 'a broken bit, fragment', which also is not 'grain'. Modern Hebrew lexicons (HALOT, BDB) give 'pebble' for this verse.

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 42:35 צְרוֹר־ צְרֹר֧וֹת [the] bag of, [the] bags of

    As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! And when they and their father saw the bags of silver, they were dismayed.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 9:1 צְר֧וֹר Zeror

    Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.

  2. 1 Samuel 25:29 בִּצְר֣וֹר in [the] bundle of

    And should someone pursue you and seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound securely by the LORD your God in the bundle of the living. But He shall fling away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling.

    Here: 'In the pouch/bundle of.' A tsror is a small bag tied at the neck, the kind used to carry silver or keep precious things (Gen 42:35; Prov 7:20; Song 1:13). The picture is something valuable tied up and kept close.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 17:13 צְרֽוֹר׃ פ a pebble

    If he retreats to a city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley until not even a pebble can be found there.”

    Here: The smallest bit of rubble. The city will be scraped off its hill so completely that not even gravel stays on the site.

Job · 1

  1. Job 14:17 בִּצְר֣וֹר in a bag

    My transgression would be sealed in a bag, and You would cover over my iniquity.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 7:20 צְֽרוֹר־ [the] bag of

    He took with him a bag of money and will not return till the moon is full.”

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 1:13 צְר֨וֹר [is] [the] bag of

    My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts.

Amos · 1

  1. Amos 9:9 צְר֖וֹר a pebble

    “For surely I will give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is sifted in a sieve; but not a pebble will reach the ground.

    Here: The item that does not fall through. Elsewhere this spelling means a small stone (2 Sam 17:13: 'not even a pebble' left). It is never used for a grain or kernel.

Haggai · 1

  1. Haggai 1:6 צְר֥וֹר a bag

    You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”

    Here: A cloth or leather pouch tied shut with a cord, the usual way of carrying silver (Gen 42:35; Prov 7:20). It was meant to keep valuables safe.

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