צָרַף

Judges 7:4 וְאֶצְרְפֶ֥נּוּ so I may test it

Then the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go. But if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

Judges 17:4 לַצּוֹרֵ֗ף to the silversmith

So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into a graven image and a molten idol. And they were placed in the house of Micah.

Here: Literally 'to the one who refines', meaning a metalworker who melts and purifies precious metal. The prophets use the same word when they mock the craftsmen who make idols (Isa 40:19; 41:7; 46:6; Jer 10:9, 14).

2 Samuel 22:31 צְרוּפָ֔ה [is] refined

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

Here: A passive participle, 'having been refined'. It is the silversmith's word for metal melted in the crucible until the dross is gone. God's word has been through the fire and come out pure, so it can be relied on.

Nehemiah 3:8 צֽוֹרְפִ֔ים ס goldsmiths

Next to them, Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. And next to him, Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs. They fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

Nehemiah 3:32 הַצֹּרְפִ֖ים the goldsmiths

And between the upper room above the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

Psalm 12:6 צָ֭רוּף refined

The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified sevenfold.

Here: 'Smelted/refined'. The form describes a finished state: silver that has already been through the fire and come out proven. The same verb is used for testing people in the fire of hardship.

Psalm 17:3 צְרַפְתַּ֥נִי you have tested me

You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night. You have tested me and found no evil; I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.

Here: 'You have smelted me': the metalworker's picture of melting ore in a crucible so the impurities separate out. The psalmist has been through the furnace, and no dross came out.

Psalm 18:30 צְרוּפָ֑ה [is] refined

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

Here: A metalworker's word: metal that has been through the crucible, with the dross removed and its purity proven. God's promise has been put through the fire and has held.

Psalm 26:2 צָרְפָ֖ה test !

Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind.

Here: "Refine!" This is a metalworker's word for melting silver or gold in a crucible so the impurities separate out. The added ending gives the command extra force. With this word the testing language becomes a picture of fire.

Psalm 66:10 צְ֝רַפְתָּ֗נוּ כִּצְרָף־ you have refined us, as refine

For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us like silver.

Here: 'You have smelted us': the metalworker's verb for melting ore or metal in fire so the impurities separate out. It makes the first verb more vivid: the testing was done by fire.

Psalm 105:19 צְרָפָֽתְהוּ׃ it tested him

until his prediction came true and the word of the LORD proved him right.

Here: 'It smelted/refined him.' The subject is the feminine noun 'saying', and 'him' is Joseph. The word comes from metalworking: heating ore to separate the pure metal and show what it is really made of. Coming right after 'iron' in verse 18, it keeps the metal picture going.

Psalm 119:140 צְרוּפָ֖ה [has been] refined

Your promise is completely pure; therefore Your servant loves it.

Here: A passive participle ("a thing that has been refined"), feminine to agree with "your saying." It is a metalworker's word: silver that has gone through the crucible, had its dross burned off, and come out proven. It stands first in the line, partly because this stanza of the psalm is an alphabet poem in which every line begins with the letter tsade (צ), and partly for emphasis: "Refined—that is what your word is."

Proverbs 25:4 לַצֹּרֵ֣ף for the metalsmith

Remove the dross from the silver, and a vessel for a silversmith will come forth.

Proverbs 30:5 צְרוּפָ֑ה [is] refined

Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

Here: A passive participle from metalworking: metal that has gone through the crucible and come out with the dross removed. God's sayings have been through the fire and proved genuine.

Isaiah 1:25 וְאֶצְרֹ֥ף so I may refine

I will turn My hand against you; I will thoroughly purge your dross; I will remove all your impurities.

Here: This is the metalworker's verb: melt metal in fire so the precious part separates from the worthless part. The goldsmith or silversmith is called a tsoref. The picture is fire and melting, not gentle polishing.

Isaiah 40:19 וְצֹרֵ֖ף צוֹרֵֽף׃ and a metalsmith, [is] refining

To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?

Here: Literally 'one who refines', a metalworker who melts and purifies precious metal. Here it works as a noun for the goldsmith who does the finishing work.

Isaiah 41:7 צֹרֵ֔ף a metalsmith

The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who wields the hammer cheers him who strikes the anvil, saying of the welding, “It is good.” He nails it down so it will not be toppled.

Isaiah 46:6 צוֹרֵף֙ a metalsmith

They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.

Here: "A refiner": literally "one who smelts", the metalworker who purifies gold and silver and beats it into shape. In English this is a goldsmith or metalsmith.

Isaiah 48:10 צְרַפְתִּ֖יךָ I have refined you

See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

Here: "I have smelted you": a metalworker's word for melting ore or metal in fire so the dross separates out. The perfect tense presents the refining as already carried out, the exile seen as a finished smelting.

Jeremiah 6:29 צָרַ֣ף צָר֔וֹף someone has refined, steadfastly <to refine>

The bellows blow fiercely, blasting away the lead with fire. The refining proceeds in vain, for the wicked are not purged.

Jeremiah 9:7 צוֹרְפָ֖ם [am] about to refine them

Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of the daughter of My people?

Here: “Smelting them.” The participle of this verb is also the ordinary word for a metalsmith (Jer 10:9). So God presents himself as the smith and Judah as ore going into the crucible.

Jeremiah 10:9 צוֹרֵ֑ף a metalsmith

Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.

Jeremiah 10:14 צוֹרֵ֖ף metalsmith

Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.

Here: Literally 'one who smelts/refines': the gold- or silversmith who plated and finished cult statues (v. 9, 'the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith'). He was the most skilled and respected maker in the process, and he is the one shamed.

Jeremiah 51:17 צֹרֵ֖ף metalsmith

Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.

Here: An active participle, 'one who refines.' He is the metalworker who smelts gold or silver and casts or overlays the image. He is a skilled, respected professional.

Daniel 11:35 לִצְר֥וֹף to refine

Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

Here: A word from metalwork: melting ore in a furnace to separate pure metal from dross (waste). It also means 'to test' metal, which is why the KJV says 'to try'. This is the first of three purpose phrases: the falling serves to refine.

Daniel 12:10 וְיִצָּֽרְפוּ֙ so they may be refined

Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.

Here: 'And they will be refined.' This is a metalworker's word. Ore is melted so the dross separates from the silver or gold. The form is passive: they undergo the fire. The fire, as chapter 11 shows, is persecution.

Zechariah 13:9 וּצְרַפְתִּים֙ כִּצְרֹ֣ף and I will refine them, as refines

This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”

Here: The metalworker's word for melting ore or metal so the impurities (dross) separate out. 'Them' is plural: the people seen as many individuals.

Malachi 3:2 מְצָרֵ֔ף a refiner

But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.

Here: 'A refiner', the metalworker who melts silver or gold at very high heat so the impurities (dross) separate and can be removed. The heat is fierce, but the aim is pure metal, and verse 3 develops that.

Malachi 3:3 מְצָרֵ֤ף [one who] refines

And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.

Here: 'Refining,' or 'as a refiner.' This is an ongoing-action form taking up 'refiner's fire' from 3:2. It means melting metal so the slag and impurities separate out, and it carries the idea of testing what is genuine.