Hebrew word · H7639

שְׂבָכָה

sevakhah

latticework

"Network, lattice, grille." It is used for the bronze network ornament on the temple pillars (1 Kings 7:17–20), for a net or snare (Job 18:8), and here for a lattice in a house.

Appears 16 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) network, lattice-work, net, netting

1a) lattice

1b) net-ornament (on pillars)

1c) network, toils (for catching animals)

Also means: sa.vakh (שָׂבָךְ "net" H7638)

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 2 Kings 1:2

Range of meaning

"Network, lattice, grille." It is used for the bronze network ornament on the temple pillars (1 Kings 7:17–20), for a net or snare (Job 18:8), and here for a lattice in a house.

Against the English

"Lattice" is accurate. A modern reader may picture a garden trellis or a glass window, but what is meant is a wooden grille that screened an opening, or possibly a lattice railing or parapet on the roof.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ancient Near Eastern houses and palaces used wooden lattices on windows and on upper rooms for ventilation, shade and privacy. Compare the woman looking "through the lattice" in Judges 5:28 and Song of Songs 2:9, which use different Hebrew words for similar screens. Deuteronomy 22:8 requires a parapet around a flat roof so that no one falls from it. Falls from roofs were a known danger.

From the study of Job 18:8

Range of meaning

Latticework or a network of interwoven strips: decorative bronze netting on the capitals of the temple pillars (1 Kgs 7:17–20), and a window or rooftop lattice (2 Kgs 1:2). The idea is a criss-cross covering.

Against the English

KJV says 'snare,' which today suggests a wire noose and misses the image of a lattice. BSB, WEB and NIV say 'its mesh,' tying it to the net of the first line. ESV and NASB have him walking on the mesh or 'webbing.' Most commentators see the lattice of a covered pitfall.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Kgs 1:2 is suggestive: King Ahaziah 'fell through the lattice' of his upper room and was fatally hurt. A sevakhah is something that looks like a floor or a screen but gives way. HALOT and BDB both give 'net, network, lattice-work.'

Where it appears

1 Kings · 7

  1. 1 Kings 7:17 שְׂבָכִ֞ים שְׂבָכָ֗ה networks, a network

    For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital.

  2. 1 Kings 7:18 הַשְּׂבָכָ֣ה the network

    Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars.

  3. 1 Kings 7:20 הַשְּׂבָכָ֑ה the network

    On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital.

  4. 1 Kings 7:41 וְהַשְּׂבָכ֣וֹת and the networks

    the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars; the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars;

  5. 1 Kings 7:42 הַשְּׂבָכ֑וֹת לַשְּׂבָכָ֣ה the networks, [belonged] to the network

    the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars);

2 Kings · 3

  1. 2 Kings 1:2 הַשְּׂבָכָ֗ה the window-lattice

    Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”

    Here: "The lattice": a criss-cross wooden screen or grille, whether over a window, over an opening, or forming a railing on the roof. It was meant to give shade, air and privacy. It was not meant to hold a man's weight.

  2. 2 Kings 25:17 וּשְׂבָכָ֨ה הַשְּׂבָכָֽה׃ and a network, the network

    Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall. The bronze capital atop one pillar was three cubits high, with a network of bronze pomegranates all around. The second pillar, with its network, was similar.

2 Chronicles · 3

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:12 וְהַשְּׂבָכ֣וֹת and the networks

    the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars; the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars;

  2. 2 Chronicles 4:13 הַשְּׂבָכ֑וֹת לַשְּׂבָכָ֣ה the networks, for the network

    the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars);

Job · 1

  1. Job 18:8 שְׂ֝בָכָ֗ה a network

    For his own feet lead him into a net, and he wanders into its mesh.

    Here: Elsewhere it means woven or criss-cross work: the bronze lattice on the temple pillars, or the window lattice Ahaziah fell through. Here it is most likely the netting or lattice of branches stretched over a pit to hide it. The ground looks solid but is only a cover over a drop.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 52:22 וּשְׂבָכָ֨ה and a network

    The bronze capital atop one pillar was five cubits high, with a network of bronze pomegranates all around. The second pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar.

  2. Jeremiah 52:23 הַשְּׂבָכָ֖ה the network

    Each capital had ninety-six pomegranates on the sides, and a total of a hundred pomegranates were above the surrounding network.

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