Aramaic word · H7792

שׁוּר

veshuraiyah'

wall

A city wall or fortification. Aramaic, related to Hebrew šûr, "wall."

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

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

wall

Aramaic of shur (שׁוּר "wall" H7791A)

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 Ezra 4:16

Range of meaning

A city wall or fortification. Aramaic, related to Hebrew šûr, "wall."

Against the English

All versions have "walls." The English is accurate. What modern readers may miss is what walls meant politically.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezra 4:12–13, 16. Ezra 5:3 and 5:9 use a different word (ʾuššarnāʾ, "structure") for the temple project. Nehemiah 1–6 tells of the eventual rebuilding of the walls.

Where it appears

Ezra · 3

  1. Ezra 4:12 וְשׁוּרַיָּ֣א and walls the

    Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring its walls and repairing its foundations.

  2. Ezra 4:13 וְשׁוּרַיָּ֖ה and walls the

    Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer.

    Here: 'And the walls.' This is the core of the complaint. Walls turn a settlement into a fortress, and a fortress can defy a governor and refuse to pay.

  3. Ezra 4:16 וְשׁוּרַיָּ֖ה and walls the

    We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, you will have no dominion west of the Euphrates.

    Here: "And the walls." These are fortification walls. They are the real issue: a walled city can shut its gates against royal officials and an army. The letter is about walls, not the temple.

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