Hebrew word · H7808
שֵׂחַ
secho
thought
This word appears only here in the Bible. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) connect it with sîach: musing, concern, inner talk, complaint (1 Sam 1:16; Ps 64:1). It names what goes on in the mind: a plan, an intention, deliberation.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
thought
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
- Range of meaning
This word appears only here in the Bible. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) connect it with sîach: musing, concern, inner talk, complaint (1 Sam 1:16; Ps 64:1). It names what goes on in the mind: a plan, an intention, deliberation.
- Against the English
KJV and ESV keep the Hebrew's ambiguity ('what is his thought'). BSB, NASB and NIV settle it in favour of God's thoughts, the first two by capitalising 'His'. Readers of those versions do not know that 'his' could refer to the human being.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The closest thought is Amos 3:7: 'the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret counsel (sod) to his servants the prophets.' For the other reading, compare God searching human hearts (Jer 17:10; Ps 139:1-4; 94:11).
Where it appears
Amos · 1
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Amos 4:13 שֵּׂח֔וֹ [is] thought his
For behold, He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind and reveals His thoughts to man, who turns the dawn to darkness and strides on the heights of the earth—the LORD, the God of Hosts, is His name.”
Here: This word occurs only here in the Bible. It is related to sîach, meaning musing, inner deliberation or complaint. 'His' could be God's own thought (his plan) or the person's thought (God tells you what is in your mind). See debates.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.