Hebrew word · H8185

שַׂעֲרָה

sa'arat

hair

śaʿărâ is a single hair (the collective is śēʿār). 'Not a hair will fall to the ground' is a fixed Hebrew idiom for complete physical safety.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

a single hair

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 Samuel 14:11

Range of meaning

śaʿărâ is a single hair (the collective is śēʿār). 'Not a hair will fall to the ground' is a fixed Hebrew idiom for complete physical safety.

Against the English

BSB adds 'head' ('a hair of your son's head'). The Hebrew has only 'of your son's hair.' The idiom is clear either way.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Sam 14:45 (the people rescue Jonathan from Saul's oath); 1 Kgs 1:52 (Solomon on Adonijah, conditionally). It carries into Greek Jewish and Christian speech: Luke 21:18; Acts 27:34, which echoes the Septuagint wording of 1 Sam 14:45.

Where it appears

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 20:16 הַֽשַּׂעֲרָ֖ה the single hair

    Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 14:45 מִשַּׂעֲרַ֤ת one of [the] hair[s] of

    But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

    Here: The 'from' means 'any part of': not a single hair. The point is complete protection, down to the smallest thing.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 14:11 מִשַּׂעֲרַ֥ת one of [the] hair[s] of

    “Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”

    Here: 'From/of the hair': even one strand. The Hebrew says 'of your son's hair' and does not mention the head. 'Head' in some English versions is supplied.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 1:52 מִשַּׂעֲרָת֖וֹ one of hair[s] his

    And Solomon replied, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground. But if evil is found in him, he will die.”

Job · 1

  1. Job 4:15 שַֽׂעֲרַ֥ת [the] hair of

    Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 40:12 מִשַּֽׂעֲר֥וֹת more than [the] hairs of

    For evils without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed within me.

    Here: "More than the hairs of." A comparison ("more than") with the stock image of something beyond counting. Psalm 69:4 uses the same image of enemies.

  2. Psalm 69:4 מִשַּׂעֲר֣וֹת more than [the] hairs of

    Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs of my head; many are those who would destroy me—my enemies for no reason. Though I did not steal, I must repay.

    Here: The prefix mi- means 'more than'. 'More than the hairs' was a stock Hebrew way of saying 'too many to count' (compare Ps 40:12).

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