Hebrew word · H8228

שֶׁ֫פַע

shefa'

abundance

Abundance, overflow. This form occurs only here. Related forms (shifʿâ) mean "a flood" of waters (Job 22:11; 38:34) or a "crowd" of people (2 Kings 9:17). The root suggests surging, pouring abundance.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 08, 2026

What it means

abundance

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 Deuteronomy 33:19

Range of meaning: Abundance, overflow. This form occurs only here. Related forms (shifʿâ) mean "a flood" of waters (Job 22:11; 38:34) or a "crowd" of people (2 Kings 9:17). The root suggests surging, pouring abundance.
Against the English: "Abundance" is accurate but static. The Hebrew carries the sense of something flooding in, like a tide.
Used elsewhere in the period: Related nouns appear in Job and 2 Kings. Later (post-biblical) Hebrew uses shefaʿ for abundant blessing or overflow.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

Deuteronomy 33:19 שֶׁ֤פַע [the] abundance of

They will call the peoples to a mountain; there they will offer sacrifices of righteousness. For they will feast on the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.”

Here: "The overflow of". This form of the word occurs only here in the Bible. Related words describe floods of water (Job 22:11; 38:34), so the picture is of wealth pouring in like a tide.

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