Hebrew word · H8229

שִׁפְעָה

veshif'at-

abundance

An overflowing quantity, a surge or mass. It comes from a root meaning 'to overflow, abound'. The related noun shefaʿ is the 'abundance of the seas' in Deuteronomy 33:19.

Appears 6 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

abundance, quantity, multitude

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 Isaiah 60:6

Range of meaning

An overflowing quantity, a surge or mass. It comes from a root meaning 'to overflow, abound'. The related noun shefaʿ is the 'abundance of the seas' in Deuteronomy 33:19.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'multitude', BSB 'caravans', NIV 'herds'. 'Multitude' is accurate but flat. 'Caravans' correctly names the trade setting but loses the picture of a flood.

Used elsewhere in the period

Job 22:11 and 38:34 'a flood (shifʿat) of waters'. 2 Kings 9:17 (twice), a mass of approaching horsemen. The Vulgate captures it vividly: 'inundatio camelorum', 'a flood of camels'. The Greek Septuagint has agelai, 'herds'.

From the study of 2 Kings 9:17

Range of meaning

Abundance, overflowing quantity, a mass. It is used of water (Job 22:11; 38:34, 'a flood of waters'), of camels (Isaiah 60:6, 'a multitude of camels'), and here of a body of men. The related word shephaʿ means 'abundance' (Deuteronomy 33:19, 'the abundance of the seas').

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT have 'company'; BSB and NIV have 'troops'. Both are fair. 'Troops' is clearer to modern readers but decides that it is military, where the watchman himself only reports a large, undefined mass moving toward him.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare in the Hebrew Bible, used mostly in poetry. The Septuagint, as commonly reported, renders it 'dust cloud' (koniortos), which is what a far-off watchman would actually see of an approaching column. The Vulgate uses globus, 'a mass, a throng'.

From the study of Job 22:11

Range of meaning

A large mass or press of something: 'a company' of men approaching (2 Kgs 9:17, Jehu's troop), 'a multitude of camels' (Isa 60:6), 'abundance of horses' (Ezek 26:10). The related noun shefa' means 'abundance' (Deut 33:19).

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'abundance' is literally right but sounds pleasant in modern English. 'Flood' (BSB, NIV) captures the threat but loses the sense of sheer volume pressing in.

How it drifted

'Abundance' now nearly always suggests blessing or plenty. Here the volume is what makes it deadly.

Used elsewhere in the period

Only six occurrences in the Hebrew Bible. Strikingly, the exact phrase 'a mass of waters may cover you' (shif'at-mayim tekhassekka) appears again in God's speech in Job 38:34: 'Can you raise your voice to the clouds, so that a mass of waters covers you?'

Where it appears

2 Kings · 2

  1. 2 Kings 9:17 שִׁפְעַ֤ת שִׁפְעַ֖ת [the] crowd of, a crowd

    Now the watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, and he called out, “I see a company of troops!” “Choose a rider,” Joram commanded. “Send him out to meet them and ask, ‘Have you come in peace?’”

    Here: A rare word for an overflowing quantity, here a moving mass of men, horses and chariots. 'Jehu's mass': the narrator knows whose it is, though the watchman does not yet.

Job · 2

  1. Job 22:11 וְֽשִׁפְעַת־ and abundance of

    it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.

    Here: 'And a mass of…'. A rare word for a large, pressing quantity: a troop of riders, a throng of camels. Here, a surge or overwhelming volume of water.

  2. Job 38:34 וְֽשִׁפְעַת־ and an abundance of

    Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 60:6 שִֽׁפְעַ֨ת a multitude of

    Caravans of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah, and all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

    Here: A surging, overflowing mass. Elsewhere the word is used for a 'flood of waters' (Job 22:11; 38:34) and for a troop of riders seen coming in the distance (2 Kings 9:17). Here it pictures camels pouring in like floodwater.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 26:10 מִשִּׁפְעַ֥ת from [the] abundance of

    His multitude of horses will cover you in their dust. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots.

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